Collegiate sports: they can be a great thing, and they can also make you want to tear your hair out. Sometimes a bastion of glory and other times a manifestation of stress and pain, it’s safe to say playing a college sport can come with a lot of stress. Many people put in tremendous amounts of time and effort just to be on a team. A select few get to start on a team, and some people are happy with just a few minutes of playing time, as long as they can get some action on the field. If these players who strive and persevere with every fiber of their being to play just a small amount of time are happy with only getting a few minutes a game, then think of the satisfaction of players who secure a starting role. Take it one step further, and imagine that you are one of these starting players and that you could have an assist for your team and then a goal to top it all off. Now imagine that with the assist and goal you set the school record for all-time assists and the Centennial Conference record for all-time goals scored.
That is how Hannah Kronick felt this past Saturday as she had a record-setting day in a 3-0 win against opposing Washington College. Kronick, a New Jersey native, looks to lead the Jays to both an NCAA and Centennial Conference Title in her senior year.
The game against Washington College started in a quiet manner with the Washington College Shorewomen playing a tightly packed defense to protect against the Hopkins onslaught. The first goal of the game came off of the foot of sophomore Meg Van de Loo. Junior Alaina Arthur followed her teammate up with the game's second goal thanks to an assist from senior Sydney Teng.
Kronick assisted the first goal of the game, breaking the school assist record with a nifty backward pass in the 65th minute of the game. After the assist, she then notched her 72nd career goal in the 85th minute. The record-setting goal was no garbage goal either, as Kronick fired a shot into the net from 15 yards out. With that goal Kronick moved past Dickinson College alumna Alyssa Carlow to give Johns Hopkins another Centennial record to hang its hat on.
After the game Kronick was ecstatic. In regards to the record, she said, “my goal was never to break records but just to do whatever I could to help my team be successful. I’m definitely happy because it feels like my hard work has paid off.” Aside from her success, Kronick credited the team as a whole for beating conference opponent Washington College.
She said, “They played us very defensively by setting a lot of numbers back, so it was important for us to use patience against them but also keep a sense of urgency. We had to deal with their defensive numbers, and we figured out how to do that in the second half.”
Furthermore, Kronick enjoyed the time to relish her past feats and accomplishments, but her attitude was more focused on the road ahead. “Moving forward, of course we have a lot to work on. We have had a lot of momentum recently, so it is important to keep that going, especially going into the tougher conference games.”
Kronick and the Jays look to continue their winning streak when they play against the Muhlenberg Mules next Saturday at 1 p.m. on Homewood Field.
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