Blue Jays fall in final seconds to Diplomats

This past Saturday, the Hopkins men’s soccer team headed to Pennsylvania to face Franklin & Marshall. The Diplomats entered the game on a 14-game win streak with a record of 13-0-1, and Hopkins looked determined to pull that streak out from under their feet.

Neither team was able to capitalize in the first 20 minutes of the game, as the ball spent the majority of its time in the midfield. Then, in the 23rd minute, Hopkins put one on the board.

Senior co-captain Rob Heuler buried a long shot in the bottom left corner of the goal from the top of the box. Heuler’s second goal of the season flew past Diplomat goalkeeper Trevor Britton and gave the Jays the early lead. It was only the second time all season that the Diplomats had trailed in a game.

After battling it out for another 20 minutes, the Jays entered the half up 1-0. According to Hueler, the mood was “very high” at the half.

“The team was excited,” Hueler said. “We had a lead and we felt pretty good about what we could do to defend that going into the second half.”

Staked with a lead, the Jays were able to keep their opponents at bay for nearly 30 minutes before the damage was dealt. In the 74th minute, Diplomat Chase Tenbrook trapped the ball on his chest and ripped it into the far post from the left side, tying the game in the process.

The Jays would shake off the goal and play with the Diplomats for the ensuing 15 minutes as the game remained at an even 1-1.

Then, with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation, Diplomat Jeremy Levine broke the deadlock as he powered a shot from  the top of the box and past senior goalkeeper Nick Cerrone. The game would end in a 2-1 Diplomat victory.

Hueler said he was “very disappointed” with the outcome.

“I know we can play with the best of teams out there, but this is the second time we have conceded a goal in the 90th minute to a top 25 team and lost by one,” Huler said. “While disappointed, I can’t help but feel extremely unlucky as well. We just need to be more disciplined in the final minutes of the match. That’s all it comes down to.”

Cerrone finished the game with three saves in the loss, and Britton ended with four saves of his own in the win for the Diplomats.

The Jays fall to 8-4-2 overall and 2-3-1 in conference. They will look to bounce back this Saturday when they host the Muhlenberg Mules on Homewood Field.

While junior defender Kenny DeStefano said the loss was “hard to swallow,” he is optimistic about the rest of the season.

“We are at an exciting place in our season looking to make up for [the loss] with a win against Muhlenberg this weekend,” DeStefano said. “[Franklin & Marshall] is one of, if not the best team we’ll play this year. We played tough the entire game, proving to ourselves we can play with anyone as long as we stick to our game plan. Knowing this, we are focusing on our mentality as a group and making plays happen when we need them moving into the last two weeks of the regular season.”