First half surge lifts Lady Jays past Terror

The Hopkins field hockey team was back in action this past Tuesday, as they traveled to Westminster, Md. to take on McDaniel College in Centennial Conference play. The Lady Jays would go on to win 3-1 on the back of a three-goal first half and improve to an overall record of 8-8 with a 5-4 record in the conference. The Green Terror would drop in the standings to a record of 9-7 on the season with a 5-4 record in the conference. With the win, the Lady Jays move into a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference.

“This was a really big win for us," junior starting goalie Zoey Atabek said. “Our playoff bid is within reach. We just have to win our final game of the season against Gettysburg, and we get a playoff spot and home field advantage for our first game."

Hopkins came into the game firing on all cylinders, hoping to catch the home team off guard with their focus on offense.

“The main thing we focused on [in practice] was scoring,” Atabek said. “We had so many opportunities against Bryn Mawr and we weren't able to convert on them. We knew McDaniel was going to be a tougher opponent so we really focused on our offense attack and making the most of every opportunity."

Their hard work in practice paid off, as the Lady Jays were able to take an early lead, just 9:40 into the game. Hopkins capitalized off of a corner, as freshmen Clare Kavanagh redirected classmate Morgan Pothast’s shot and put Hopkins up 1-0. The lead was doubled soon afterwards as sophomore Victoria Piscopo dribbled on a breakaway and took advantage of the two-versus-one mismatch, playing the ball in for junior Natalie Vicas, who powered home the second goal of the match.

The Lady Jays continued their free scoring and added a third goal before the half-time whistle courtesy of another clinical breakaway. This time, it was senior Lucy Woodrow who dribbled the ball into the McDaniel cage on a solo effort and slapped a shot past Green Terror goalie Calia White to give the Lady Jays a three-goal advantage going into the half-time break. The Lady Jays’ offensive ability in the first half was complimented nicely by their steady defensive play, as the Green Terror were only able to manage five shots on target to the Lady Jays 10 on the day.

“Our defense is pretty solid," Atabek said. “We did a good job not allowing them to even get a shot off and most importantly not allowing the McDaniel forwards to get rebound goals."

The two teams headed into the locker room with drastically different talking points to address, and indeed the second half looked like a completely different game. The Lady Jays were unable to maintain their shutout, as the Green Terror came roaring out of the gates and added their name to the score sheet just seven minutes into the second half. The goal came off of a McDaniel corner, as Bayley Vohs drove the ball out to the wings. Sarah Boch received the ball and made a sweet connection to send it speeding into the cage. Natalie Price met the ball with her stick and redirected it past Atabek for the Green Terror’s first goal.

A back-and-forth second half saw the game end 3-1 in favor of the Lady Jays, with Hopkins edging the home team 15-11 in shots and 17-8 in corners. White finished with seven saves and Hopkins finished with six, five from goalie Atabek and one critical defensive save from senior Danielle Thompson.

“In the beginning, we were having trouble flowing as a team and finishing games," Atabek said, reflecting on the team’s growth with the final game of the regular season approaching. “A lot of the freshmen really developed quickly and earned starting roles. The depth of our bench really enables us to be competitive the entire 70 minutes. The team has really come together on and off the field and the chemistry is really helping our game. We've just played three great games and we're really looking to build off that momentum moving forward."

The final game of the season will see Hopkins take on Gettysburg, with a playoff berth and home-field advantage hanging in the balance for the Lady Jays. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Gettysburg on Friday, Oct. 31.