Lady Jays net seven in shut out victory

On a cool Friday night, the Lady Jays field hockey team took the field with the goal of attaining a winning record in the Centennial Conference. Although the weekend came with many distractions, the Lady Jays maintained unfaltering focus on the goal at hand.  Swarthmore came into the game with a 0-3 Centennial Conference record and looked to upset Hopkins on its home turf.  The Lady Jays, coming off of two losses themselves,  prepared to attack the weakened foe.

The game began with nerves from each side, making the initial minutes of play sloppy and haphazard. After some back and forth play for the first 12 minutes of the game, senior Lucy Woodrow received a pass from sophomore Austin Davis and buried the ball into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.

Swarthmore took a hit to its morale, but continued to fight until around the 24th minute of the game when the Lady Jays scored two goals in under a minute. Junior Natalie Vicas one-timed a shot past the Garnet goalkeeper to make it 2-0. She was followed by a beautiful goal by junior Kiana Duncan, who torched two defenders and ripped a shot just inside the post.  By the 24:48 mark in the game, Hopkins led 3-0, and the floodgates were just beginning to open up.  Shortly after the 32nd minute mark, senior Alexa Lantiere stepped up and put one in right before the halftime buzzer, making the score 4-0 and giving Hopkins a cushion to return to for the second half.

With a four-goal lead, the momentum favored the Lady Jays leading into the second half, and they used this energy and enthusiasm to impose their will on the Garnet.  The Lady Jays did not waste any time when returning from the break.  Freshman Morgan Pothast buried a one-timer into the back of the net after receiving a beautiful pass from Davis, further strengthening their lead. Vicas, who scored earlier in the game, was not satisfied with just one goal and put in her second by redirecting a pass from junior Leslie MacManus, which narrowly squeaked past the right post.  Finally, sophomore Liz Stillman sent the Garnet packing with the seventh goal for the Lady Jays.

Stillman ended the game with style by ripping a shot from the top of the circle and into the bottom left corner.  Despite not having the most engaging game of her Hopkins career, junior goaltender Zoey Atabek made three saves to preserve the shutout.  Her counterpart, freshman Greta Helvie, entered the game in the second half, making one save and ensuring the Garnet goose egg.

After the game, sophomore Victoria Piscopo offered her viewpoints on the game against Swarthmore on Friday night.

“After a week of practice, our team came out with confidence and focused on the little things,” Piscopo said. “Our preparation and confidence coming into the game earned us the victory.”

She also discussed the strengths of the Lady Jays as a team.

“Our team's best attributes are our passing and awareness skills," Piscopo said. "We succeed in ‘little hockey’ as opposed to using the big ball.”

After their potent victory at home, the Lady Jays return to action against Ursinus at home on October 11th at Homewood Field.