Field Hockey splits two to start off season

BY MICHAEL POZO

The Hopkins field hockey team played the first two games of its fall season against the Washington & Lee University Generals and the Kenyon College Ladies on Sept. 1 and Sept. 5, respectively.

Both games were fiercely contested and took every minute of the game to reach a conclusion. The Blue Jays would ultimately split the two games with a win against Washington & Lee and loss against Kenyon, putting the team at 1-1 for the season.

In the first match up, the Jays won an overtime battle against Washington & Lee. The game was a defensive match, with goalkeepers on both ends playing outstanding games.

In the cage for Hopkins, sophomore Greta Helvie tallied five saves while earning her second complete game shutout. The first and only goal of the game came at 76:01.

Sophomore Morgan Pothast intercepted a pass in Washington & Lee territory and moved into the circle. Washington & Lee goalie Jackie Llewellyn moved up to confront her, but Pothast beat her around the right and scored the game-winning goal.

Head coach Megan Fraser, now entering her 19th year as head coach, was happy with her team’s efforts.

“I was quite pleased with our effort and overall performance on the field,” Fraser said. “We will need to make some adjustments in terms of our defensive communication and transition, but I feel we are off to a strong start.”

The Jays played their second match of the week this past Saturday when they hosted the inaugural “Yellow Game” against Kenyon. The game was played in support of the Michael Mosier Defeat Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)Foundation to raise awareness and money for cancer research.

Kenyon came out of the gates strong, grabbing a 2-0 lead behind goals from freshman Abbey Roswell and senior Maddie Breschi. Hopkins junior Bridget Hampton put the Jays on the board, scoring her first goal of the season off a rebound in minute 53.

With a little over 15 minutes left in the game, Kenyon scored again to give the Ladies a 3-1 lead going into the closing minutes of the game. But Hopkins was not out of the game yet, scoring two consecutive goals in less than four minutes to pull the score even at three apiece with 5:44 left to play.

The closing minutes of the game were filled with nonstop action, with each team having several opportunities to take the lead.

Ultimately the deciding play was a Breschi goal with 1:16 left to play, giving the Ladies a 4-3 lead and ultimately the win.

Despite the loss, junior Victoria Piscopo and the rest of the team remain confident that the team will succeed this season. “Although the score of the game didn’t go as we would have liked, I thought the determination our team showed was inspiring. Despite the score, we never let down or gave up for a minute. That’s something you can’t teach, and that drive is what will make the team successful in the future,” Piscopo said.

Piscopo also talked about what an honor it was to play in the Yellow Game and what it meant to the team to contribute to such a worthy cause.

“Our team was so excited to get the chance to contribute to this amazing foundation,” Piscopo said. “This cause hits close to home for our team, as the son of a former member of the Hopkins field hockey team was taken from his family due to the disease. We were all extremely proud to wear yellow on Saturday. Just when we thought we were tired on the field, the hints of yellow we wore were a reminder of just how much harder life could be,” Piscopo said.

Coach Fraser echoed similar thoughts on the Yellow Game.

“Supporting the Michael Mosier Foundation gave us an opportunity to play for something bigger than ourselves. We are proud supporters of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation too, and the personal connection of playing for an alumnus and member of the JHU field hockey family was a natural fit.”