W. Soccer battles back against TCNJ

Faced with tough conditions, the Hopkins women’s soccer team battled to a 2-2 tie against The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) last Saturday.

From the onset, Saturday’s game was a grueling clash. In the opening minutes, TCNJ’s defender Abigail Emmert capitalized on an offensive play, scoring the game’s first goal at just the two-minute mark. It was not long, however, until Hopkins responded with a goal of its own. After a beautiful combination from senior midfielder Ana Bengoechea and defender Adrienne Johnson, senior midfielder Meg Van de Loo tied the game up at 1-1 in the 15th minute to put the Jays on the board.

Though each team had multiple opportunities to score, the rest of the first-half remained scoreless. It was not until after the second half began that either team was able to capitalize again. At roughly the 55-minute mark, TCNJ senior Christine Levering took advantage of a sound throw-in from teammate midfielder Elizabeth Thoresen to take the lead.

However, moments later, play was halted due to lightning and the Blue Jays headed back to the locker room to wait out the storm. The weather delay was undeniably an obstacle for the Blue Jays, who were down 2-1. However, junior standout midfielder Sophie Murphy explained it also gave the team a chance to charge each other up.

“One of our goals for the season is for each player to be 100 percent mentally focused during games,” said Murphy. “We were distracted by the weather and unsatisfied with the score, so when we initially came together we had to regroup and refocus on what we needed to do in the last 30 minutes - we put it into each of our heads that we were not going to lose the game.”

Roughly one and a half hours later, the Jays returned to the field recharged and determined to win. With scoring opportunities in the 65th and 79th minute, the Jays continued to play offensively and exert tremendous pressure on the TCNJ Lions. Going into the final minutes of the game, TCNJ still led by one.

Hopkins got their final opportunity in the last minute of play. After a Lion foul in the box, Van de Loo stepped up to the penalty. The Senior Captain is certainly not unfamiliar with high pressures situations: In last year’s Centennial Conference Championship game against Swarthmore, Van de Loo delivered the winning goal in double overtime to send the Jays to the NCAA tournament. Fortunately, her delivery under pressure this time was no different, and Van de Loo scored effortlessly with only 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Senior Adrienne Johnson, who garnered an assist on the Jays’ first goal, called the tying penalty kick the result of a “perfect storm... so to speak.”

“We came out more aggressive and with much higher energy in the remaining 30 minutes than we did to start the half, and it really put TCNJ under pressure. The PK [penalty kick] in the final seconds was a result of the higher energy and aggression we displayed following the delay. [Senior] Alyssa Morgan had a great flick on, and Ana did everything perfectly to draw the foul and no one else performs better under pressure then Meg,” said Johnson.

The remaining two ten-minute periods continued to be filled with intensity. With much shorter playing time, and a “golden-goal” rule governing collegiate overtime regulations, the pressure is on for teams to score and to score fast. Despite two Hopkins shots during the course of overtime play, the Jays were unable to clinch a victory.

With plenty of soccer left to play in the season, the Blue Jays remain optimistic. “We were not very satisfied with the tie, but we were happy that our team’s resiliency showed until the game’s final seconds... We know that if we can remain consistently focused and motivated throughout, we will be very successful as the season continues,” said Murphy.

Following Saturday’s tie, Hopkins’ record remains promising at 1-1-2. They hope to add a win in their next match against St. Mary’s College this Wednesday at Homewood Stadium.