The Hopkins women’s soccer team turned in two impressive performances in the NCAA D-III Tournament this past weekend at Homewood Field. In the first round, they toppled the Western Connecticut State Colonials 3-1.
The Jays jumped to an early lead against the Colonials. In the 11th minute, junior forward Bailey Monaco made her way towards the goal line to find senior forward Meg Van de Loo open in perfect scoring position. Van de Loo capitalized on the scoring opportunity to give the Jays the 1-0 lead.
The score would remain at 1-0 until the 69th minute, when Monaco was fouled as she made her way toward the goal. This set up a penalty kick opportunity for Van de Loo, who tallied her second goal of the game.
The senior standout capitalized on the penalty, putting the ball past Western Connecticut goalkeeper Serena Gunter with a shot into the lower left corner.
Van de Loo was not done for the day. Just four minutes later, she capped off her hat trick. After dodging several defenders, Van de Loo ended her spectacular day with a shot into the corner, which went past Gunter.
The Colonials would get one back late in the game on a goal from forward Autumn Sorice. Nevertheless, it was too little too late for Western Connecticut, as the Blue Jays would easily hold off the Colonials to secure the 3-1 win.
The next day, the Blue Jays were back to face the Christopher Newport Captains. The Jays continued to dominate, defeating the Captains 4-0 to move on to the third round of play.
Van de Loo continued her strong play, opening the floodgates by assisting midfielder Ana Bengoechea on her own goal in the 36th minute.
The Colonials would get their only shot on goal in the first half during the 44th minute, but it was easily turned aside by senior goalkeeper Clara Aranguren, maintaining the Jays’ 1-0 lead going into the locker room for halftime.
The second half was all Hopkins. Bengoechea tallied her second goal in the 48th minute, capitalizing on a rebound opportunity after an attempted goal by Van de Loo.
Just 11 minutes later, Van de Loo expanded the Jays’ lead to three, with a goal assisted by freshman midfielder Maggie Coulson.
Christopher Newport nearly landed on the scoreboard in the 73rd minute, but the Colonials’ forward Victoria Perry got a shot from 20 yards out past Aranguren, only to see it slam into crossbar.
Just two minutes later, Van de Loo scored her fifth goal of the weekend and second on the game, an unassisted strike from 15 yards out. The strike cemented the game for the Jays, putting them up 4-0 in the 75th minute.
For Van de Loo, her six point total in both games match the NCAA Tournament single game record. Meanwhile, her 25 goals and 59 points on the season set a new school record.
The Centennial Conference Player of the Year has been the sparkplug for the Blue Jays’ offense throughout the season, something that has clearly continued into the postseason.
The Blue Jays face a difficult task in the third round of the tournament, facing off against defending NCAA Champions, Williams College. So far on the year, the Williams Ephs have not lost a single game and tied just two. Their 17-0-2 record represents one of the very best in all of D-III soccer.
The Jays will travel to western Massachusetts to face off against Williams on Saturday Nov. 19. Kickoff at Cole Field in Williamstown is at 11 a.m.
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