With the start of classes, students are becoming busier and busier, but it’s essential to have a healthy balance of academics and relaxation. What better way to de-stress and hang out with friends than at our own Hopkins sports events? There are plenty of games to choose from and here are some of the ones you can attend on campus!
Starting off strong this week, men’s and women’s soccer both have home games on Thursday, Sept. 1. The men play first at 1 p.m. against Rowan University. This may prove to be a challenge for the Blue Jays — between 1997 and 2000, the two teams played four games and the Jays went 1-3. Additionally, this will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since 1998 when the Jays won by a mere one point. They have been picked as the winners of the 2022 Centennial Title, of which they earned five first-place votes and 76 total points from head coaches across the league.
Though having topped the Centennial Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll, the women will still have to put up a fight to beat their Thursday rival, the Catholic University Cardinals. Hopefully, history will repeat itself as the Jays beat the Cardinals when they faced off last year, winning 4-0. See this game at 7 p.m. at Homewood Field. Don’t worry — if you can’t catch them then, they’re back on Sunday playing at home against Roanoke.
Sandwiched between the two soccer matches is a field hockey game where Hopkins will host the Washington and Lee Generals at 4 p.m. Historically, the Jays have dominated the Generals, beating them 15 out of the 16 times they’ve met. They will return six starters and 75 percent of their offense after they won their third straight Centennial Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
Cross country will also be participating in the Baltimore Metro meet that day at Goucher College in Baltimore. Head coach Bobby Van Allen will have an arsenal of weapons this season, including top returners senior Matt Kleiman, graduate students Arthur Beyer and Alex Ross, sophomore Paloma Hancock, senior Katharine Priu and 2021 Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, sophomore Thomas Li.
On the following day, Friday, Sept. 2, volleyball also has its first match of the season against the Stevens Institute of Technology. The 7:30 p.m. game at Goldfarb Stadium will be the first of three games played this upcoming weekend. There really is no excuse to miss a volleyball game, as there is another opportunity to see them against the St. John Fisher Cardinals and the Marymount Saints on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.
The Hopkins water polo team will travel to Annapolis, Maryland where they will participate in the Navy Open. Over the course of two days, September 3-4, they will face teams from all over the nation, including the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears and the Princeton Tigers. If you’re a water polo fan, don’t hold your breath as their first home match will be on Oct. 5.
To top it off, the football team is playing their first home game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 17. Before this home game, they will have traveled to Cleveland, Ohio and Collegeville, Pennsylvania to face the Case Western Reserve University Spartans and the Ursinus College Bears on their home turfs. They will open their home up to a conference rival, the Juniata College Eagles. These two teams have plenty of experience playing against one another but the odds are in the Jays’ favor. They have never lost against the Eagles so if the streak continues, be sure to witness another Hopkins sports victory at 1 p.m. at Homewood Field.
It’s important to support our own athletic teams so be sure to catch a couple of games if you can! Check the Hopkins Sports website for more news and updates on our sports teams.
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