The Johns Hopkins Women's soccer team continued their incredibly hot play this weekend, defeating the Bears of Ursinus College by a score of 6-0.
The Lady Jays stayed undefeated at 11-0 (5-0 in the Centennial Conference) and maintained their number five ranking nationally by utilizing a total team effort in which six different players each chipped in with a goal apiece.
Freshman Hannah Kronick wasted little time in starting the scoring parade as she netted what would ultimately be the game-winning goal in just the second minute of play.
Just 14 minutes later, the Lady jays would strike again as sophomore Kelly Baker kicked off a 12 minute three-goal span in which Senior captain Erica Suter and freshman Sydney Teng also added goals to increase the lead to four in the first thirty minutes of play.
The Lady Blue Jays would go on to add one more score with seven minutes left before the end of the first half off the foot of senior Pamela Vranis as the teams hit the locker room for half time.
From there, the Lady Jays were on cruise control, playing solid defense and adding a final tally from sophomore Christina Convey in the 63rd minute to cap off the 6-0 rout.
The match was split between the Jays' two superb goalkeepers, senior Kristen Redsun and sophomore Kelly Leddy. The win was also the Blue Jays eighth shut-out of their first eleven games, a span also including only twice where the final score was closer than two goals.
The two keepers have platooned tending goal this season along with junior Meredith Maguire, with Redsun leading the team with a 0.40 GAA and 17 saves over 447 minutes and 58 seconds of gameplay, much of which she can accredit to stellar defensive contributions by her fullbacks and midfielders.
The defense is led by senior Pam Kopfensteiner, who has garnered Centennial Conference defensive player of the week this season, and junior Taylor Schulte who spoke for the entire team in saying, "The rankings are more of an honor than anything else, and it pushes us to work harder in practice to live up to those expectations."
The defensive midfielder from Wyckoff, NJ also added that, "Teams have
nothing to lose when they play us, so we have to be ready for everybody's best shot."
The Lady Jays have been one of the most dominant forces in Division III women's soccer, as they have outscored opponents 47-5 over twelve of their seventeen scheduled regular-season matches.
Leading the way for the Lady Jays is senior captain Erica Suter, which comes as no surprise, as she holds several program records including most career goals (50), assists (24), points (124), consecutive games with a goal (7), and consecutive games with a point (11).
The do-it-all senior midfielder leads a very dangerous team with a lethal combination of skilled upperclassmen leadership and rapidly developing young talent.
Kronick, a forward from Westfield, NJ, is following closely in the footsteps of her Suter, as she has tallied a point in each of the eleven games she has played in this season as well as scoring goals in each of her past seven matches--a school record tied with none other than Suter.
The forward earned Centennial Conference Player of the Week honors for the third time this season for her play this week, the fifth time this season a member of the Lady Jays won the award.
In addition, she was named ECAC South region player of the week.
On Wednesday, Kronick padded her resume, kicking home the game-winning goal against 11th-ranked TCNJ in a 1-0 win.
The Blue Jays and Lions entered the 68th minute in a scoreless draw, but Kronick, who found the ball off a crossbar shot from Schulte, fired her fourth game-winner of the season.
Hopkins' defense then surrendered just six shots on goal in the final 22 minutes to secure their ninth shutout of the season.
In goal, senior Kristen Redsun earned her seventh win of the year.
Kronick has tallied 13 goals and six assists this season, trailing only Suter, who has 14 goals and eight assists, in those two categories.
The senior-freshman duo have combined to be one of the deadliest offensive combination not only in the Centennial Conference but in the nation.
The Blue Jays hope to ride this wave of extremely well-played soccer to more success this season, as they look to advance past where they have seen their season end in previous years--the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
"We have the talent to go all the way this year," Schulte said with unwavering confidence.
And if the Lady Jays continue their high level of play, there is no doubt that they will be there with a chance to capture their dream.
The Hopkins women's soccer team will return to action this Saturday at Centennial Conference rival Haverford College at noon in a match-up of unbeaten conference records. Haverford is 8-0-4 on the season.
The Lady Jays will travel into a hostile environment to take on the Fords and hope to return to the friendly confines of Homewood Field on Wednesday against Dickinson with a win.
With each win, Hopkins steps closer to realizing their goal of winning a National Championship.
