The Hopkins women's soccer team won both games this past week to extend their undefeated record to 9-0.
The team defeated Muhlenberg 3-0 and Swathmore by a score of 3-2. The sixth-ranked Blue Jays are now 19-1-1 all-time against Swathmore.
The girls' soccer team is satisfied with their undefeated record and believes they will have continued success going forward. The team is especially happy with the amount of shutouts they have tallied, as it is a good indicator of time of possession and strong defensive play.
"I am extremely satisfied with our team's performance this year so far," senior Paulina Goodman said.
"We've come out with nine wins and zero losses. Unfortunately we broke our shutout streak against Swarthmore- they put up a hard fight and were able to break through us."
Goodman believes the game was a wake-up call of sorts for her team, as she hopes the team will limit any opponent's chances going forward.
Senior captain Erica Suter agrees with this sentiment and knows how much pressure comes with having an undefeated record.
"A lot of pressure comes with being 9-0 because obviously everyone is out to get us," she said. "A perfect season is a very hard thing to do. I did it once my junior year of high school and my team went 20-0-0. It is a long road and is very draining but totally worth it."
As the semester progresses and schoolwork picks up, the team believes this part of the season has a different feel to it.
"These games are different from earlier games in that it takes a bit more effort to come out hard; we all have more school work and therefore need to try and leave that off the field as much as possible," Goodman said.
"That being said, it's all about consistency. No matter how deep in school work we are, every game needs to be played with the same intensity and focus."
The team believes they have a few weaknesses they need to improve on in order to attain the goals they set for themselves. One of the main goals is consistent defense throughout the remainder of the season.
"Our team needs to work more on defense," Suter said. "That is not specifically the defensive line in the back, but the entire defense of the team. It starts with the forwards pressuring up top and then the backs covering for us when we lose the ball. As long as we stay tight as a team, we will not allow a lot of goals."
Echoing Goodman's statements, Suter believes the team must stay mentally tough as well. "Again, the mentality of each individual player will go a long way. Just making that extra five yards to sprint back if we lose the ball helps the team so much. If everyone adopts that mindset, we will be unstoppable," she said.
The team will host Franklin & Marshall this Wednesday in search of maintaining their undefeated streak. While the girls are happy with their success this season, they expect it to continue all the way to the NCAA Final Four in Texas.
"I expect us to keep winning," Goodman said. "There's no doubt we are talented enough to do it, and we all know it."
The Hopkins women jumped back into action during their game on Wednesday night.
They didn't let up against opponent F&M (5-2-1). Suter was honored for her record breaking season with a game ball inscribed with her name, signifying her record stats.
The Diplomats came into the came on a five game win-streak, only to be met with defeat at the hands of the Blue Jays. After a relatively quiet first half (0-0), the Hopkins offense kicked in, marking up five unanswered points to finish out the game.
The first Hopkins goal came little more than two minutes into the second half. Freshman Hannah Kronick skipped a nice ball to Goodman to put Hopkins on the board.
Only a couple minutes later, Kronick was on the receiving end, scoring on a wonderful pass from Suter. The ball was netted with ease as the Diplomats' goalie failed to stop the play. The next three goals came in a short span of just five minutes.
Leading off the trifecta of goals was Erica Suter on a pass from sophomore Pam Vranis, in what proved to be an unexpected but great shot. Then Vranis got her chance when fellow sophomore Christina Convey hooked her up with a great ball for goal.
Ending the set of scores was Suter, who received a ball from Convey. Suter hooked the ball backwards without more than a glance at the goal, netting the ball and settling the score at 5-0.
It was a great game for the team, proving just why they stand in their position and what they want to accomplish this season. It was a tough game for F&M, who just came off their winning streak.
The squad gets back into action this weekend at Ursinus on Saturday. The Bears are 4-6-1 on the season and will be challenged by the Blue Jays, who are looking for their 11th win.
