This past Saturday, the Hopkins women’s field hockey team defeated Ursinus to improve their record to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the Centennial Conference.
The win marks the Lady Blue Jays’ first regular season victory over the Bears and Hopkins’ second ever defeat of Ursinus. Hopkins field hockey last beat Ursinus 1-0 in the Centennial Conference semifinals en route to the 2003 Conference title.
Ursinus got off to an early lead when Samantha Macchio earned her first goal of the season just 6:13 into the game with a backhand shot past Hopkins senior goaltender Elizabeth Peijnenburg.
Nine minutes after Ursinus’ opening goal, the Blue Jays capitalized on an opportunity off of a penalty corner. Senior Maggie Phillips inserted the corner, sending the ball up top to classmate Liane Tellier. Tellier hit a hard pass to freshman Shannon Parker, who redirected it past Ursinus’ goalie by the left post to tie the game up at 1-1.
Sophomore midfielder Danielle Thompson provided insight into what made this game different from past years. “Before the game, Coach Fraser discussed how in the past we’ve struggled to regroup mentally when an opponent gets a quick early lead. After Ursinus’ first goal, we stayed positive and focused on answering back. That is exactly what we did.”
After Ursinus’ first goal, “Coach told us to keep up the good hockey but play our game” Thomas said. This advice allowed the Lady Blue Jays to get a lead 27:07 into the game when freshman Elena Gresick scored her second goal of the season. The Blue Jays got a pair of shots off a corner, but the Bears’ goalie turned away both and Ursinus attempted to clear when Gresick intercepted a pass and nailed the shot.
After a scoreless 39 minutes, senior Meghan Kellett added an insurance goal at 66:22 with just over three minutes to play. Tellier played a long a ball ahead of the Bears’ defense to Kellett, who drew McElhenny to the top of the circle, before slipping a shot under her to make it 3-1.
Peijnenburg finished with eight saves, while getting three defensive saves from her teammates, to earn the win.
Thompson summed up the Lady Blue Jay’s season thus far and provided a look for what lies ahead for the Blue Jays. “We are doing really well in our conference right now. It’s games like these that will prepare us to win the Centennial Conference Championships Tournament. We played solid against Franklin & Marshall who is ranked #5 in the nation and this Thursday we will play Mary Washington who is #7 in Division III. I strongly believe that we are in a good position to pull an upset with our play of late.”
After losing a lot of seniors from the Class of 2012, the freshman had big shoes to fill. Thompson feels they definitely have done that and more. She explained, “We have a very deep bench this year and every one that comes off the bench plays as well as those who start. There is no drop in level whatsoever. It is a huge confidence booster knowing any player on our roster will do a great job. We have the talent to compete with any team in the country right now.”
Hopkins’ women’s field hockey team continues to take big national games into their own conference. The Lady Jays will return to Homewood Field this Thursday, October 11th to take on 12-1 and #7 ranked Mary Washington. The start time is slated at 7 p.m.
