The Hopkins men’s soccer team dropped their first match against a Centennial Conference foe last weekend. The 19th ranked Swarthmore Garnet maintained their undefeated record, as they slid past Hopkins with a 1-0 victory at home.
The first half of the game was a back and forth battle between the two opponents, as both sides struggled to find the back of the net. Swarthmore came out on the attack, and Hopkins was having trouble running with them for a while.
Once Hopkins got into the swing of things, the boys managed to get better possessions and created a few solid opportunities in front of the goal. By the time the whistle was blown for halftime, neither team had been able to score thanks to strong defense and goaltending from the respective teams.
The drought ended rather quickly in the beginning of the second half when Swarthmore’s Geoff Stewart took Noah Sterngold’s pass and drilled it into the top of the goal in the 58th minute. This was Stewart’s first goal of the season and ended up being the only score of the game.
Hopkins’ best chance to tie the game up came late in the match. Senior midfielder Birin Padam had a strong kick that just barely missed the goal, to the dismay of Blue Jay fans.
When time expired, Swarthmore still held their 1-0 lead to continue their torrid start to the season. Swarthmore took 20 shots as compared to Hopkins’ seven. Freshman keeper Matt Paris played admirably against the relentless Swarthmore offense, recording five saves in the loss.
“Swarthmore is the toughest team we play during the regular season," says junior midfielder Kotaro Mitsuhashi. "What makes them so effective is their unity and willingness to give everything they have to win. Every player knows their exact roles in terms of tactics and each play their part extremely well."
Although the loss puts the Blue Jays at 2-4-1 on the season, there is still an optimistic outlook in the locker room. “Heading into the season, we knew the first half would be a challenge. We have been playing great soccer even though our record doesn't necessarily reflect that. We are a very talented team and we have high expectations to finish the season strong going into tournament play,” said sophomore Kenny DeStefano.
Swarthmore’s record is now 5-0-2. With one of their toughest match ups behind them, the Blue Jays know they have to continue to work hard to make it into the Centennial Conference Tournament. With this being Hopkins’ first conference match up, there is plenty of time left to turn things around.
“The biggest key to improvement for our team is for each player to know their roles,” Mitsuhashi commented. “When everyone feels like we have each other's backs, we should start winning more games. At this point in our season, we need to win the Centennial Conference championship in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament. So every conference game is huge for us.” With eight more conference games in the season, Hopkins plans on turning the page and doing everything they can to win the remainder of their conference matchups.
The team’s optimism is stemming from flashes of greatness during these first few rough games. The team knows that there is a plethora of talent on the roster and once they get into a rhythm, they feel that they can turn this into a successful season. “As far as our immediate team goals, we are looking to more effectively have numbers supporting the ball both offensively and defensively." said DeStefano. "We are a very fit team so we hope to use this more to our advantage. Ian Heinrich is holding down the midfield right in front of our back line. He has been doing great lately, constantly breaking up their offense and connecting with our forwards to get the ball out of our half."
The men’s soccer team is set to take the field again this Saturday against conference foe Dickinson in Carlisle, Pa. The contest is scheduled to start at 4:30
