Seen as underdogs heading into the game, the Hopkins soccer team found it appropriate to watch Miracle on the bus ride up to Carlisle, Pa.
The fifth seed Blue Jays prepared to face off against fourth seed Dickinson in the first round of the Centennial Conference Tournament. As kick-off approached, midfielder Birin Padam had a realization.
“As a senior captain, I was realizing that the game could be my last wearing a Hopkins jersey,” Padam said. “Regardless of what the result was going to be, I wanted to make the most of the game. I wanted to play my heart out for my team.”
The Blue Jays would begin the game behind, as Dickinson scored the first goal after just 77 seconds. The immediate goal struck a blow to the team’s morale.
“It was terrible,” forward Kenny DeStefano said. “The first thing that went through my head was that it was going to be a long game.”
Fortunately for Hopkins, DeStefano found the back of the net just three minutes later, erasing the early deficit and swinging the momentum back in his team’s favor.
“Being a defender at heart, I like to pressure their back line because I know how it feels back there to be pressured,” DeStefano said. “They were just swinging it around the back, and I went to their right back. He passed it back to his goalie, but he passed it too softly, which happens a fair amount because you don’t want to hit it too hard to the goalie. [The ball] didn’t even make it to the goalie. The goalie was coming out at me and I was able to just slot it right past him.”
The game would remain tied until the 37th minute when Dickinson scored its second and final goal of the game.
“It was extremely disappointing,” Padam said. “I think our young defenders, especially the freshmen and sophomores, need to realize that you can't try and dribble out of your own third of the field. That mistake was made and Dickinson did a good job of taking advantage of our immature play.”
Despite a one-goal deficit, the team exited the first half confident that its resiliency would push at least another goal through the net in the second half.
“We were playing much better soccer than they were, we just weren’t finishing,” DeStefano said. “I still had confidence. We had a whole second half to play and we were playing better soccer. If you look at the stats for the game, we outshot them significantly.”
The second half would be characterized by “heartbreaking” missed opportunities for the Blue Jays, as Dickinson goalie Jeremy Palcan finished the game with eight saves.
“He made some saves that I did not expect him to make,” DeStefano said. “There was one on me that I thought I had a goal and he came out of nowhere and saved it. It was off of a corner kick and it went down to my feet and the goalie was on the far side of the net, so I played it near post. It was bouncing around in the box a little bit, which is kind of hard for a keeper to be able to keep track of. It just came right to my foot and I thought I had it and he came out of nowhere.”
Padam, speaking highly of the Dickinson keeper, was also the victim of a brilliant save.
“I don't remember around what time the shot was, but in the second half, a cross had trickled into the box from the left side to me on the far side of the six-yard box,” Padam said. “I remember being composed, taking a touch, aiming for the right upper 90 and out of nowhere their goalie making an unbelievable save. I can still see it now. It was really frustrating to not have that go in the net.”
Their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays would not let up in the second half.
“(During) the last 20 minutes, we were getting shots on goal every time you turned around,” De Stefano said. “It was a do-or-die mentality. If you don’t score, the season is over.”
As the game approached its final minutes, Padam said he wanted to leave it all on the field in his final season.
“That was the last time I'd be wearing that Hopkins #7 jersey and captain armband, and I wanted to conclude my career with pride and passion,” Padam said. “I didn't want to stop running until that whistle blew.”
Dickinson would go on to win the game 2-1, eliminating Hopkins in the first round of the tournament. The Blue Jays would finish with nine shots on goal to Dickinson’s three.
Despite the loss, DeStefano was quick to make a promise for next season.
“We’re coming off two .500 seasons now,” DeStefano said. “I think we’re definitely ready to win the conference next year. You can quote me on that one.”
