Garnet fly past Jays in CC Championship

After suffering a heartbreaking loss to close out the regular season, the Hopkins women’s soccer team traveled north to Gettysburg, Penn. to participate in the Centennial Conference Playoffs. The Lady Jays earned a place in the semi-finals against the Ursinus Bears to begin their playoff run. On the heels of the tough home loss to Gettysburg to conclude regular season conference play, the team's first loss in 13 games, the Lady Jays entered the postseason hungry to regain their winning ways. They finished second place in their conference at an overall record of 15-3 and looked to capture the championship for consecutive years after winning handily last year. Building upon a nearly perfect history of performing the best when the stakes are the highest, the Lady Jays pulled out a close 2-1 victory over the Bears. Although the game took place within Ursinus’s own state of Pennsylvania, the Lady Jays owned a home field advantage of sorts. They had already won on the home turf of the Bears less than a month beforehand, and they also benefitted from being an hour closer to Gettysburg than their opponents. The Lady Jays, as they often have this year, started the game quickly. All-star senior forward Hannah Kronick initiated the scoring in the 25th minute after cutting through a group of Bears defenders on an unassisted, point-blank shot that found the back of the net. It was good enough for her 13th goal of the season, cementing her status as the top scorer within the conference for the season. The first half continued to develop in favor of Hopkins, as the team launched 13 shots on goal during the period. Ursinus keeper Courtney Sullivan was tested time and again, yet she held up valiantly besides allowing the lone first half goal by Kronick. The second half started in the same manner, as it only took roughly 10 minutes for the Lady Jays to put points on the board yet again. In the 56th minute, sophomore midfield facilitator Ana Bengoechea sent a pass to senior forward Amanda Masse near the Ursinus penalty box. Without much hesitation, Masse took the ball and ripped it past Sullivan to solidify the lead for the Lady Jays. Outside of these initial 10 minutes, however, proved much more competitive for both sides. Ursinus outshot Hopkins 7-5 and made junior goalie Sarah Benett work for another possible shutout on the season. This, however, would not be possible. In the 83rd minute, Bears freshman midfielder Katherine Bell snagged a failed Hopkins clearance on an Ursinus corner. Taking Benett and the defense slightly off guard, Bell scored from the top of the box and shrunk the Hopkins margin to just one. The freshman’s second goal of the season was not enough, though, and the Bears could not find an equalizer before the clock expired six minutes later. This victory paved the way for the 10th straight conference finals appearance for Hopkins and set the stage for a rematch with Swarthmore on the following day. In a match that came down to the wire, the Garnet came out victorious in a nerve-wracking penalty kick shootout. After failing to break the 2-2 tie through overtime, the Lady Jays were unable to solve Swarthmore goaltender Reba Magier during the penalty kicks, as she led the Garnet to victory and was eventually named MVP of the tournament. Kronick once again was the star for the Lady Jays, as she got the scoring started, taking a beautiful pass from sophomore midfielder Ana Bengoechea outside the top of the box and firing a dart past the outstretched arms of Magier. However, the Garnet responded shortly thereafter as forward Carolina Khanna boomed an arching shot past Benett to knot the teams at 1-1. The teams headed into their respective locker rooms tied at half time. The two sides wouldn't remain deadlocked for long, however, as Kronick broke the stalemate just eight minutes into the half, notching the seventh goal of her Centennial Conference playoff career and breaking the conference record for most career playoff goals. However, Kronick’s outstanding play was matched once again by the Garnet, who responded just 12 minutes later after a battle for possession in front of the Hopkins goal. As the teams struggled for possession, Swarthmore's Amanda Bosworth found the loose ball and slid a simple shot into the lower corner of the net to bring the game back even. Despite generating several more key scoring opportunities, the Lady Jays simply were unable to break the tie again during regulation. Benett stood tall in net once again for the Lady Jays, especially during the final 10-minute stretch where the junior goaltender made two unbelievable saves from point-blank range to keep the Lady Jays level. After an overall underwhelming overtime period that showcased strong defensive play from both sides, the championship match moved into penalty kicks. The two teams were once again tied at four goals each through five penalty kicks when the Garnet took a 5-4 lead after Clare O'Brien scored. With the game on the line, sophomore Vania Ludman had her shot blocked by Reba to secure the first conference championship in program history for Swarthmore, breaking the hearts of the Lady Jays. Despite the conference championship loss, the Lady Jays earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. For the seventh consecutive season, Hopkins will host an NCAA Regional Tournament at Homewood Field. The appearance in the NCAA tournament marks the 10th straight and 14th overall for the Lady Jays, who will host Farmingdale State, SUNY Geneseo and Frostburg State this upcoming weekend. Hopkins is scheduled to face off against Farmingdale State at 5:30 p.m. at Homewood Field on Saturday with the hopes of advancing to the regional final on Sunday.