Lady Jays soar into conference playoffs

The Hopkins women’s field hockey team needed a victory on Halloween against Gettysburg College to punch their ticket into the Centennial Conference Playoffs. On a night filled with candy, costumes and scares it was the trick pulled off by standout freshman forward Princess Sutherland that turned out to be the treat in this contest. The goalies on both sides played exceptionally well for the majority of the afternoon, and it was not until the 53rd minute that Hopkins would deliver the spark they needed in order to advance into the playoffs. Senior Danielle Thompson took the corner and sent the ball zooming toward the Bullet’s goal where it was deflected by a defender and sent careening toward the outstretched stick of Sutherland. She quickly fired the ball into the left corner of the net to give the Blue Jays a lead they would never relinquish. With the victory, Hopkins moves to 9-8 on the season, including an impressive 6-4 Centennial Conference (CC) record. Gettysburg fell to 4-12 for the season and 2-8 within the Centennial Conference. Junior goalkeeper Zoey Atabek was among the standouts for Hopkins as she tallied six saves and was awarded her third shutout of the season. Gettysburg had a chance to strike the equalizer in the final minute when the Bullet’s forward Samantha Wright intercepted a pass and took it all the way to the net, unleashing a shot that sped towards the right edge of the goal. It would have surely gone in if not for the athleticism of Atabek who lunged to her right and made an incredible save preserving the win for the Lady Jays. When asked to comment on the victory, Sutherland described the adversity the team had faced all season long dealing with injuries. “When I went into the game on Friday, two of our main players were hurt, including one of our captains, so I was just thinking to myself that I want to work hard to produce a goal not only for them but for what we have worked for all season,” she said. “It really came down to which team wanted it more, and even with the many injuries, we fought hard and got the victory we needed to take us to the playoffs.” Despite her lack of experience, Sutherland described how her senior teammates have served as mentors all season long and inspired her to perform at her best in the most critical moments. “Our team has been working very hard during practices all season, and we wouldn’t let that go to waste,” Sutherland said. “As a freshman on the team, I have been motivated so much by our enthusiastic senior captains. They push us to be our best, and we strive to be better everyday.” While the squad was beset with injuries and outshot 12-11 in the game, the Lady Jays managed to pull out a victory simply because they refused to let each other down. The hours of grueling practices starting in the summertime months had manifested in this opportunity, and there was no chance that the team wouldn’t capitalize. Now they are playoff bound. “Qualifying for the postseason as a freshman is really exciting because it reminds me of my high school playoffs and how hard we fought during each elimination round,” Sutherland said. “Playoffs truly show how much passion an athlete has for a sport. I can’t wait for Wednesday.” The Lady Jays were determined to come out firing on Wednesday against the Washington College Shorewomen, who held an impressive 13-4 record coming into the game. The Lady Jays stuck to their game plan and were eventually victorious after overcoming a two-goal deficit to win 3-2. Sutherland scored two goals for the Lady Jays as Hopkins stormed back in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals to best Washington College. Hopkins dominated on the offensive side of the ball for the entirety of the game, outshooting the Shorewomen 16-9 and capitalizing in critical moments throughout the second half. Sutherland got the scoring started for the Lady Jays just over seven minutes into the second half before senior Alexa Lantiere added a goal of her own to knot the game at 2-2. Just four minutes after Lantiere netted her goal, Sutherland provided the spark to power the Jays ahead, knocking home her own rebound in the 67th minute of the game. The Lady Jays’ defense remained stout for the rest of the game as Atabek finished with three critical saves to earn the victory. The Lady Jays will face off against the Ursinus Bears in the CC semifinals on Nov. 8.