By GABBY RUSSO For The News-Letter
The Hopkins women’s soccer team took on Ursinus College this past Saturday in its 12th game of the season. The Lady Jays beat the Grizzly Bears 4-0, making their overall record 8-3-1 and their Conference record 4-1-0.
Coming off of a 1-0 win against Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. this past Wednesday, the Jays started the game with confidence. After a few missed opportunities, junior Ana Bengoechea scored the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute after senior Issy Berkey’s shot off a cross from sophomore Bailey Monaco hit the post. Using the momentum from the first goal, Berkey scored in the 39th minute off a cross from Bengoechea. The half ended with Hopkins leading 2-0, with very few shots from Ursinus’s offense against junior goalie Clara Aranguren.
In the 50th minute, junior Meg Van de Loo scored off the rebound from her own shot, giving Hopkins an even more substantial lead. Less than 10 minutes later, Van de Loo scored her second goal of the game from 25 yards out. After taking on the defender, she slotted the ball to the lower left corner past Ursinus’s goalkeeper.
The Jays’ new formation worked well for the team as they outplayed Ursinus with dominant possession and many great scoring opportunities in the final third.
There seemed to be a general census among the Lady Jays that the new formation was working well.
“We implemented a new formation that seems to really suit the personnel of our team. We all feel more connected and cohesive, and the more we work with it, the stronger we seem,” junior Adrienne Johnson said.
The Jays were able to stay in their opponents’s half of the field for a majority of the match, keeping possession and connecting passes that helped them effortlessly transition across the field, keeping their opponents on their toes.
The offense had many penetrating passes through Ursinus’s defense and dangerous crosses that were converted into goal-scoring opportunities.
“We're able to be more creative and more dangerous in the final third, and it allows our offense to be more free. I can confidently say that my teammates and I are excited for the rest of our season and this new style of play,” Johnson said. Aranguren had one save this game while senior keeper Sarah Bennett finished with two. Van de Loo led the team in both the number of shots and total goals with five and two, respectively.
This game brought Van de Loo’s total goals for the season to 11, the highest on the team. Hopkins outshot Ursinus in both halves by a landslide, leading 12-3 in the first half and 14-3 in the second half for an overall shot comparison of 26-6.
The ending score of 4-0 showcases not only their dominance over Ursinus but also the effectiveness of their new system of play in attacking a third of the field.
Coming off of a win against the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats on Wednesday, it remains obvious that the Blue Jays received another confident boost after a tough game Saturday Oct. 10 against the Swarthmore College Garnet.
On Wednesday Oct. 7 the Lady Jays fought for over 80 minutes against Franklin & Marshall before junior Alexa Rangecroft scored off an assist from freshman Kristen Hori.
This was Rangecroft’s fourth goal of the season and Hori’s sixth assist of the season.
Van de Loo has been named Centennial Conference Player of the Week for her performance in both of these games.
“Offensively we were able to connect really well and create a lot of chances,” she said. Van de Loo easily capitalized on the opportunities created by her teammates, leading the Hopkins offense to a successful game.
Hopkins is now 4-1 in the Centennial Conference, with an overall record of 8-3-1. They are now ranked third in the conference behind undefeated Swarthmore and the McDaniel College Green Terrors.
On Saturday Oct. 17, the Lady Jays will travel to take on Haverford College Fords at 1 p.m. for another conference game. Haverford is ranked eighth in the Centennial Conference with a conference record of 1-2-1 and an overall record of 8-2-1.
