The Hopkins women’s soccer team turned in a dominating performance against the Washington College Shorewomen, defeats the Shorewomen 5-1 in the Centennial Conference opener away from Homewood Stadium. The win brings them 3-1-2 on the young season as conference play gets into full swing.
The game remained 0-0 for the first 25 minutes before the Jays took the lead following a strike from senior forward Meg Van de Loo, with the assist from classmate midfielder Ana Bengoechea. From then on, the Jays did not look back. At the 40th minute, senior forward Alexa Rangecroft capitalized on a rebound following a shot from Van de Loo to give Hopkins a 2-0 lead as they went to the locker room for halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, the Jays went up 3-0 as freshman midfielder Maggie Coulson headed in a corner from Bengoechea. The Shorewomen, however, would quickly answer as junior Steph Scott converted on a penalty kick opportunity just 47 seconds later to bring their deficit back to two.
The Jays continued to keep the pressure on Washington College. Four minutes later, the Blue Jays regained their three goal lead when Coulson added her second goal of the game on a free kick from 25 yards out. In the 65th minute, senior defender Adrienne Johnson increased the lead to four when she scored her first goal of the season, thanks to assists from Bengoechea and junior Thea Harvey-Brown. The 5-1 lead would then hold for the duration of the game, with the Jays having their most productive offensive outing since their six goal game against Bryn Mawr last October.
Rangecroft attributed the team’s success against the Shorewomen to the energy and effort they displayed throughout the game.
“We have a very deep squad this year and everyone gave one hundred percent on Saturday,” Rangecroft said. “We had four different players score goals on Saturday, and everyone that was fit to play got playing time. We always have a lot of energy from the bench and our focus and quality of play is consistent no matter who is on the field, which helps us in all of our games and definitely played big a role Saturday.”
Along with the team’s energy on the field, Coulson credited the team’s cohesiveness as the key to victory.
“I think a large part of why we won this weekend was that we clicked as a team; We were connecting a lot of passes offensively, as well as staying strong in the back,” she said. “We play at our best when everyone is not only playing well individually, but also playing well as a team.”
Rangecroft noted that these were the things the team has been focused on since their loss to Messiah, and has helped fuel the team ever since.
Moving forward, Rangecroft is excited about the work they have put in as a team and optimistic about the rest of the season.
“We are focused on team goals that enhance the process of play and improvement, rather than results, as we hope those will come with improved play. Namely, we want to work cohesively as a unit, play composed and creative soccer and finish all our opportunities. In the end, we hope these goals, and hard work, can get us to the National Championship,” Rangecroft said.
Coulson echoed her and looks forward to the rest of the season.
“We’ve talked a lot about our goals this season, focusing more on the process rather than the result,” she said. “One of our goals is to continually improve as the season progresses and to focus on excelling in what we can control, such as effort, communication, etc. By controlling the process, we can hopefully achieve some of the results, such as winning the Conference.”
Next, the Blue Jays face off against Muhlenberg College this Saturday at Homewood Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in what will be the team’s first conference game at home this season.
