The Hopkins women’s soccer team won their ninth and 10th Centennial Conference contests this season after defeating the Gettysburg College Bullets 4-1 on last Wednesday, which they followed up with a 2-0 victory against the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats on Saturday.
The Jays got started quickly on Wednesday in Gettysburg when senior forward Michelle Santangelo capitalized on a Hopkins corner kick, finding the loose ball in front of the Bullets’ goaltender. After a scramble, Santangelo found the back of the net just after the six-minute mark to put the Blue Jays up 1-0.
Continuing the early momentum for the Jays was freshman forward Riley O’Toole, who, just 10 minutes after Santangelo got the Jays on the scoreboard, launched a shot from the deep left half of the field that carried into the right side of the Gettysburg goal, putting Hopkins up 2-0.
Santangelo and O’Toole would continue to light up the scoreboard in the second half, with the two combining to put the Jays up 3-0 near the 47-minute mark. O’Toole hurled a cross from the left half of the field and found Santangelo in the middle of the box.
Gettysburg would battle back to get the score within two goals when defender Jessica Cuttone laced a pass that found forward Isabel Klatt in the open field on a breakaway. Klatt’s shot would beat the Jays’ senior goalie Bess Kitzmiller to put the Bullets on the board near the 52-minute mark.
However, Hopkins would put the nail in the coffin with a goal from sophomore midfielder Emily Maheras near the 69-minute mark.
The sophomore tipped in a corner kick from senior defender Hallie Horvath to cement the Hopkins victory as the Blue Jays went on to win by a final score of 4-1.
Kitzmiller picked up her ninth win of the year with her four-save performance against the Bullets that would clinch the number one seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the Jays. This is the seventh time Hopkins has held the No. 1 seed in the Tournament since 2001.
Much like Wednesday’s matchup, Saturday’s game against the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats kicked off with a goal from Santangelo that went off the Diplomats’ goalkeeper and into the net to put Hopkins up 1-0. It was only slightly over 18 minutes into the contest that Santangelo scored her 15th goal and 34th point of the season, both of which rank second in the Centennial.
Keeping consistent with the game against Gettysburg, O’Toole once again notched the second goal of the game with an assist from Santangelo early in the second half to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead, which would hold for the remainder of the game. O’Toole’s 12 goals and 26 points both rank third in the Conference.
Kitzmiller once again picked up a win, having two saves in the shutout victory with sophomore goalie Robyn Lipschultz also contributing a save.
Sophomore midfielder Carly Lupton-Smith discussed the team’s mindset going into the last week of their regular season.
“We went into the games last week so excited for the possibility of an undefeated Conference record, and I think we played with a lot of confidence. We’ve been improving each game, and we’re ready to carry this momentum into the Conference Tournament,” Lupton-Smith said.
The game was the last regular season contest for seven seniors, with Kitzmiller, Santangelo, defender Leslie Bruni, forward Bailey Monaco, midfielder Sophie Murphy, defender Thea Harvey-Brown and Horvath all honored for senior day. The seven have won a pair of Centennial Conference titles and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times during their four years at Hopkins.
The Blue Jays finish with an overall record of 15-2-1 on the regular season along with a perfect 10-0 Centennial Conference record.
“We can’t wait to play some tough competition at home for the seniors’ last tournament and hopefully come out with a win,” Lupton-Smith said.
The top-seeded Blue Jays will face off against the winner of the play-in game between the McDaniel Green Terror and Gettysburg on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Homewood Field in the Centennial Conference Tournament’s semifinal round.
