Nov. 6, 2004
Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD - Sophomore Joe Pinero (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) scored with 15 minutes remaining to give the Johns Hopkins men's soccer team (17-0-1, 9-0 CC) a 1-0 win over McDaniel (11-6-3, 6-1-2 CC) in the Centennial Conference championship game at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays' fifth conference championship earned them an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they will appear for the ninth time in school history and seventh time in the last 10 years.
Junior Edmond Wybaillie's (Great Falls, VA/Langley) throw-in set up the game's only score at 75:04 as Pinero found the loose ball in front of the box and slid it past Green Terror goalkeeper Andrew Wu. Juniors Jeff Grosser (Beach Haven, NJ/Shawnee) and Manbaj Gill (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) got touches on the ball before Pinero scored the game-winner, his fourth goal of the year.
Both teams came out aggressively in the first half, resulting in an early ejection of Johns Hopkins junior Aaron Blynn (Winston-Salem, NC/Forsyth Country Day) with a red card at 26:30. The Blue Jays would play a man down for the rest of the game.
The Johns Hopkins defense stepped up and allowed just three McDaniel shots while the offense tested Wu with eight. Senior goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr. (Landsdale, PA/LaSalle) stopped two shots for the Blue Jays, who also finished with a 4-2 corner kick advantage.
McDaniel had a last chance to tie the game when a Johns Hopkins foul set up Scott Morrow for a kick at 89:50. Senior Chris Brown (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) intercepted the cross and cleared the ball to secure the Blue Jay victory.
The win was the 15th straight for Johns Hopkins over McDaniel dating back to 1993. The Blue Jays defeated the Green Terror 2-0 earlier this season, 3-1 in the 2003 conference semifinals and 6-0 in last year's ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship.
The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament begins this Wednesday, Nov. 10 and ends with the championships in Greensboro, NC on Nov. 26-27. The tournament field will be announced the evening of Sunday, Nov. 7.
Johns Hopkins (17-0-1) 0 1 -0
McDaniel (11-6-3) 0 0 -0
Goals: JHU - Pinero (75:04)
Assists: JHU - none
Shots: JHU - 8, MC - 3
Corner Kicks: JHU - 4, MC - 2
Saves: JHU - 2, MC - 4
