Nov. 3, 2007

Box Score

LANCASTER, PA - Freshman David Drake (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) scored in the 81st minute to lift #18 Johns Hopkins to a 2-1 win in the Centennial Conference Semifinals over Muhlenberg Saturday in Lancaster, PA. The Blue Jays (16-3-0) will now take on the fourth-seeded Gettysburg Bullets in the Centennial Conference Championship on Sunday. Gettysburg upset top-seeded Franklin & Marshall in overtime in the first semifinal game.

Muhlenberg got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute. Brendan Carroll centered the ball to Eric Miller at the top of the box. Miller then blasted a shot past sophomore goalie Matt Mierley (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) to put the Mules up 1-0.

Play shifted midway through the first half, as Hopkins began to control play, outshooting Muhlenberg 6-0 in the final 20 minutes of the first. The last shot of the half drew the Blue Jays even at 1-1 in the 44th minute. Junior Nick Gauna (Evanston, IL/Evanston) headed home sophomore Max Venker's (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High) corner for his 11th of the season.

Play was back-and-forth in the second half but it was Hopkins who found the back of the net to go ahead 2-1 in the 81st minute. Drake intercepted an attempted clear by the Muhlenberg sweeper, beat a second defender and then slid the ball past Mules goalie Peter Bennett for his 13th of the season. Drake has now scored the gamewinner in the last three games for Hopkins.

Mierley finished with one save in the win for Hopkins, while Bennett finished with two for the Mules. Hopkins held the edge in shots (11-8) and corners (11-4).

Hopkins will seek its seventh Centennial Conference title on Sunday and first in an odd-numbered year. The Blue Jays' six previous titles came in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Hopkins defeated Gettysburg 2-1 in the regular season meeting at Homewood Field on October 24. The Blu e Jays lead the all-time series with the Bullets 42-19-9 but are 1-2-0 against the Bullets in the history of the Centennial Conference tournament. Game time is set for 1:00 pm at Franklin & Marshall's North Campus Athletic Field. Fans can follow the livestats at: http://server1.fandm.edu/athletics/xlive.htm.