Nov. 23, 2008

Box Score

HOBOKEN, NJ - The Johns Hopkins men's soccer team appeared to have a little magic left in it on Saturday night, but fell just shy in a 2-1 penalty kick shootout at Stevens Tech. The Blue Jays finish their season with a 13-5-5 record and an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16. Stevens Tech advances to the NCAA Sectional Finals and a match-up with defending national champion Middlebury.

On cold and windy night at the De Baun Athletic Complex, it was fairly evenly matched game. Both teams totaled 15 shots in 110 minutes of action, with Hopkins getting six corners to just one for Stevens Tech. Junior goalie Matt Mierley (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) came up huge again in the net for Hopkins, posting seven saves for his ninth shutout of the season and third consecutive.

Hopkins started off the game with several excellent scoring chances. The best one came two minutes in when sophomore Kevin Hueber (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) put a shot past Zach Carr, but Craig Moquin was there to head the ball out of harm's way. At the 35-minute mark, senior Nick Gauna (Evanston, IL/Evanston) missed the goal when he was one-on-one with Carr after a through ball got by the Stevens defense.

Todd Sheridan created a couple of strong chances for Stevens in the second half. He blasted two shots that just missed and one that was saved by Mierley. Hopkins had another great chance in the second overtime after a foul call set up a Blue Jay free kick. The ball was crossed in front and junior Max Venker (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High) put a header on goal, but it hit the cross bar and the match remained scoreless.

For the Blue Jays it was their second consecutive game that would be decided in a shootout. Stevens Tech went first and Jason Nachman sent his shot into the lower left corner. Carr stopped Gauna's shot to the same spot to give Stevens Tech a 1-0 advantage after the first round. Peter Bednarsky got Mierley to dive left and then converted his shot to the left side. Carr came up with another stop for the Ducks on sophomore Scott Bukoski's (Sagamore, MA/Bourne) and it was 2-0 Stevens after two rounds.

Mierley stoned Todd Sheridan on his shot to the right corner, setting up freshman Corey Adams (Cedar Grove, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), who made his shot to the lower right corner. Trailing 2-1 after three rounds, Mierley once again kept the Blue Jays alive, stopping Erick Muse on his shot to the left corner. Senior Matty Carlson (Bristol, CT/Loomis Chaffee) stepped to the line to try and even it up, but Carr came up with another save. In the final round and needing a stop, Hopkins got one again from Mierley with his save on Chris Faustino. That set up senior Ethan Mulligan (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) with a chance to send the shootout into sudden death. Mulligan put his shot to the lower left corner, the same spot he went to in last week's shootout win over York, but Carr deflected it wide to end Hopkins season.

Hopkins advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three seasons and the seventh time in program history. For the Blue Jays it is their first loss in a penalty kick shootout in NCAA Tournament play. JHU was 3-0 in its previous shootouts. Mierley concluded the season with a shutout streak of 345:02, having not surrendered a goal in three NCAA Tournament games.