Nov. 9, 2008

Box Score

SWARTHMORE, PA - Swarthmore's David Sterngold scored in the 61st minute to end Johns Hopkins' bid for its third straight Centennial Conference Championship Sunday afternoon. The Blue Jays, seven time Centennial Conference champions, slip to 12-5-3 on the season. The Garnet, winners of their first ever Centennial Conference title, are now 15-2-2 overall.

Swarthmore nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute off a Jeffrey Kushner header, but junior Max Venker (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High) cleared the ball off the line to keep the game scoreless. The game would remain so until the 61st minute. Stu Leon played a long ball over the Hopkins defense and junior goalie Matt Mierley (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) came out to challenge. But Sterngold got to the ball first, chipping it over Mierley at the top of the box to give the Garnet the lead.

Mierley finished with two saves in the net for the Blue Jays, while David D'Annunzio made four to earn the shutout for the Garnet.

Hopkins will learn its NCAA Tournament fates on Sunday night. The NCAA will announce the tournament selections via NCAASports.com on Sunday, while the bracket will be released Monday morning. The Blue Jays have made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to- back trips in 2006 and 2007. Hopkins last made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1996 to 1998. Stay tuned to www.HopkinsSports.com for more details.