Sept. 20, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's soccer team opened its Centennial Conference slate on Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 shutout of #11 Swarthmore. The Blue Jays (6-2-1, 0-1) snapped the Garnet's (5-1-1, 0-1) 10-match unbeaten streak with the win.

Sophomore forward Scott Bukoski (Sagamore, MA/Bourne) put the Blue Jays on the board in just the eighth minute with his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Senior Akash Naik (Simpsonville, SC/Hillcrest) played the ball into the box to Bukoski, who collected the ball and shot it past the outstretched hands of David D'Annunzio. Less than three minutes later, Hopkins took a 2-0 lead on a corner kick. Bukoski took the corner and touched the ball to junior Max Venker (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High), who touched it right back to Bukoski on the endline. Bukoski played the ball out to the top of the box, where senior Matty Carlson (Bristol, CT/Loomis Chaffee) back-heeled the ball to an on-rushing Drew Holland (Sudbury, MA/Belmont Hill School). Holland then blasted the ball past D'Annunzio for his first career goal.

The two-goal lead would stand as the Hopkins defense and junior goalie Matt Mierley (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) kept Swarthmore off the board. Mierley finished with four saves for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career. D'Annunzio finished with three saves for the Garnet.

Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 24 as it travels to Aston, PA to take on Neumann College. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 pm start at Sun Valley High School.