Box Score Oct. 6, 2009
Box Score
EWING, NJ - Junior Ariana Branchini (Old Lyme, CT/Choate) scored on a penalty stroke with 5:11 remaining in the second overtime to lift 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins over eighth-ranked College of New Jersey, 2-1, on Tuesday night. It is the Blue Jays first-ever win over the Lions, snapping an 11-game losing streak. Hopkins improves to 8-2 with the win, while TCNJ slips to 6-2.
The Lions jumped on the board early, as Emilie Tyalor scored just 1:40 into the game, off an assist from Kellyn Riley. The Blue Jays answered at 15:14 in the first half, capitalizing on a penalty corner. Senior Brittany Bland (Littleton, CO/Colorado Academy) took the corner, sending the ball out to junior Jenn Motylinski (Medford, NJ/Shawnee). She stopped the ball for Branchini, who struck a hard shot that eluded the TCNJ defense and knotted the score at 1-1.
TCNJ came out pressing in the second half, outshooting Hopkins 5-0. But senior Sophia Tieu (Cupertino, CA/Cupertino) made four saves to keep the Lions off the board in the second stanza and the teams headed to overtime. The shots were even at 4-4 in the first overtime period, with both goalies making a pair of saves to keep the game knotted.
In the second overtime, the Blue Jays outshot the Lions, 4-2, but it was the fourth shot that counted the most. Branchini was awarded a penalty stroke with 5:11 to play in the second overtime. She shot on high on Lions' keeper Shannon Syciarz, who got a piece of the shot, but the ball had enough momentum to carry it just under the cross bar for the deciding goal.
Tieu entered the game at the start of the second half and finished with eight saves for the Blue Jays, including four in the two overtimes. Sophomore Kim Stein (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial) got the start in goal and made four saves for Hopkins. Syciarz finished with four saves as TCNJ played its third consecutive overtime game.
Hopkins returns to action on Friday, October 9 as the Blue Jays travel to Chestertown, MD to take on Washington College in Centennial Conference action. Game time is slated for 7:00 pm.
