Oct. 18, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins field hockey team twice rallied from one-goal deficits in the first half before scoring the go-ahead goal with 13:55 left in the game to upset seventh-ranked Christopher Newport, 3-2, on Monday night at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays pick up their eighth win in their last nine games to improve to 9-5 overall. The Captains see their 10-game win streak snapped as they fall to 12-2 on the season.

Christopher Newport wasted little time getting on the board, as the Captains were awarded a penalty stroke just 4:08 into the game. Sarah Wister stepped to the line and converted the stroke on a shot just inside the right post. The lead did not last for long as Hopkins cashed in on a corner at 7:34. Junior Carly Bianco (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) sent a nice ball out to senior Jennifer Motylinski (Medford, NJ/Shawnee), who stopped the ball for senior Ariana Branchini (Old Lyme, CT/Choate). Branchini stepped up and smashed a hard shot past Brittany Bradsher to tie the game at 1-1.

The Captains answered just four minutes later to retake the lead at 2-1. Off a free hit, Caitlin Cahill dribbled right just inside the circle, where she ripped a shot just past junior Kim Stein (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial). At 21:40 Christopher Newport seemed poised to take a 3-1 lead when the Captains were awarded a stroke and again Wister took the shot. This time, she went left and Stein was there to knock it away, keeping the deficit at one. Her offense rewarded her just over three minutes later. Senior Lindsay McKenna (St. James, NY/Smithtown East) took a shot from the left side of the circle that was redirected by senior Hayden Maloney (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon). Maloney's shot went across the mouth of the cage to a wide-open junior Annie Shepard (Grosse Pointe Park, MI/Grosse Point South), who tipped it in on the right post to tie the game at 2-2.

Hopkins took its first lead of the game at 56:05 as the Blue Jays capitalized on another corner. Bianco took the corner, sending the ball out to Branchini at the top of the circle. She collected the pass, dribbled right and banged home her second goal of the night to stake Hopkins to a 3-2 lead.

Stein finished with 10 saves in the cage, while Motylinski had a defensive save for the Blue Jays. For the Captains, Bradsher finished with one save. Christopher Newport had the edge in shots (15-9), though Hopkins held the Captains to just one shot in the second half. The Blue Jays had the edge in corners (9-7). For Hopkins, it is their first win over a top-10 team since October 6, 2009 when JHU beat then eighth-ranked TCNJ, 2-1, in double overtime. Branchini had two goals in that game as well.

Hopkins returns to action and Centennial Conference play on Saturday, October 23 as the Blue Jays travel to face Bryn Mawr. Game time is slated for 2:00 pm.