Oct. 2, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

BALTIMORE, MD - Junior Carly Bianco's (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) second goal broke a 3-3 tie with nearly 12 minutes to play and gave Johns Hopkins a thrilling 4-3 win over visiting Haverford Saturday evening. The Blue Jays win their fourth straight and move above .500 at 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the Centennial Conference. The Fords have their three-game win streak snapped and fall to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Hopkins jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first half goals by Bianco and senior Ariana Branchini (Old Lyme, CT/Choate). But the Fords cashed in on some opportunities in the final two minutes of the half and made it a 2-2 game at intermission. Just over two minutes into the second, junior Amy Wharton (Swarthmore, PA/Strath Haven) pushed Hopkins back on top, 3-2, but Haverford once again answered just 61 seconds later on a Roxanne Jaffe goal. Bianco would have the final say with 11:49 to play.

Bianco banged home a rebound at the left post just 10:32 into the game after a pair of saves from Fords' goalie Maggie Cronin and a defensive save by Bridget Gibbons in quick succession. Less than five minutes later, Branchini scored on her third penalty stroke of the season, and fifth of her career, to stake the Blue Jays to a two-goal lead.

Haverford wasn't going away and finally cashed in at 33:05 off a penalty corner, one of 19 the Fords had on the day. Mary Hobbs struck the corner for the Fords, sending the ball to Alex Waleko at the top of the circle. She collected the ball and fired a hard shot into the back of the cage to cut the deficit in half. Haverford kept up the pressure and earned a corner as time expired. On the corner, Hobbs again struck the corner, sending the ball out to Waleko, who again fired a hard shot from up top. This time, Margaret Selsor was there to redirect her shot and tie the game at 2-2.

Coming out of the half, the Blue Jays needed less than three minutes to retake the lead. Bianco fed a nice pass to Wharton, who scored on a rocket from the top of the circle. The lead didn't last long as Haverford capitalized on yet another corner. Hobbs once again took the corner, with Jaffe receiving the pass and scoring on a hard shot. Bianco put Hopkins on top for good at 58:11, scoring her second goal and fifth total point of the night. She dribbled in, pulled left just inside the circle and backhanded a beautiful shot high inside the opposite post to make it a 4-3 game.

Junior Kim Stein (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial) finished with 12 saves, while Wharton also had a defensive save. For the Fords, Cronin had 10 saves. Haverford had the edge in shots (30-18) and corners (19-6).

Hopkins returns to action on Friday, October 8 against Washington College. The Centennial Conference tilt is slated for a 3:00 pm start.