The Basics
• Scores:
Johns Hopkins-19, Conn College-13
Johns Hopkins-18, Austin-8
• Records: JHU (3-13) • CC (0-8) • AC (5-8)
• Location: New London, CT • Lott Natatorium
• The Short Story: The second-seeded Johns Hopkins water polo team beat Conn College and Austin on Saturday to advance to the championship game of the CWPA Division III Eastern Championship.
 
How it Happened • Conn College
• Hopkins jumped out to a four-goal lead on the hosts, fueled by a pair of goals from senior Jayden Kunwar. Conn College got on the board with an ejection goal with 2:54 to play in the quarter, but back-to-back goals by freshman Ian Raley gave the Blue Jays a 6-1 lead after one.
• Graduate student Olin Shipstead and Kunwar scored in the opening two and a half minutes of the second to push Hopkins' lead to 8-1. But the Camels would score four straight to cut the Jays' lead to three at the half.
• Senior Emerson Sullivan scored twice in the first 31 seconds of the third quarter to stake Hopkins to a 10-5 lead. Mike Gertsik and Lucas Verilli sandwiched goals around a strike from senior Jake Pearson and the lead was 11-7 with 5:27 to play. Hopkins then scored three times in 75 seconds to push the lead to seven. The teams traded goals in the final three minutes and JHU led 15-9 after three.
• Christian Jacobsen scored to open the fourth for the Camels, but Sullivan and Kunwar combined for three straight goals to put JHU up 18-10 with 2:43 to play. Conn College would outscore Hopkins, 3-1, in the final two minutes but it was not enough.
 
How it Happened • Austin
• Sullivan opened the scoring just 65 seconds into the game, but the 'Roos quickly answered with a Robert Griffin goal to tie the game. Kunwar responded with back-to-back goals to give Hopkins a 3-1 lead after one.
• Kunwar made it three in a row with his goal just 31 seconds into the second quarter. Pearson followed with a man-up goal and the Blue Jays led 5-1. The teams then swapped scores over a four-minute span and it was 8-5 Blue Jays with 2:05 to play in the half. Nikolas Koelzer then scored to pull the 'Roos within two with 1:10 on the clock. Kunwar  had the final say of the half, scoring a man-up goal to send Hopkins into the half with a 9-6 lead.
• Cade Griffith scored to open the third quarter and pull Austin back within two. Hopkins responded with four straight to push its lead to six with 2:36 to go. Will Koelzer ended the run with a goal at the 2:29-mark, but Sullivan answered with a pair to make it a 15-8 game after three.
• It was all Hopkins in the fourth quarter as Sullivan and Kunwar combined for three goals to secure the win for Hopkins.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins improves to 15-0 all-time against Conn College and 3-0 versus Austin. The win over the Camels snapped a 12-game losing streak for the Blue Jays.
• JHU advances to the title game for the 27^th time in 27 tournament appearances. The Blue Jays are now 75-9 all-time in the championship.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Sullivan scored a team-high 12 goals on the day, while adding one assist, three steals and a block. Kunwar scored 11 goals and handed out three assists to finish with 14 points in two games. He also tallied the 200^th point of his career, becoming the 19^th player in program history to do so.
• Pearson finished with three goals and five assists and a team-high six steals in the two games. Junior Chris Freese handed out seven assists, including a career-best six in the win over Austin. His six assists are two shy of the school record.
• Raley notched his first career hat trick in the win over Conn College, as he finished with a career-best four goals and three steals. Sophomore Cameron Burns also had his first career hat trick, scoring three goals and drawing three ejections versus the 'Roos.
• Freshman Kyle Pearson made 11 saves and dished two assists in the first half versus Conn College. Freshman Connor Mechelke made six saves and had a steal in the second half versus the Camels. Pearson made 12 saves in four quarters versus the 'Roos.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins will take on top-seeded and eighth-ranked MIT in Sunday's final. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start.