BALTIMORE, MD – The fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins field hockey team beat 24
th-ranked Ithaca, 3-1, Saturday morning in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Jays improve to 19-1 with their 17
th straight win while the Bombers end their season at 15-7.
Hopkins grabbed the early lead, taking advantage of its third corner just 9:17 into the game. Senior
Mikayla Schoff took a pass from junior
Jenna Halpin at the top of the circle and fired the ball on the Bomber cage. Senior
Gen Mehra, right in front of Ithaca goalie Alex Clough, deflected the ball around the goalie and in.
Just three minutes later, the game was tied at one as the Bombers cashed in on a corner of their own. Brenna Schoenfeld took a hard shot off the insert that was blocked in front. Catherine Papa collected the ricochet and slotted it in at the right post to knot the score at one.
The Blue Jays then scored twice in a three-minute span early in the third quarter to take control of the game. Senior
Siena Urbanski inserted a penalty corner to Halpin up top. She collected the ball and fired a shot towards the left post, where Urbanski tipped it in to put Hopkins back on top at 32:38. The Blue Jays then quickly pushed their lead to two off another corner. Clough kicked away a shot from Schoff at the top of the circle, but it rebounded right to sophomore
Zoey Bennett, who one-timed it into the cage.
Hopkins outshot Ithaca, 15-2, and had a 12-2 advantage in corners. Senior
Alexis Loder earned the win for the Blue Jays and has now played in more career games (65) than any goalie in program history. Clough finished with five saves for the Bombers, while Emma Garver added a defensive save.
Hopkins will now take on the winner of sixth-ranked Salisbury and eighth-ranked Williams in Sunday's NCAA Quarterfinals game. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start at Homewood Field.
Notes: Urbanski moved into a tie for 11
th in JHU history with 70 career points • Urbanski is also tied for ninth with 29 career goals • JHU is now 13-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as the Blue Jays advance to the quarterfinals for the fifth straight year.
