EWING, NJ – The 18th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's soccer team used a goal in each half and another strong defensive effort to fuel a 2-0 win over Southern Maine in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament at TCNJ's Lions Stadium Saturday afternoon.  With the win – the seventh straight for the Blue Jays – Johns Hopkins bumps its record to 16-2-3 and advances to the second round of the tournament, where it will face host and 10th-ranked TCNJ on Sunday afternoon (1 pm).  The Lions advanced with a 2-0 win over Bridgwater State.
 
It was senior Katie Sullivan who gave the Blue Jays all the scoring they would need in the ninth minute.  Taking a free kick just five yards from the end line to the left of Husky goalie Hunter Stonebraker, Sullivan floated her offering over the outstretched hands of Stonebraker towards the back post.  A Southern Maine defender was able to get a head on the ball, but it was already over the line to get the Blue Jays on the board.
 
Johns Hopkins would collect 12 of the game's 14 first-half shots and all five corner kicks as the Blue Jay defense held the Huskies away from senior goalie Allyson Shick, who had to make just one first-half save in helping maintain the one-goal lead into halftime.
 
Picking up where they left off, the Blue Jays peppered Stonebracker with 12 more second-half shots and got the insurance goal they needed in the 61^st minute.  Working again off a free kick, this time from 25 yards out to Stonebraker's right, it was graduate student Olivia Reddink floating one into the box that Stonebraker couldn't handle above her head as it bounced through her hands and into the goal to push the lead to 2-0.
 
From there, the Blue Jays would limit the Huskies to just two shots, both of which came in the 15 minutes after Redden's goal and neither of which came in the game's final 15 minutes as Shick collected her third consecutive shutout.
 
The Blue Jays outshot the Huskies 24-5 and held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks while collecting their 13^th shutout of the season.
 
Notes:  Sullivan's goal is the 56^th of her career, which moves her past Erica Suter (2008-11) into sole possession of second place on JHU's career goal-scoring list.  The goal was also Sullivan's sixth in an NCAA Tournament game, which ties her with Meg Van de Loo (2013-16) for fourth place on JHU's NCAA goal-scoring list.  She also now has 17 points in the NCAA Tournament, which is good for second in JHU history.  This is the eighth straight year that JHU has won its first round game in the NCAA Tournament and the Blue Jays improved to 16-2-1 in their last 19 first-round games.