BALTIMORE, MD – The 18^th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's soccer team scored twice in a 10-minute span midway through the second half to turn a one-goal lead into a 3-0 advantage and the top-seeded Blue Jays went on to knock off fourth-seeded Dickinson by that same score in the Centennial Conference Semifinals at Homewood Field Friday evening.
 
The Blue Jays improve to 14-2-3 and advance to Sunday's championship game, where they will take on third-seeded Franklin & Marshall, which slipped past second-seeded McDaniel, 2-1, in Friday's other semifinal.  The two-time defending conference champion Blue Jays will be making their 21^st appearance in the 23-year history of the tournament.
 
Johns Hopkins needed just over 10 minutes to strike and it was the combination of Olivia Piraino and Katie Sullivan that would give the Blue Jays the early lead.  Working in transition, Piraino found Sullivan on the wing to her left and slipped a feed to her on the run.  Sullivan collected the pass near the edge of the box to the right of Dickinson goalie Sophia Kavulich and floated a shot over Kavulich's head into the far corner of the goal for her 13^th goal of the year.
 
The 1-0 lead held through halftime as Kavulich posted six saves before the break and the Blue Jay defense limited the Red Devils to just four first-half shots.
 
Dickinson had a golden chance to pull even in the 64^th minutes, but Ava Prisco's offering from just outside the edge of the box whistled wide and the Blue Jays countered shortly after.
 
With Dickinson unable to clear its zone, junior Maria Romo-Nichols collected a loose ball in the middle of the field and slipped a nifty pass to Megha Salvi in the middle of the box.  Salvi created just enough separation between her and her defender and poked a shot past a diving Kavulich from eight yards out to double the Jays' lead.

2H
JHU-2, Dickinson-0

Salvi slots home her 5th of the year from Romo-Nichols to double the Jays' lead. #GoHop #CentConf pic.twitter.com/Yg6LDJbf6E

— Johns Hopkins Women's Soccer (@HopkinsWSoccer) November 8, 2024

 
Just over 10 minutes later, Sullivan provided the insurance goal to put the game away.  Graduate student Carrie McIntire chased down a long ball just before it crossed the endline and dropped a pass back to the middle of the box, where Sullivan had a step on her defender.  Kavulich came off her line to cut down the angle on Sullivan, but she picked the far corner to cap the scoring.
 
The Blue Jay defense never allowed the Devils to seriously challenge in the final 15 minutes as they would allow just three second-half shots and senior Allyson Shick would end the game with a pair of saves as Johns Hopkins notched its 11^th shutout of the season.  The Blue Jays held a 21-7 advantage in shots and took all 11 corner kicks in the game.
 
Notes:  Sullivan's two goals give her 55 in her career, which moves her into a tie for second place on Johns Hopkins' career goal-scoring list with Erica Suter (2008-11).  Johns Hopkins will meet F&M in the conference title game for the second consecutive year; the Blue Jays edged the Diplomats, 2-1, in last season's title game.
 
The time of Sunday's championship game will be either 12 pm (if the Johns Hopkins men's soccer team also hosts the title game) or 1 pm.
 
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