NORTHFIELD, MN – Playing its first game against a team from the state of Minnesota since 2002, the fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins women's soccer team opened the 2025 season with a 1-1 draw at Carleton on Saturday afternoon.  The first-ever game between the Blue Jays and Knights featured 22 shots and nine corner kicks, but all the scoring was confined to a four-minute spurt late in the game as Carleton struck first and the Blue Jays answered with the game-tying goal just 3:33 later.
 
After more than 75 minutes of scoreless action, it was the Knights who would strike first on a quick transition goal in the 76^th minute.  After collecting a loose ball on the home side of midfield, Lauren Caldwell threaded a pass to Kathryn Kresse between a pair of Blue Jay defenders and Kresse broke in alone on Blue Jay goalie Emma Anderson from 40 yards out.  Just inside the top of the box and with Anderson holding about six yards off her line, Kresse fired one low to the far corner and just inside the post to opening the scoring.
 
Already the more dangerous of the two teams throughout, the Blue Jay turned up the pressure and pulled even in the 80^th minute.  Graduate student Kei Kitamura controlled a failed clearing attempt by the Knight defense in the middle of the field and quickly found sophomore Carolyn Johnson just outside the box.  Johnson calmly and quickly worked back to middle with a defender on her back, turned and rifled a laser past the outstretched arms of Carleton goalie Avery Trapp for the equalizer.

ICYMI - here's that Carolyn Johnson strike from distance in today's season opener. #GoHop pic.twitter.com/RD7v2J5uAh

— Johns Hopkins Women's Soccer (@HopkinsWSoccer) August 30, 2025

 
Blue Jay freshman Lena Olbrys nearly played the hero five minutes later as shortly after subbing on she shook free in the middle and cleanly beat Trapp from the top of the box, only to have her offering hit squarely off the post to keep things even.
 
The Johns Hopkins defense allowed just two shots after the Kresse goal with Anderson equal to a Claire Burbery attempt in the 83^rd minute.  The Blue Jays' only one chance after Olbrys hit the post was another Johnson attempt from distance that Trapp easily controlled.
 
Johns Hopkins outshot Carleton, which advanced to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, 16-6 and took six of the nine corners in the game.  Other than the Johnson goal and Olbrys' late offering, the Blue Jays best chance may have been in the second minute of the game, when senior Maria Romo-Nichols got her right foot free near the top of the box and worked to the middle before ripping one just over the crossbar.
 
Johns Hopkins will make the quick turnaround as the Blue Jays will play at St. Olaf on Sunday (3 pm (ET)).