Spring Break
Third-ranked Ursinus gets ahead early, defeates field hockey 8-3
Issue date: 11/5/09
Saturday marked the last regular season game for the women's field hockey team as Hopkins lost to third-ranked Ursinus College 8-3. The Jays entered the game with a 12-4 record overall and were 6-3 in conference play, while the Bears held a 15-2 overall record and were a perfect 9-0 in conference matches.
"Playing a fast and highly-skilled team like Ursinus is always a challenge, especially when they've always been highly favored to win," senior goalkeeper Sophia Tieu said. "We have nothing to lose against them, so we're more likely to take risks on the field that pay off."
The Bears got on the board first as Jessica Zatwarnicki scored on a shot from the right side six minutes into play. Less than two minutes later, Hopkins was able to retaliate as senior midfielder Brittany Bland struck a penalty corner to junior forward Jenn Motylinski, who stopped the ball to allow fellow junior midfielder Ariana Branchini to find the net. The goal was Branchini's fifth of the season. Unfazed, Ursinus came back to score three consecutive goals in a span of 11:14 to end the half, taking a 4-1 lead into the locker room.
"After the first half, we knew we had some things to tune up, especially in our transition to attack," Branchini said. "We made some adjustments in our defense and focused on how we were going to get the ball out of our backfield and into the attacking zone."
At the start of the second half, the Bears pushed the lead to four as Megan Yoder juggled the ball over Hopkins' defenders and lifted it into the goal. Sophomore forward Carly Bianco responded with a goal of her own at 47:19, beating the Ursinus goalie 1-on-1 from the left side and cutting the lead down to three.
The final 20 minutes of the game, however, was all Ursinus, as the team scored three consecutive goals to build an 8-2 lead. Bland would add a goal off an assist from Branchini, leading to the final score of 8-3.
Tieu played the first half of the game in goal for the Jays, finishing with a season-high 12 saves. With those 12 saves, Tieu now sits at seventh all-time in school history, with a total of 267 saves for her career. Sophomore Kim Stein took over goaltending duties as she came on in relief for the second half of play, making a career-high 10 saves.
The Jays end their season third in the standings, behind Ursinus and Gettysburg. Their strong regular season earned Hopkins a first-round bye in next week's Centennial Conference Tournament.
Hopkins looks to face Gettysburg in the semifinals next Saturday at Ursinus. The Jays hold the advantage in the match up, as they defeated Gettysburg earlier this season on penalty shots.
When asked about what they look to do in the postseason, Tieu said, "Definitely putting more goals in the net and keeping communication up. We'd love to see Ursinus again, but we've got to take care of Gettysburg first. It'll be a good game."
"Playing a fast and highly-skilled team like Ursinus is always a challenge, especially when they've always been highly favored to win," senior goalkeeper Sophia Tieu said. "We have nothing to lose against them, so we're more likely to take risks on the field that pay off."
The Bears got on the board first as Jessica Zatwarnicki scored on a shot from the right side six minutes into play. Less than two minutes later, Hopkins was able to retaliate as senior midfielder Brittany Bland struck a penalty corner to junior forward Jenn Motylinski, who stopped the ball to allow fellow junior midfielder Ariana Branchini to find the net. The goal was Branchini's fifth of the season. Unfazed, Ursinus came back to score three consecutive goals in a span of 11:14 to end the half, taking a 4-1 lead into the locker room.
"After the first half, we knew we had some things to tune up, especially in our transition to attack," Branchini said. "We made some adjustments in our defense and focused on how we were going to get the ball out of our backfield and into the attacking zone."
At the start of the second half, the Bears pushed the lead to four as Megan Yoder juggled the ball over Hopkins' defenders and lifted it into the goal. Sophomore forward Carly Bianco responded with a goal of her own at 47:19, beating the Ursinus goalie 1-on-1 from the left side and cutting the lead down to three.
The final 20 minutes of the game, however, was all Ursinus, as the team scored three consecutive goals to build an 8-2 lead. Bland would add a goal off an assist from Branchini, leading to the final score of 8-3.
Tieu played the first half of the game in goal for the Jays, finishing with a season-high 12 saves. With those 12 saves, Tieu now sits at seventh all-time in school history, with a total of 267 saves for her career. Sophomore Kim Stein took over goaltending duties as she came on in relief for the second half of play, making a career-high 10 saves.
The Jays end their season third in the standings, behind Ursinus and Gettysburg. Their strong regular season earned Hopkins a first-round bye in next week's Centennial Conference Tournament.
Hopkins looks to face Gettysburg in the semifinals next Saturday at Ursinus. The Jays hold the advantage in the match up, as they defeated Gettysburg earlier this season on penalty shots.
When asked about what they look to do in the postseason, Tieu said, "Definitely putting more goals in the net and keeping communication up. We'd love to see Ursinus again, but we've got to take care of Gettysburg first. It'll be a good game."
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