The Johns Hopkins women's soccer team continued its stunning run through the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night as the Blue Jays shocked fifth-ranked and previously unbeaten Lynchburg, 3-1, in the Sweet 16. The win pushes Hopkins into the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in four years and earns the Blue Jays a date with top-ranked defending national champion Messiah on Sunday at 5 pm.
Johns Hopkins improves to 18-4-1 with the victory, while the Hornets' season comes to an end at 21-1-3.
Lynchburg had allowed two goals in a game just twice this season, but the Blue Jays hit that mark in the first half as Kelly Baker and Jenny Hall scored before intermission to stake JHU to a 2-0 lead.
Baker struck first when sophomore Hannah Kronick crossed a ball from the end line back to Baker, who fired her ninth goal of the season just inside the far post in the 19th minute.
The one-goal lead held until 90 seconds before halftime, when junior Jenny Hall netted her second goal of the season to give the Blue Jays the 2-0 lead. After the Blue Jays played a corner kick into the box, the Hornets failed to clear it and Hall pounced on the loose ball and beat Lynchburg goalie Audrey Moore.
As expected, Lynchburg came out strong in the second half and cut the two-goal deficit in half with a strike by Angela Bosco exactly two minutes after halftime. Bosco took a header over the defense in stride and floated a ball over the head of JHU goalie Meredith Maguire.
Hopkins regained its two-goal cushion 15 minutes after Bosco struck when sophomore Emily Nagourney fired a free kick into the top left corner for her second goal of the season.
Despite the four goals, the game was statistically defensive. Both teams fired eight shots and JHU held a slight 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. Maguire made four saves in goal for the Blue Jays, while Moore had one save for the Hornets.