The Basics
• Score: #5 Johns Hopkins-2, #4 Tufts-1 (OT)
• Records: JHU (19-2) • TU (15-5)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Homewood Field
• The Short Story: One year to the day that the Johns Hopkins field hockey team lost in the NCAA Semifinals, the Blue Jays beat that same Tufts squad in overtime to punch its ticket back to the final four. Hopkins scored just 59 seconds into the first overtime to beat fourth-ranked Tufts in the NCAA Quarterfinals Sunday at Homewood Field.
 
How it Happened
• After a scoreless first half in which the teams combined for just six shots, it was Hopkins that struck first. The Blue Jays earned a corner, their fifth of the game, and capitalized to go up 1-0 with 12:20 to play in the third quarter. Sophomore Sarah Matyas dropped a pass to classmate Maddie Brown-Scherer, who then centered the ball to senior Katie McErlean. She one-timed the pass into the left-side of the cage for her team-leading 14^th goal of the season.
• Tufts answered back midway through the fourth quarter, as the Jumbos capitalized on their third and final corner of the game. Marguerite Salamone inserted the corner to Sophie Schoeni, who then passed to Beth Krikorian on her left. Krikorian took the pass and fired a low, hard shot from the near side and into the back of the cage with 6:31 left in regulation.
• The Blue Jays needed less than a minute of overtime to end the game and punch their ticket back to the national semifinals. McErlean received sophomore Abby Birk's corner and passed to Brown-Scherer, who's shot from the far side somehow slipped through two defenders and the Jumbos goalie. The ball looked like it would just skip wide, but sophomore Izzy Thompson came sliding in and knocked the ball into the cage for the win.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins is now 1-1 all-time against Tufts, with both meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Blue Jays tie the school record with their 19^th win of the season while the senior class picks up its record-breaking 59^th win.
• Hopkins is making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Final Four. Both appearances have come via overtime wins.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Brown-Scherer led the Blue Jays with a career-best two assists and she now ranks second on the team with eight. She has a hand in four of the Blue Jays' five goals in the NCAA Tournament so far.
• McErlean moved into a tie for sixth in school history with her 31^st career goal. Thompson's was her second game-winner of the season and sixth of her career.
• Sophomore Kaitlin Hall made a pair of saves to earn the win as she improves to 16-1 on the season. Her 16 wins are the second most in school single-season history.
• Tufts outshot Hopkins, 7-5, while the Blue Jays had an 8-3 advantage in corners.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins will see a familiar foe in the NCAA Semifinals as JHU will take on sixth-ranked Franklin & Marshall. It will be the third time in the last three weeks that the two teams will meet. The game is slated for an 11:00 am start on Saturday, November 23 at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim, PA.