Johns Hopkins-Ithaca NCAA Tournament Notes

JHU will Take on Ithaca on Thursday afternoon

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Junior Max Venker has scored three goals in the NCAA Tournament in his career, tying the program record.

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Nov. 12, 2008

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A Look Back: Johns Hopkins made its eighth appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament last weekend at Swarthmore. JHU is one of just two teams in the Centennial to appear in all eight tournaments.

Hopkins, seeded third, faced off against second-seeded Gettysburg in the semifinals. It was the fourth straight year that the Blue Jays and the Bullets have met in the tournament. Hopkins went ahead in the 10th minute on a goal by senior Nick Gauna. But Ian Forster answered for Gettysburg in the 22nd minute to tie the game. The teams would need overtime to decide the game and in the 98th minute, Centennial Conference Player of the Year, Matty Carlson scored the golden goal for Hopkins.

JHU advanced to the Centennial title game for the sixth time in eight years and took on host Swarthmore. One goal would decide the winner and it came off the foot of the Garnet's David Sterngold in the 61st minute.

The Centennial Conference Tournament: This is the first time Hopkins has not been the Centennial Conference champion in an even-numbered year since 1994. The Blue Jays won the conference title in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Last season was the first time Hopkins had claimed the trophy in an odd-numbered year.

In all, Hopkins has won the Centennial Conference seven times - the most in the history of the conference. Muhlenberg ranks second with five titles.

Goin' Dancin': Johns Hopkins is making its 12th overall and third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Jays are 11-12-2 all-time in the tournament, including two final four appearances (1975, 1994) and one championship game appearance (1994).Hopkins last made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Against the Bombers: Thursday afternoon's game will be the first ever meeting between Johns Hopkins and Ithaca in men's soccer.

At the Helm: Head coach Craig Appleby is in his first season at Johns Hopkins and carries a 12-5-3 record with the Blue Jays. Appleby came to JHU after spending six seasons as the head coach of Emory & Henry.

Coach Appleby Stands Alone: Head coach Craig Appleby is the first coach in program history to guide Johns Hopkins to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. In addition, he is the first coach in the history of the Centennial Conference to turn the trick.

The Bombers in the Big Dance: Ithaca (11-4-3), regular-season champions of the Empire 8 and conference tournament runner up, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Bombers are making their 13th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, 14th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2002. The last 11 NCAA trips have come under head coach Andy Byrne. Ithaca is 9-12-3 in NCAA playoff competition (two of the three ties resulted in the Bombers advancing on penalty kicks; in the other one, Ithaca was eliminated in penalty kicks).

Against the Field: Three of Hopkins' opponents in 2008 were selected to the NCAA Tournament - York, Swarthmore and Dickinson. The Blue Jays are a combined 2-2 against those teams this season. With a win over Ithaca on Thursday, Hopkins would advance to a second round match-up with York.

I'm Honored: Senior midfielder Matty Carlson was named the 2008 Centennial Conference Player of the Year on November 6. He is the fourth player in program history and the first field player since 2000 to earn the honor. He also earned First Team All-Centennial Conference honors, making him a three-time all-conference selection.

Carlson was joined on the first team by sophomore forward Scott Bukoski. A two-time first team selection, Bukoski leads the Blue Jays in scoring for the second consecutive season. Hopkins has had more first team selections (42) in the 16-year history of the conference than any other school, though Gettysburg is a close second with 41 first team picks.

Earning second team honors were senior midfielder Nick Gauna and freshman defender Corey Adams. Gauna is a three-time All-Centennial pick and ranks in the top 10 in school history in career points (82) and assists (26). Adams was one of just two freshmen to earn All-Centennial honors in 2008 and is just the second freshman defender from Hopkins to earn All-Centennial honors.

Junior goalie Matt Mierley and sophomore forward David Drake earned All-Centennial Honorable Mention honors. Mierley has played over 1500 minutes in goal this season and posts a 0.80 goals against average and a .770 save percentage. Drake earns all-conference honors despite missing six games with a broken hand. He is tied for fourth on the team in points (9) and goals (4).

Scouting the Bombers: The Bombers are led by senior goalkeeper Andy Wilhelm, who was recently named All-Empire 8 First Team goalkeeper. Wilhelm is 11-4-3 on the season with seven shutouts. Junior back Michael Jordhamo and sophomore midfielder Jeff Geyer joined Wilhelm on the All-Empire 8 First Team. Jordhamo has started all 18 games for Ithaca and is part of a defense that has allowed just 13 goals on the year. Geyer is tied for the team lead in goals (5) and assists (3) with senior midfielder Jason Kaufman. Senior forward Kurt Odenbach. Kaufman and Odenbach were All-Empire 8 second team selections.

Welcome Back David: Sophomore forward David Drake missed six games earlier this season due to injury. He returned to action on Sept. 24 at Neumann but did not return to the starting line-up until Oct. 4 against Muhlenberg. After tallying just one assist prior to his injury, Drake has four goals in his last 10 games.

On the Move: Senior Nick Gauna enters the NCAA Tournament with 82 career points, ranking him seventh all-time in school history. In addition, he is tied for 10th with 28 career goals and fourth with 26 career assists. In Centennial Conference history, he is tied for ninth in career assists and 23rd in career points.

Scott Bukoski is also making his mark on the record book. The sophomore already ranks in the top-15 in career points and goals. He ranks 13th with 69 points and tied for eighth with 29 goals. Last season, he became just the fifth player in program history to score 20 or more goals in one season.

Leading the Way: For the second consecutive season, sophomore forward Scott Bukoski leads Hopkins in both points (23) and goals (9). In addition, he is tied for the lead in the Centennial Conference in points, goals and game-winning goals (4).

In the Ranks: Johns Hopkins dropped out of the NSCAA top 25 on Nov. 4 after losses to Gettysburg and Washington. That snapped a streak of five consecutive weeks in the top 25 for the Blue Jays. The program record for consecutive weeks in the NSCAA top 25 is 31 from Oct. 28, 1996 to Oct. 4, 1999.

NCAA Tournament History: Junior Max Venker has scored three goals in the NCAA Tournament in his career - tying the school record. He is tied with Aerik Williams `02, Teddy Zingman `00 and Jared Lawrence `96. Senior Nick Gauna has tallied two assists in the NCAA Tournament in his career, tying him with Ryan Kitzen `02 for the program record.