Aug. 24, 2009
LANCASTER, PA - The Johns Hopkins field hockey team has been picked to finish third in the Centennial Conference in a vote of the conference's head coaches. Four-time defending champion Ursinus garnered 10 first-place votes and 100 points to earn the top spot. Gettysburg edged out JHU for second place with 86 points and one first-place vote. Hopkins, runners-up the last three years, is in third place with 85 points. Haverford (66 points) and Washington College (64) round out the top five.
Hopkins opens its 35th season on Tuesday, September 1 as the Blue Jays travel to Norfolk, VA to take on the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins. Hopkins will play its first five games of the season on the road and opens at Homewood on September 19 against Gettysburg. In fact, the Blue Jays will play just five games at home all season, while playing 12 on the road.
The Blue Jays are coming off a 16-5 season a year ago, where they advanced to the Centennial Conference title game and to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Megan Fraser returns nine starters from last year's team, including senior Andrea Vandersall (Hampton, NH/Winnacunnet), who finished second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and eight assists. Also returning is senior Brittany Bland (Littleton, CO/Colorado Academy) an All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention selection last season with three goals and seven assists. Senior Sophia Tieu (Cupertino, CA/Cupertino) returns for her final season between the pipes and boasts a career goals against average of 1.64 and a save percentage of .744.
School (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Ursinus (10) 100
2. Gettysburg (1) 86
3. Johns Hopkins 85
4. Haverford 66
5. Washington 64
6. Dickinson 51
7. Muhlenberg 46
8. Franklin & Marshall 44
9. McDaniel 34
10. Swarthmore 20
11. Bryn Mawr 10
