Stafford's Late Goal Lifts Johns Hopkins Past F&M, 2-1

Blue Jays Run Unbeaten Streak to 13 with Centennial Victory

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Sophomore Erin Stafford's third goal of the season proved to be the game-winner in Wednesday's 2-1 win over F&M.

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Oct. 15, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Sophomore Erin Stafford (Doylestown, PA/Villa Joseph Maria) scored her third goal of the season with just over two minutes remaining in regulation to lift the eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over visiting Franklin & Marshall at Homewood Field Wednesday afternoon. The win improved the Blue Jays' record to 10-0-3 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial Conference, while the Diplomats had a four-game winning streak snapped and slip to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the Centennial. The Blue Jays are unbeaten in their last 14 games against the Diplomats and now have wins over Swarthmore and Franklin & Marshall, which entered today's action tied for second in the Centennial Conference standings behind Johns Hopkins.

With overtime on the horizon, Stafford collected a pass from freshman Leslie O'Brien (Huntington, NY/Huntginton) at the top of the box and fired a shot into the far corner of the goal past the out-stretched arms of Diplomat goalie Erin Roy (Boxborough, MA/Middlesex). The assist is the second of O'Brien's career.

The Blue Jays had needed just 5:38 at the beginning of the game to break through as sophomore Eric Suter (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) tallied an her team-leading eighth goal of the season with a nifty individual effort. After taking pass to Roy's right near the top of the box, Suter slipped through a pair of defenders before poking a shot inside the far post from six yards out.

The 1-0 lead held for nearly 60 minutes before the Diplomats made them pay after a failure to clear the ball under pressure. Senior Amy Cawley (Fleetwood, PA/Oley Valley) slipped a pass to classmate Danielle David (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Germantown) on the left side of the box and David beat a defenseless Karen Guszkowski (Sayreville, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) for her team-leading seventh goal of the season to draw the Diplomats even. Both teams had chances to take a 2-1 lead over the next 20 minutes, but it was Stafford's late-game heroics that sealed the victory for the Blue Jays.

Guszkowski posted two saves in goal for the Blue Jays, while Roy made five for the Diplomats. Johns Hopkins held a 12-6 advantage in shots and took the only two corner kicks of the game.

Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday when the Blue Jays travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania to take on Muhlenberg.

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