Johns Hopkins Women's Soccer NCAA Tournament Notes

Blue Jays Take On Meredith On Saturday At 5 p.m.

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Senior Molly Steele and the class of 2009 will compete in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.

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2008 Johns Hopkins Women's Soccer Season Review

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Nov. 12, 2008

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BALTIMORE, MD -

In The Dance

Johns Hopkins is making its seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Jays earned their first NCAA berth in 1997 following their second Centennial Conference Championship. Hopkins has been awarded an automatic bid in each of the last four seasons after winning the Centennial Conference title.

Johns Hopkins will host the first and second rounds of the tournament this weekend at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays will play Meredith in the first round. Virginia Wesleyan and Richard Stockton will meet in the other first round game at JHU on November 15. The winners meet on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

In 2005 and 2006, the Blue Jays reached the second round of the tournament. Virginia Wesleyan defeated Hopkins in 2006 and 2007. The Marlins advanced on penalty kicks in 2006 and downed the Blue Jays, 2-0 in 2007. Hopkins has a 1-5-2 all-time NCAA Tournament record.

Inside The Series

Hopkins leads the all-time series against Meredith 2-0. The Blue Jays notched a 1-0 victory in 2003 at home. Meredith had an early season run-in with Hopkins this yearas the Blue Jays downed the Avenging Angels, 3-0 in the second round of the Roanoke Invitational to win the tournament.

Scouting The Avenging Angels

Meredith received an automatic NCAA bid after winning the USA South Tournament crown with a 3-1 victory over Christopher Newport, handing the Captains their first loss to a USA South squad all season.

The Avenging Angels come to Baltimore with a five-game win streak extending back to October 29. The team won its first ever USA South Tournament to gain its second NCAA bid in the last three seasons.

Meredith (17-4) has outscored its opponents 75-25 this season and are 9-1-0 on the road. Junior Maggie Hart and sophomore Alex Calvert, who each have recorded 17 goals on the year, lead the Avenging Angels. The underclassmen lead the team with 40 points this season. Between the posts, sophomore Sarah Chadwick has made 80 saves on the season and tallied four shutouts.

Path To The Big Show

With the top record in the Centennial Conference (10-0-0), Hopkins earned the right to host its third consecutive conference tournament. The Blue Jays defeated Muhlenberg, 1-0, in the tournament semifinals in double overtime to advance into the title match. Hopkins won its fourth consecutive conference championship after a penalty kick shootout following two scoreless overtime periods. Earning their fourth straight NCAA bid, the 16-0-4 Blue Jays were picked to host an NCAA first and second round regional. Saturday's match will mark the first NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament game in program history to be hosted by Johns Hopkins.

Climbing The Charts

With an early exit from the NCAA Tournament in 2007, Hopkins was not a preseason NSCAA top 25 pick. It didn't take long to change that, as the Blue Jays earned the No. 15 spot on September 9 after posting four shutouts to open the season. Hopkins was rated No. 9 the very next week (9/16/08) after playing No. 2 Messiah to a scoreless draw. The Blue Jays continued their surge, earning a program-best No. 5 ranking and moved into the No. 1 position in the Middle Atlantic region on September 30. Hopkins spent one week at No. 9 before improving to the No. 7 slot where it has remained since October 21.

Top Performers

Sophomore Jenn Paulucci (Manalapan, NJ/Freehold Boro) and freshman Erica Suter (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) were each awarded Centennial Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after leading JHU to the Centennial Conference title. Suter scored the game-winner for Hopkins in the Centennial Conference semifinals and was named Offensive Player of the Week. The freshman headed in the goal off of a corner kick in the 103rd minute to advance the Blue Jays to their fifth straight Centennial title match. Suter has recorded 11 goals on the season and is tied for sixth in single-season goals in the JHU record books. Paulucci led a stingy defense that did not allow a goal through 213 minutes of playoff action through the Centennial Conference Tournament. The sophomore earned the second Defensive Player of the Week selection of the season as she received the honor on September 2 for her role in the Blue Jays' three shutouts to open the season.

Streaks

The No. 7 Johns Hopkins women's soccer team enters the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game shutout streak. The Blue Jays have not allowed a goal in 404:43 dating back to October 25.

JHU opened its season with a five shutout wins, including a win over Meredith, 3-0, on August 30. The Blue Jays have posted 15 shutouts as a team while 11 shutouts are credited to the efforts of junior goalkeeper Karen Guszkowski (Sayreville, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick), who has tallied 58 saves this season.

Homewood Advantage

Hopkins is unbeaten in its last 16 contests played at Homewood Field, dating back to October 6, 2007. 12 of the 16 games were shutout victories. The Blue Jays have posted three consecutive shutouts at Homewood to head into the NCAA Tournament with a 16-0-4 record after hosting the Centennial Conference Tournament. JHU has posted a 103-31-16 record at home in 17 seasons.

Around The Nation

Junior keeper Karen Guszkowski (Sayreville, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) and her 0.317 goals against average (as of 11/2/08) rank seventh nationally among Division III goalkeepers, as she posted 11 shutouts this season. Guszkowski also owns the fifth-best save percentage in Division III (.911, 11/2/08).

With 13 shutouts (as of 11/2/08) on the year, Hopkins ranks sixth in the country, boasting a 0.722 shutout percentage. The Blue Jays also rank in the top 20 in team goals against average with a 0.479 (No. 17).

Best of the Best

Hopkins has outscored its opponents 48-9 in 2008, averaging 2.40 goals per game and soaring to its first unbeaten season in program history at 16-0-4 (10-0-0 Centennial). The Blue Jays out-shot their opposition 202-72 for the season.

Academically Speaking

Sophomores Sarah Gieszl (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier College Prep) and Jenn Paulucci (Manalapan, NJ/Freehold Boro) were named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Team. Paulucci earned second team honors, while Gieszl earned third team honors. Paulucci has a 4.0 cumulative GPA, while Gieszl boasts a 3.6 cumulative mark. To qualify for nomination, the student-athlete must have a 3.3 or high cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key reserve.

All-Conference

Five Blue Jays garnered All-Centennial honors after a stellar 15-0-3 regular season record. Freshman Erica Suter (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) earned first team honors to become one of just 20 rookies all-time to earn a first-team spot. Sophomore Jenn Paulucci (Manalapan, NJ/Freehold Boro) was also a first team selection and the only unanimous all-conference selection. Paulucci was also named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Senior midfielder Molly Steele (Daleville, VA/North Cross), sophomore defender Sarah Gieszl (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier College Prep) and junior goalkeeper Karen Guszkowski (Sayreville, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) each earned second team all-conference honors. Steele earned her third consecutive All-Centennial accolade after a first team selection in 2007 and a second team honor in 2006. Gieszl was also selected for the Centennial Academic Honor Roll.

Coach of the Year

Head coach Leo Weil was recently voted Centennial Conference women's soccer Coach of the Year by his league peers. Weil led the Blue Jays to their first unbeaten season (15-0-3) in an 18-year program history. On October 11th, Weil tallied his 200th career victory at JHU with a 1-0 win over Gettysburg. He has posted a 203-83-27 mark in 17 seasons. Weil has finished each of the last 13 seasons with a .675 or better win percentage.

Ol' Faithful

Freshman Erica Suter (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) has scored four game-winning goals in her rookie campaign at Hopkins. The latest came against Muhlenberg in the Centennial Conference semifinals, where she headed home the winning shot in a scramble following a corner kick from senior Lisa Irizarry (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) in the second overtime, advancing Hopkins to the conference title game. The game-winner against Muhlenberg was the second for Suter in an overtime period at home this season. The freshman earned the win for the Blue Jays against Haverford on October 3.

Depth Perception

19 Blue Jays have seen action in 10 or more contests in 2008. 15 players have recorded points in one of JHU's 20 matches. The Hopkins roster boasts 17 returning letter winners who were part of the 2007 Centennial Conference championship squad and NCAA Tournament berth. The five seniors will play in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament after capturing the last four Centennial titles to earn an automatic bid.