Blue Jays Fly Away With Overtime Win
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Johns Hopkins freshman midfielder Allie Zazzali (Scotch Plains, N.J. / Scotch Plaines-Fanwood) scored the game-winner late in the second overtime to send the visiting Blue Jays to a 1-0 Centennial victory over the 18th-ranked Swarthmore women's soccer team at muggy Clothier Field Wednesday night.
The lone goal in the game came at the 106:24 mark as junior midfielder Chrissy McCurdy (Mountainside, N.J. / Governor Livingstone) sent a cross from the left flank that found Zazzali 15 yards in front of the near post. The freshman turned and hit the ball with her left foot, beating Swarthmore goalkeeper Lauren Walker (Fallston, Mary. / The Hotchkiss School) to give the visitors their fifth consecutive win over the Garnet. It was just the second goal Walker has allowed in 720:28 (0.25 goals-against average, second-best in CC).
The Blue Jays (7-1-3, 3-1-0 CC) halted Swarthmore's seven-game win streak, handing the hometown side their first setback of 2007. The Garnet know stand at 7-1-0 overall and 3-1-0 in the Centennial.
The Blue Jays, fresh off a tough 1-0 overtime loss at #3 College of New Jersey on Monday, controlled much of the action in the first half. Hopkins's best chance of the half came on a corner kick in the 14th minute as McCurdy's header from 12 yards out was blocked. Blue Jay forward Kate Dunn (Westford, N.J. / Westford Academy) chipped the rebound towards the open right corner of the Swarthmore goal. Walker came flying in, barely touching the ball safely away.
Swarthmore's best chance came midway through the half when freshman midfielder Megan Colombo (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia) flicked on a ball that forward Katie Kanuka (Ontario, Canada / Holy Trinity) ran onto with the Blue Jay defenders trailing behind. JHU goalkeeper Karen Guszkowski (Sayreville, N.J. / Cardinal McCarrick) darted and knocked the ball way before Kanuka could take a shot.
The score remained knotted at 0-0 at the intermission, with the shot total (four aside) mirroring the scoreboard. Swarthmore freshman backs Sarah Reece (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa) and Lauren Bolger (Centerport, N.Y. / Harborfields) played brilliantly on the backline, curtailing many Blue Jay runs down the sidelines.
The Blue Jays had another golden opportunity at the beginning of the second half, as Zazzali hit the left post of the Swarthmore goal. The ball caromed off the inside of the post and dribbled back across the mouth, clear of harm's way.
The teams went to the extra time with JHU owning a 12-11 shot advantage.
The extra session was rather uneventful until Zazzali connected for her third goal of the season.
Walker and Guszkowski both posted seven saves in evenly-played match (14 shots for each team) that could be re-played at the end of October.
The Swarthmore women will travel to Bryn Mawr this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for its next Centennial Conference match.