On Sept. 20, Swarthmore men’s and women’s soccer packed their bags and boarded buses for Baltimore to play their long-time conference rival Johns Hopkins University. The day began Centennial Conference play for both Garnet teams. The men came into their game carrying momentum from a 1-0 win against Widener College, in the Delco Darby, four days before, but a close, 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays during the 2024 season still loomed in the air. With a new roster filled by experienced upperclassmen and excited first years, the Swarthmore men had a fighting chance to win.
The women’s team, ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coach’s Top-25 Poll, played The College of New Jersey in a frustrating 2-2 draw the past Saturday. Having a full week to recover and develop the tactics necessary to beat the No. 24-ranked Hopkins, Swarthmore came into the match with high expectations. After beating the No. 13-ranked Washington and Lee University and barely losing 1-2 to No. 19-ranked Rowan University early in the season, the Garnet stepped onto the field with the experience of playing higher-caliber teams and an air of confidence.
The men’s game opened at noon, with the women stepping on the field shortly after its final whistle.
Men’s Soccer vs. Johns Hopkins University, 2-2
On a clear, warm afternoon, Swarthmore Garnet matched up against the Hopkins Blue Jays with around 125 members in the audience. First-year keeper Colin Crowe ’29 started in goal, his seventh consecutive start of the season. In the first three minutes of game time, each team drew a foul, highlighting the intensity to which they started the match. Hopkins scored an early goal in the fourth minute with a close range shot that whipped past the keeper’s head. Just two minutes later, the Blue Jays found another goal, upping the score to 2-0. Hopkins ramped up their aggression, drawing three consecutive fouls.
In the eighteenth minute, Jackson Haynes ’26 replied with a foul of his own, receiving a yellow card. Hopkins set up a freekick but missed wide right of the goal. Soon after, the Blue Jays drew their first yellow. Swarthmore’s first shot came from Max Wheeler ’29, which was placed in the bottom center of the goal for the keeper to scoop up. In the twenty-third minute, Crowe saved a Hopkin’s shot targeted for the bottom-left of the net. A minute later, Len Yamabe ’27 pressed the Hopkins defender and blocked an attempted clearance. Now with possession deep into the opponent’s half, Shlok Kaul ’27 found the ball from Yamabe. He made a big touch past the Hopkins keeper, and slid the ball into the back of the net. The score, now a manageable 2-1, suddenly looked more competitive. Kaul cracked a shot into the bottom center of goal, but was denied. Five more fouls on Hopkins were made. The buzzer rang, finishing the first half with the Garnet trailing by one. Despite the score, the Garnet and Blue Jays seemed evenly matched, taking three and four shots, respectively. Both teams struggled to get to the endline, attempting one corner each. Hopkins, however, drew ten fouls to the Garnet’s two.
The second half opened with a threatening Garnet shot attempt. Joseph Eyiolowope ’26 placed one in the top right corner, saved by the Hopkins keeper. The Blue Jays responded with a shot of their own, skied past the crossbar. A freekick granted to Hopkins after a Swarthmore foul was also beamed above the goal. The Garnet drew multiple fouls to start the half, and Anzel Zhen ’28 received a cautionary yellow card. Crowe then saved a shot placed at the bottom center of the goal. In the sixty-eighth minute, Javier Minuesa Sicilia ’29 shot the ball, which traveled past the right side of the net. Hopkins took their first corner of the half in the 73rd minute, but the Garnet successfully defended the cross. Swarthmore found an attacking rhythm, as Kaden Cho ’29 and Kaul slowed the game down, threading passes to each other until Cho pinged a ball to Toshiro Kenney ’26, who scored a game-tying header. With just nine minutes left in play, Hopkins attempted a corner but was denied a shot. Crowe made late-game saves in the eighty-third and eighty-sixth minutes, determined to keep Hopkins away from net. The Garnet attempted their first corner kick with three minutes left, but couldn’t produce. Yamabe’s shot to the bottom left of goal was saved by the Blue Jays keeper. The buzzer rang after the ninetieth minute, marking a 2-2 comeback draw for the Garnet. The Blue Jays outshot the Garnet ten to seven, but Crowe’s dominant presence locked down the goal in the second half. Although the Garnet drew a high nine fouls, Hopkins was called for fifteen. Swarthmore men’s soccer are currently 0-0-1 in conference play. They take on Franklin & Marshall College at Clothier Field Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Women’s Soccer vs. Johns Hopkins University, 2-1
With 200 fans in the audience, the No. 21-ranked Garnet had something to prove against the No. 24-ranked Blue Jays. Dahlia Bedward ’26, a quick and agile keeper, started her seventh consecutive game of the season in goal.
The game got to a pacey start early: Hopkins found width and depth in their formation, taking space on the dribble early. The Blue Jays got the first corner in the seventh minute, but the Garnet successfully defended it. Charlotte Sims ’27 showed her aggression with a large tackle, drawing a foul and a warning of her dominant press. Pressing high, Swarthmore drew another foul. In the fourteenth minute, Sims hit a shot into the bottom right of the Blue Jays’ goal, whose keeper saved it. Hopkins responded a minute later with their own attempt, saved by Bedward. The Blue Jays attacked deep into the Garnet’s half, drawing another corner that was defended by the Garnet. As a Hopkins player was dribbling closer to the shooting range, Bedward came out of the goal to close down the space in front of her. She blocked the shot, and the Swarthmore backline pressed a rebounded shot attempt into one way off to the right side of the goal. However, in the thirty-second minute, Hopkins shot the ball in close range, slipping a low-placed ball into the net. They then took three more shots in the last ten minutes of the half, closing out the first half with a strong Hopkins attack. In the opening half, Swarthmore made one shot attempt to Hopkin’s seven. The Garnet also struggled to find crosses and go 1v1 down the endline, without a corner opportunity.
The intensity of the game picked up after half-time. Ava Gizzie ’27 tied the score with a blocked clear attempt and a bullet of a goal into the net. In an aggressive and relentless Hopkins attack, Bedward and the defensive line continued to close down and block shot attempts. Bedward blocked four shots of seven attempts in the ten minute stretch. The Garnet received their first corner opportunity in the fifty-ninth minute but couldn’t capitalize. Celia Kanellakos ’28 then cracked a shot fired left of the goal minutes later. During one play, the Hopkins keeper attempted to build out of the back with a ball to her centerback. With Sims sprinting to lock down the backline’s space, the centerback played the ball right into Stella Saad’s ’29 feet. At the eighteen-yard box, Saad had no pressure on her and easily placed a ball into the bottom left corner as the Hopkins keeper dove to no avail. With twenty minutes to go, the Garnet needed to slow the game down in their favor. Hopkins reacted to their first trailing score with a stretch of five shots in three minutes. Bedward made three saves, stopping two balls from entering the bottom right corner, and one to the center of the net. A Blue Jays corner attempt was defended well in the 83rd minute. Hopkins, eager for another crack at net, made egregious fouls and dirty plays but couldn’t escape their scoring drought. A shot with one minute left in the game was picked up by Bedward. The buzzer rang, marking the Garnet’s first win against Hopkins since 2018. The Garnet are currently 1-0-0 in conference play. In the second half, Bedward made eight saves to fifteen Hopkins shots. Although the Blue Jays overshot the Garnet 22 to five, Swarthmore’s relentless press proved more dangerous than any Hopkins shot attempt. The Garnet play Bryn Mawr College at Clothier Stadium on Sept. 24.
