19th November 2009
It's 2008 Nationals All Over Again
A Tie to Georgia Leaves Hopkins Needing a Win Against Colorado State
By Chris de LaiglesiaThis was finally it, the main event. Having a successful season meant nothing in the eyes of the competition, and Hopkins needed to prove they could compete at the highest level. This was game time, and everyone in the team knew this. The opening game was against Georgia, and a win was crucial in proceeding into the next round. The early 8am kickoff was not what Hopkins was hoping for, but this meant that the weather wouldn't be outrageously hot. Georgia actually only brought 12 players, which meant that they were probably going to tire pretty rapidly.
The game started off much in Hopkins control, as Hamilton and Tait played through Macgriff and de Laiglesia through to several chances in the opening minutes and a goal rapidly followed. As the Georgia defense attempted to play the ball into the midfield, de Laiglesia intercepted it and was on a one-on-one with the keeper. He proceeded to take it on his left foot, and chipped the keeper for the lead. It seems as though that was the wake up call that Georgia needed, as they dominated the rest of the half, by keeping the majority of the possession, but were never too much of a threat up top. Sise and Ruppel kept their strikers at bay, while Yoo and Henry were not allowing too much from happening in the wings. Mieles was able to use his gifts more efficiently during the course of the game, as Roscoe was as effective as ever. Mavrothalassitis didn't have too much to do, but made the occasional save to keep the team at 1-0 going to the half.
The second half was much more comfortable, as Hopkins were on top of their opponents, making chances all over the field. Plover gave more energy to the forward line, as Seebacher, managing to get up the line, provided some crucial passes. Johnson, who has been steadily improving throughout the season, prevented any opposition player from getting by him. You could definitely start to see the players from Georgia tiring, and it showed in their game as they became scrappy.
However, late in the half Georgia managed to get the ball to their best player on the edge of the area, who then had the shot of his life, and hit the ball on the left side of the goal, where it collided with the post and went in. Mavrothalassitis managed to get his fingertips on it, but alas, it was not enough, and Georgia were back in the game. Although Hopkins desperately searched for a winner, there was not enough time, and the referee signaled the end of the game.
As it currently stands, Hopkins need a win, or at the very least a draw, against Colorado State to qualify. The Blue Jays did make it difficult for themselves to qualify, but now all they can do is prepare to take on the fresh Colorado State team.
