CARLISLE, Pa. - The Dickinson men's soccer team knew the bottom line on Saturday as they entered their Senior Day fixture against Johns Hopkins. After Swarthmore knocked off Haverford earlier in the day the Red and White knew that a win would book them a spot in next week's Centennial Conference tournament and thanks to goals from
Colin Hofmann,
Saul Iwowo (2) and
Ethan Jarden the Devils clinched the sixth seed with a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays at Miller Memorial Field.
Dickinson was on the board with just 1:14 off the clock as Jarden played in an in-swinging corner from the left-wing that curled beyond the reach of Hopkins keeper Drew Valsamedis for the early 1-0 lead.
Geoffrey Ogenrwot tried to make it 2-0 three minutes later, but he missed high to the left. Over the next minutes the Blue Jays had the better of the play as chances from Francis Meyer and Griffin Meyer were both denied by DC goalie
Nick Potter. The Red and White tallied three of the following five shots with
Cole Jennings and Iwowo (2) tasking Valsamedis with notching three more saves, while at the other end of the pitch Potter had the answer for Eli Carr to keep things 1-0 at the half-hour mark.
Tyson Burling and Jennings each had a shot block in minutes 31 and 32 respectively, before Potter preserved the clean sheet into the half with stops on Jacob Hammond and Carr.
The Blue Jays got exactly the start they wanted coming out of the break as Jackson Shapiro buried the equalizer at the 47:52 mark. Then after Potter beat aside an offering from G. Meyer, the trio of
Connor Uitterdijk, Iwowo and Jarden each had a shot blocked down by the Jays backline leaving the scoreline at 1-1 entering the final 30 minutes. With 61:11 gone the Devils reclaimed the lead when Ogenrwot served in a cross from the right-side that Iwowo forced home for a 2-1 edge. Valsamedis had the answer for
Johnny Diederich in the 67th, but was not able to duplicate his performance in the 70th when
Luke Beiles slid a pass through to Hofmann who steered it into the net extending the margin to 3-1. Dickinson tried to put the match on ice over the following ten minutes, unfortunately, none of the chances from
Giorgio Gayleard,
Jordan Grivekov and Burling bothered Valsamedis. That gave Hopkins a chance to make things a little interesting late in the match as Max Edelstein put home a rebound off a stop from Potter on Carr with 89:00 gone. However, the Devils were not done as Iwowo chipped a shot past the keeper with just seven seconds left to lock-up the 4-2 win.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Iwowo (2), Hofmann and Jarden (1)
Shots - Iwowo (5), Jarden and Jennings (2)
Saves - Potter (8)
Blue Jay Leaders
Goals - Edelstein and Shapiro (1)
Shots - Carr (4), G. Meyer (3), Edelstein (2)
Saves - Valsamedis (4)
Next on the Pitch
Dickinson (9-6-2, 3-4-2 Centennial) will now set their sights on the third-seeded Muhlenberg College Mules on Tuesday in a Centennial Conference First Round match in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Match time will be announced on Monday.
