EWING, N.J. – The No. 10 TCNJ women's soccer team's season came to an end on Sunday with a 5-0 loss to No. 18 Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Jays (17-2-3) handed the Lions their first and only loss of the year and advanced to a date with NYU in the 'Sweet Sixteen' next weekend.
Carrie McIntire broke a scoreless deadlock with 12:00 to play in the first half, then netted a second just 2:24 after halftime. Katie Sullivan put the game to bed with a hat-trick over the span of a little more than seven minutes of game time, turning a highly anticipated clash of perennial powers into a runaway.
Despite the final score, TCNJ had its opportunities in a back-and-forth first half. The Lions served notice right away as
Victoria D'Imperio set up
Cassidy DiSabato for a right-footed shot that forced Allyson Shick to the turf to make a low save on a ball that she spilled, but not far enough for a lurking
Ella Van Dine to poach the rebound.
DiSabato thought she had a look at an opener 19 minutes in, but her run was judged just offsides as she chipped the ball over an on-rushing Shick. A few minutes later,
Rachel Burkhard made a critical intervention to get in front of a dangerous look for Olivia Piraino, who had maneuvered onto her right foot for an shot open well inside the box.
Johns Hopkins came within an inch of a lead with 25 minutes gone, but Lily Gaston's looping left-footed shot clipped the crossbar and bounced back away from the net to safety.
The game turned entirely around the 12-minute mark of the first half.
Jenny Ward got behind the Blue Jays' back line but had her attempted chip parried away by Shick.
Raquel Garces latched onto the rebound and directed a shot towards the empty net, but it was deflected away by a Hopkins defender. With shouts for a handball going begging, the Blue Jays sprung out in transition, and McIntire volleyed in a cross from Maria Romo-Nichols to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with 11:58 to go in the half.
The Blue Jays wasted little time doubling their advantage after halftime. Sullivan's free kick from 25 yards was parried onto the bar by
Ellen Williams, but the rebound came down to Olivia Piraino, who laid off a pass for McIntire to fire into the corner of the net for her second goal and a 2-0 lead in the 48
th minute.
Williams made a terrific diving save to deny Johns Hopkins a third about 10 minutes into the second half, going down to her right to snare a low liner from Megha Salvi.
Sullivan, however, made it 3-0 in the 58
th with a rocket of a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net. She added a second five minutes later, volleying in a corner from Juliana Taxter and completed her hat-trick less than three minutes after that.
TCNJ's seniors – Burkhard,
Greta Bush, Curtis, D'Imperio, DiSabato,
Allie O'Keefe,
Caroline Rebele,
Rachel Robichaud, and
Ella Van Dine – capped their incredible careers with an overall record 69-8-7, winning three NJAC championships and making a run to the NCAA championship game in 2021. Both the 2021 and 2024 campaigns saw the Lions go unbeaten until the NCAA Tournament.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Johns Hopkins owned a 26-9 advantage in shots
- The Blue Jays had four corners to the Lions' two
- Sullivan's three goals came on a game-high seven shots
- McIntire and Salvi each had four shots
- Eight different Lions registered a shot, with Curtis the lone player to take two
- Burkhard and Curtis played all 90 minutes for TCNJ
NOTES
- TCNJ has had a remarkable 14 one-loss seasons in its 34-year program history
- D'Imperio ends her career 4th in program history in goals (52) and 5th in points (116). She led the team with 15 goals this season and scored 48 over her final three collegiate seasons
- Curtis (75), Robichaud (63), D'Imperio (59), Rebele (57), and O'Keefe (51) all started 50-plus games in their TCNJ careers
- TCNJ posted 13 shutouts in 2024 and had allowed only seven goals all season until Sunday
