BALTIMORE, Md. - Sophomore David Robinson picked a good time to score his first goal of the year, pounding home the game-winner in Haverford College's 2-1 upset of host Johns Hopkins University Friday night in a Centennial Conference men's soccer tournament semifinal at Homewood Field. The victory over the Blue Jays was Haverford's first since 1995.
Haverford (11-6-1), the tournament's fifth seed, won its eighth game in a row and never trailed the top-seeded Blue Jays (10-5-3) who failed to reach the playoff final from a hosted game for the first time since 2005. The last time a No. 1-seeded Hopkins team didn't advance into the championship round was after a 2-1 loss on Nov. 2, 2001 against Gettysburg College.
Robinson found open space with the ball 30 yards out and to the right of the goal and lashed a crossing shot inside the left post past diving Blue Jays goalkeeper Nick Cerrone in the game's 67th minute. The midfielder's first goal of the season broke a 1-1 tie and eventually sent the Fords into the Centennial championship game for the first time in program history.
First-half action was nearly as 50-50 as two teams can get. Both created a pair of corner kick opportunities and the Fords closed out the initial 45 minutes with a one-shot edge, 5-4, over Hopkins. Haverford did create more scoring chances in the half as Cerrone was forced to come up with four saves while Haverford keeper Nick Kahn needed to stop two shots that were on frame.
It didn't take long for the action to heat up in the second half. Senior Alejandro Rettig y Martinez chested down a loose ball in the box for the Fords and slid a shot under Cerrone into the lower right corner of the goal to give Haverford the lead at the 47:25 mark. The score continued an amazing streak for Haverford as it hasn't trailed in a game since the ninth minute of a 2-1 victory over Dickinson College on Oct. 9, which coincidentally was the first of the eight consecutive wins.
Hopkins answered back quickly, getting the equalizer from Kotaro Mitsuhashi two minutes later. That goal seemed to tilt the field downhill for the host Blue Jays who began to pressure the Haverford back line more and more. All it took, though, was one marker to counter that momentum and Robinson stepped up with his bomb to change the complexion of the contest.
From that 67th minute score onward, Haverford was able to clear any Hopkins probe and even generate a few more scoring chances before the final horn.
Kahn finished with three saves in the win while Cerrone had five and was aided by a team save by Sam Glassman on a shot from Haverford's Jamie Reingruber seven seconds before Rettig y Martinez's goal.
Haverford will play in the championship game Sunday at noon on the same field against the winner of the night's second semifinal between Muhlenberg College and Dickinson College.
