Championship Central
Top-seeded Dickinson and fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins posted wins in Friday's Centennial Conference men's soccer semifinals to advance to the title round. The Red Devils (12-0-7) will host the Blue Jays (8-6-6) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Miller Memorial Field.
Sunday's matchup will mark the second time that the Red Devils and Blue Jays have squared off for the title, with the other time occuring in 2009. Hopkins topped Dickinson 2-1 in a neutral site championship at Muhlenberg, which marked JHU head coach Craig Appleby's first CC crown. Hopkins is the two-time defending champion and is making its fourth straight championship game appearance, while Dickinson returns to the championship for the first time since 2017.
In Carlisle, Pa., Dickinson scored three times in the opening 45 minutes and never looked back with a 3-0 win over sixth-seeded Muhlenberg at Miller Memorial Field on Friday night.
Dickinson needed just under four minutes to take a 1-0 lead as a corner kick played in from the right by Jeremy Sallade found the head of a Muhlenberg defender who deflected the ball past keeper Taye Edwards for the own goal. In the 16th minute, Luke Finkielstein finished a long throw-in from Sallade to push the Red Devils to a 2-0 edge. Dickinson closed out the scoring in the 33rd minute when Ethan Jarden forced a pass through the Muhlenberg defense to Saul Iwowo, who touched it home.
In Gettysburg, Pa., Brendan Listzwan headed home the game-winner in the 74th minute to lift Johns Hopkins to a 2-1 win over host and second-seeded Gettysburg Friday night.
Hopkins grabbed the early lead when Connor Wilkes was tripped in the box just 2:03 into the game. Alex Gardner stepped to the spot and beat Sean Kennedy on the penalty kick. It is Gardner's third straight game with a goal. The lead was short-lived however as the Bullets drew a foul in the box in the 12th minute. Sergio Neto scored on the kick to draw Gettysburg level.
The Bullets outshot the Blue Jays 7-0 during a 15-minute stretch, but John Ghanem and the Blue Jay defense kept the home team at bay. It was then Hopkins' turn and the Blue Jays had seven straight shots, including two that hit the post, over the span of 22 minutes. It was the seventh shot that did the trick. Wilkes took a Blue Jay free kick about 30 yards out, sending the ball towards the middle of the box where Listzwan headed it under the crossbar.
Gettysburg stepped up the pressure, searching for the equalizer. Tommy Myers had a shot in-tight in the 87th minute, but Ghanem punched it out. Finn Hoefer then had one last shot for the Bullets with 95 second to play, but his shot missed just high.
Ghanem finished with two saves as Hopkins pushed its unbeaten streak to six (5-0-1). Kennedy totaled four saves in the loss for Gettysburg.
FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Nov. 4 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#6 Muhlenberg ties #3 Haverford, 1-1 (MUH advances 5-3 in penalty kicks) | Box Score
#4 Johns Hopkins d. #5 McDaniel, 1-0 | Box Score
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Nov. 7 | at #1 & #2 seeds
#4 Johns Hopkins d. #2 Gettysburg, 2-1 | Box Score
#1 Dickinson d. #6 Muhlenberg, 3-0 | Box Score
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, Nov. 9 | Carlisle, Pa.
#4 Johns Hopkins at #1 Dickinson, 1 p.m. | BUY TICKETS
