Release courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications

BALTIMORE, Md. – Ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins scored in each of the first three quarters en route to a 3-0 win over 15^th-ranked Swarthmore in the Centennial Conference Championship game Saturday at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays improve to 16-4 and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, while the Garnet slip to 12-7.
 
Hopkins wins its eighth straight and 12^th overall Centennial Conference Championship. The eight consecutive and 12 overall titles tie conference records. In addition, head coach Jane Wells now has the most titles (8) in conference history. Sophia Albano was named the Centennial Conference Tournament MVP.
 
The Blue Jays grabbed the lead midway through the first, capitalizing on the second corner of the afternoon. After back-to-back saves by the Garnet's Josie Sarno, Ava Zimmerman batted home the rebound off an An Tran shot in what turned out to be the game-winner.
 
Hopkins' second goal was a near copycat of the first and this time it was Tran with the score. Catherine D'Arcy fired a shot from the top of the circle off the Albano corner insert. Sarno made the save, but the ball bounced the Tran and she settled it before lifting a shot into the top of the cage just 2:14 into the second.
 
The Garnet stepped up the pressure after that second goal but the Blue Jays' got three straight saves from Aubrey Kilgore and then a shot off the post to take a 2-0 lead into the half. Just over five minutes into the third, Hopkins once again capitalized off an Albano corner and once again it came after multiple Sarno saves. On the second save, Zimmerman collected the ball and slipped a pass between Sarno and a defender to Eliza Vander on the doorstep, and she slotted it home.
 
Hopkins nearly made it a four-goal game in the final 30 seconds on yet another corner. But Swarthmore midfielder Anna Schwartz cleared Sophia Builione's shot off the line.
 
Hopkins outshot Swarthmore, 17-7, and had a 9-3 advantage in corners. Kilgore finished with three saves in the first half and then gave way to Jessica Lapidus, who made one save in the second. Sarno finished with 11 saves in the loss for the Garnet.
 
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday, November 8 at 9:00 pm. Fans can tune in at NCAA.com for the selection show.