Men's Soccer

Johns Hopkins Claims CC Men's Soccer Championship

Blue Jays wins third title in last four years

Release courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communicatiions

BALTIMORE, MD – Rohan Aggarwal scored the game's only goal on a penalty kick and tournament MVP John Ghanem notched five saves to lead Johns Hopkins to a 1-0 win over Haverford in the Centennial Conference Championship game Sunday after Homewood.
 
It is the Blue Jays' third conference title in the last four seasons and 12th overall. Five of the titles have come under head coach Craig Appleby. His five titles are the second most in Centennial Conference history. Ghanem is just the third goalie in conference history to be named tournament MVP since the award's inception in 2014.
 
Connor Wilkes made a great run down the left side before drawing a foul in the box near the endline. Aggarwal took the ensuing penalty kick and buried it in the 21st minute to put the Blue Jays on top. A little over two minutes CJ Feldman nearly doubled the leader with a header off a Wilkes' corner kick, but his attempt just skipped over the bar.
 
The Fords had a great look at the equalizer in the 50th minute with a Thomas Vanni free kick about 30 yards out. Ghanem made a great diving save at the post to keep Haverford off the board. Fifteen minutes later, it was Paul Sapilewski with a hard shot after a great run by Aggarwal, but Grayson Benson knocked it at out the near post. Less than two minutes later, Ghanem made back-to-back one-handed saves on Charlie Sharp and Carter Kroenke. The defense then blocked two more shots to keep the Fords at bay.
 
In the 82nd minute, Haverford earned a free kick just outside the box and on the subsequent kick the Fords were fouled in the box setting up a potential game-tying penalty kick. Jonathan D'Amour stepped the to the spot for the Fords and fired a shot toward the right post, but a diving Ghanem punched it away to once again keep the clean sheet.
 
Ghanem finished with five saves to earn his eighth shutout of the season. Benson notched six saves in the loss for the Fords. Hopkins outshot Haverford, 13-10, and had an 8-4 advantage in corners.
 
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced on Monday, November 9 at 11:00 am on NCAA.com.