BALTIMORE – The Haverford College men's soccer team toppled No. 3 Johns Hopkins by a 1-0 score on Saturday night under the lights of Homewood Field.
In a marquee conference opener, the Fords (3-1-2, 1-0 CC) entered the contest as the defending Centennial Conference Champions and winners of three of the last four conference titles. No. 3 Johns Hopkins (5-2, 0-1 CC) was picked as the Centennial Conference preseason favorite among the conference coaches. In the end, it was a Kevin Kaufman goal during the 24th minute of play that lifted the Fords to the crucial three points in the conference table.
Kaufman scored in the Fords' season opener against Cabrini and replicated that feat during the Centennial Conference opener. Kaufman gathered the possession on the right side of the 18 and with seemingly no angle from which to shoot, he managed to turn that situation into the night's lone tally.
Kaufman's third career goal came just 23:56 into the contest as he snuck it right under the crossbar, paving the way for Haverford's highest-ranked win since the 2015 season when the Fords defeated a then-No. 1 Franklin & Marshall squad. That aforementioned victory against the Diplomats came on Walton Field, making tonight's victory the highest-ranked road victory in program history.
Haverford was very efficient in its attack as that shot represented the Fords' only attempt during the first half. Johns Hopkins finished the night with the advantage in shots, but Dylan Ioffreda came up with a career-high 11 saves to solidify a strong defensive performance. Ioffreda made six of those saves during the second half to lower his season goals against average to a miniscule 0.54. Haverford has not conceded a goal during four of its first six matches to start the 2019 season.
After starting Centennial Conference play with three points, the Fords will jump back into non-conference action this Wednesday at Rutgers-Camden. That match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. Haverford resumes Centennial Conference play next Saturday with a 1 p.m. showdown against No. 13 Franklin & Marshall on Walton Field.