HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's soccer team (2-10-5, 0-6-2 CC) suffered a Centennial Conference defeat to No. 17 Johns Hopkins (10-3-3, 6-1-1 CC) in a six-goal frenzy, as the Blue Jays claimed a 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon. Prior to the match, Haverford held a pregame ceremony on Walton Field honoring Joey Carol, Lucien Dalseth, and Austin Emile, for Senior Day.  

The Blue Jays opened up the scoring in the sixth minute after impressive dribbling by Ian Whamond. Whamond traversed his way through a few Ford defenders and unleashed a shot from the top of the 18. The ball bent past Haverford keeper Jackson Simon, and rolled into the back of the net, to put the visitors up 1-0. Following a reckless challenge in the box by Johns Hopkins goalkeeper Simon Turner, the Fords were awarded a penalty kick in the 25th minute. Juan Rivera stepped up to the spot, and buried the penalty for his third goal of the season, to tie up the game at 1-1.

The two sides went to the intermission in a deadlock, but the 51st minute saw JHU's second goal of the game. After a pass from Francis Meyer rolled into the box, Jonathan Cui made a turn past his defender and fired a shot past Simon to reclaim the Blue Jays' lead at 2-1.

However, just three minutes later, an extraordinary goal by the Scarlet and Black leveled the game at 2-2. First-year midfielder Aaron Park stepped up to take a left-footed corner kick. The first-year unleashed a high curling ball towards the far post. The ball twisted and turned and tucked into the top left corner, giving the midfielder his first goal of the season to knot the game up at 2-2.

Unfortunately, the Scarlet and Black conceded an own goal quickly off the restart, as Johns Hopkins climbed back in front, suddenly leading 3-2. 

JHU found an insurance goal in the 78th minute off a throw-in to Haverford's end. The ball was tossed towards Whamond, who fired a shot on frame. Simon made a fantastic save, but the ball floated back over towards Whamond. The midfielder headed the ball into the back of the net, giving Johns Hopkins the 4-2 advantage. 

The fourth goal of the day for the Blue Jays sealed the deal in the closing moments, as Johns Hopkins claimed a 4-2 victory over the Scarlet and Black. JHU outshot the Fords 25-14 in an action-packed contest, as Thomas Vanni and Park led the way with three shots each, while the latter placed two on net. 

Next up for Haverford is the season finale of the 2024 campaign, as the Garnet of Swarthmore await the Fords at Clothier Field on Saturday, November 2. There will be a coveted point up for grabs in the Hood Trophy rivalry between the two foes, as kickoff for the always highly anticipated match is slated for 1 p.m.