PHILADELPHIA – Caroline Cummings is back, though no one would have known it through the first 57 minutes of No. 13 Penn’s game against Johns Hopkins.
The senior attacker who missed the final four games last year with a knee injury finished with a flurry in Penn’s 12-11 win Saturday at Franklin Field.
Cummings only goal of the game tied Hopkins with 2:19 left, then she fed Zoe Belodeau’s game-winner for her only assist with 52 seconds left. For good measure, she came up with a loose ball to help Penn (2-0) retain possession and run out the clock on Hopkins (3-1).
"It means everything," Cummings said. "I’m so happy to be back, and I’m so happy to be able to play. I’m happy I can be quiet for the game and everyone else can contribute. We have so many good attackers. We’re a big force on attack this year."
With Cummings back on the field, Penn has its top six scorers and 92 percent of its goals returning from last year. They’ve also added Belodeau, the freshman from Potomac Falls, Md. who led the Quakers with four goals. She had a goal and three assists in Penn’s opening-season 12-5 win over Delaware.
"She has great vision of the field," Cummings said. "She’s a great lefty. She’s a dodger, she’s a shooter. She makes our attack whole. She adds a huge lefty component to our attack."
Penn’s second win was much tighter than its victory against Delaware. Penn had to make plays to rally late and pull out the win over Hopkins.
Penn trailed, 11-10, with under three minutes to go after back-to-back Hopkins goals. Erin Barry created a turnover to get Penn the ball and Cummings an opportunity. Penn was 1-for-5 on free-position shots when Cummings snuck in a free-position goal despite Hopkins goalie Haley Crosson getting a piece of it.
Hopkins won the draw, but Katy Junior forced a turnover to give Penn possession with 1:17 left. Cummings found Belodeau cutting through the middle from the right side and the left-handed freshman fired her fourth goal of the game back high into the right corner to snap the seventh tie of the game.
"Zoe doesn’t play like a freshman," said Penn head coach Karin Corbett. "We put her on the draw and said you can take the game-winner. She’s a legitimate player. She’s going to get better and better. She is a lefty feeder and finisher and she just makes our attack more fun."
Belodeau controlled the final draw to Abby Bosco. Penn almost turned it over in its offensive end under heavy Hopkins pressure before Cummings pulled it out of the air to preserve precious seconds of possession and helped close out the game without Hopkins getting another shot.
Barry and Gabby Rosenzweig each had three points on two goals and an assist apiece. Emily Rogers-Healion had a goal and assist and Alex Condon was relatively quiet with two goals. Penn is still rotating goalies and Maggie Smith made two saves in the first half while Mikaila Cheeseman had four saves in the second half in front of a defense that caused 11 of Hopkins’ 21 turnovers led by Junior’s three caused turnovers.
"I don’t know if you can count on causing turnovers," Corbett said. "We have to play good team defense which then creates some turnovers. We had some 3-second calls and some cards we shouldn’t have had, and I think that was because we were a little undisciplined so we have some work to do. I think Hopkins is a good team and they’re going to do well, so I was pleased to come out with a win."
Hopkins was led by Nicole DeMase who had five goals. Emily Kenul had three goals and Shannon Fitzgerald added two goals. Maggie Schneidereith had a goal and assist. Haley Crosson made eight saves, five in the second half.
The game was tight throughout with intermittent rain showers making conditions a little tougher. Neither team had more than a two-goal lead at any time. Hopkins held a 4-3 lead before three straight Penn goals helped the Quakers eventually build a 7-5 halftime lead. Both teams were sloppier with the ball than they would have liked with Hopkins turning it over 12 times to Penn’s two turnovers.
"I think their ride is really good and we handled it exceptionally well," Corbett said. "I was a little worried after last week. I don’t think we cleared the ball great and I don’t think our spacing was good against Delaware, and we worked on it because we know (Hopkins) is real fast and they’re good at that. I was pleased with our clearing. We stuck with it. We had lulls and we were able to come up with some huge stops at the end. I was pleased with that."
Johns Hopkins’ DeMase and Fitzgerald scored the first two goals of the second half to force a 7-7 tie with 20 minutes left.
Belodeau’s third goal of the game came with an athletic finish in which she jumped, caught and fired from the left side of the goal before anyone could react. Barry skipped one under Crosson for a 9-7 lead for the Quakers.
Hopkins responded with back-to-back goals from Maggie Schneidereith on a free position goal and DeMase depositing her fourth goal of the game.
Cheeseman came up with her biggest save of the half with 7:03 left on a shot from DeMase. Forty seconds later, Condon gave Penn a 10-9 lead, but DeMase was quick to answer back with a rocket of a free-position goal to tie the game again, 10-10, with 5:20 left.
Hopkins took the lead after they missed a free position shot when Schneidereith hit Kenul for her third goal of the game and an 11-10 advantage with 4:05 to go. Barry caused a turnover for Penn and from there it was Cummings’ turn to make some noise.
"It’s great having her back," Corbett said. "She is almost where she was. In her mind, she wants to be where she left off and she still has some work to do."
As Penn proved, though, she doesn’t have to dominate games to contribute in a big way. When it was the biggest moment, she delivered.
"She was in the right space mentally and got that huge goal and huge interception at the end," Corbett said. "I think she’ll get better every game and she’s such a big player and tough player, we’re excited to get her back."
Both teams were to make donations for each goal to the One Love Foundation. At game end, they had raised $1,555 of their $3,000 goal.