Published: Thursday, October 13, 2011

By NICK PERUFFO
For The Trentonian

EWING – Though the TCNJ women’s soccer team’s 1-0 home loss against Johns Hopkins Wednesday night had all the right ingredients, the game ultimately felt more like an appetizer than a main course.

Both TCNJ and Johns Hopkins are among the cream of the NCAA Division III crop, ranked 11th and 5th in the country, respectively. Both teams are also unbeaten within their respective conferences. For TCNJ, the game, more than anything, seemed to represent an opportunity to gauge itself against top-flight competition before postseason play begins.

“It really prepares you,” Lions coach Joe Russo said. “It’s like an NCAA Tournament game. It gets you ready to play at that level, and I think we are. I liked our mentality tonight and the way we competed for 90 minutes.”

The two teams—which had previously combined to outscore their opposition 78-4—played nearly 67 scoreless minutes before either team was able to find the back of the net. Despite the lack of scoring, the game was extremely competitive throughout, with momentum swinging back and forth.

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