Case Western Reserve University battled through 90 minutes of intense soccer, but the fourth-ranked women's soccer team ultimately came up short in a 2-1 loss to second-ranked Johns Hopkins University in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The loss put an end to one of the most successful seasons ever by a Spartan team in any sport, as CWRU finished the year as the national runner-up with a 20-1-1 overall record.
The national second place finish matches the best finish by any CWRU team in school history (2022 & 2021 men's tennis) and is the best finish in school history for any Spartan women's team.
CWRU first-year midfielder Jamie Goldfarb, senior defender Lexi Gomez, graduate student forward Camryn Hartman, and senior midfielder Anika Washburn were each named to the All-Tournament Team following the game.
Johns Hopkins took the early lead in the game, going ahead in the 14th minute on Breukelen Woodard's 21st goal of the season, after a pass from Rachel Jackson set up a one-on-one with CWRU junior goalkeeper Maggie Storti.
The Spartans evened the score in the 34th minute on senior midfielder Aniya Hartzler's sixth goal of the season and the 12th of her career. Washburn set the goal up with a perfect leading pass, creating a one-on-one with the JHU goalkeeper. Hartzler's first attempt on goal was saved, but she was able to track down the rebound and sent a second try into an empty net to knot the score at a goal apiece.
It was the 70th goal for CWRU this season and extended the team's NCAA Division III Tournament goal record to 23.
‼️GOAAAAAL‼️@caseathletics adds one to the board with a goal by #17 Aniya Hartzler!
— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) December 4, 2022
It's a tied game here at Kerr Stadium with about 8 minutes to play in the first half.
��https://t.co/nvfUK8OOjP#D3soc | #WhyD3 pic.twitter.com/4dgaIg8i62
The game remained tied at 1 heading into the second half, but in the 50th minute of the contest, Johns Hopkins' Katie Sullivan hammered home a cross from Maria Romo-Nichols to give the Blue Jays the lead. It was Sullivan's 16th goal of the season.
Strong play by Storti helped keep the Spartans in the game late. She made a save off a header on a set piece, deflecting a shot clear of goal with just over 26 minutes left to keep it at a one-goal game. Johns Hopkins also missed a late penalty kick, keeping the score at 2-1 with 16 minutes left in regulation. Storti finished the game with a season-high eight saves.
While CWRU had its chances to tie the game, finishing the contest with 12 shots, including five on goal, the Spartans could not find the equalizing score late.
Johns Hopkins, which won the first NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in its program's history, finished its year with a 22-1-2 record.
Sunday's game was the only blemish for the Spartans in an otherwise undefeated season. CWRU set a program record for wins in a season, set the program record for longest winning streak with 13, and finished 6-0-1 in University Athletic Association play, en route to winning the first conference championship in team history. It was the final match for the 2022 senior class, consisting of Gomez, Hartman, Hartzler, Washburn, forward Samantha Cramin, defender Laura Gorjanc, goalkeeper Anna Gurian, defender/forward Merry Meyer, forward Maia Sethi, midfielder/forward Helina VanBibber, and defender Elizabeth White, the most successful class in program history with a four-year record of 50-8-4 (.839).