The sixth-seeded Red Devils saw their season end Tuesday night at third-seeded Johns Hopkins after a double overtime thriller tied at 2-2 was decided 4-2 on penalty kicks in favor of the Blue Jays. 

Dickinson limped into the playoffs winning only one of their four final conference games to end the season. Dickinson was also without Ethan Jarden ’26, one of the Red Devils’ key attackers, who had a nagging calf injury. 

Playing at Johns Hopkins, who were third seeded in the conference and ranked 19th in the country, was always going to be a tough task for the Red Devils. But Dickinson could take some confidence from the fact that they had played well in their previous matchup with the Blue Jays tying 1-1.

For the first twenty minutes of the first half, Dickinson kept the powerful Hopkins attack at bay. Alessandro Forero ’26 replaced Jarden at the center attacking midfield position. After some back and forth play, center back and team captain Andrew McSlarrow ’23 forced a loose ball that winger Chaz Smith ’25 recovered. Smith threaded a beautifully placed ball to Saul Iwowo ’26, who beat goalie Alex Morget in the 29th minute to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. 

Less than one minute later, Johns Hopkins answered back. After a foul committed by Chris Hackley ’25 in the box, Francis Meyer knotted things up at one a piece for the Blue Jays. With 15 minutes left in the half, both teams went on the attack but neither side found the back of the net. 

Coming out of halftime, both teams started off right where they had finished the first half, trading shots to no avail. Although the Blue Jays outshot Dickinson 26-11, the Red Devil back line showed great poise throughout the game. Goalkeeper Andrew Kempe ’23 made several saves. But Hopkins’ pressure broke through in the 60th minute. They took a 2-1 lead with a goal by Jhu Chui, who finished off a great passage of play by Axel Whamon and Ian Whamond. 

The threatening Blue Jays attack was held at bay for the rest of the half while the Red Devils squandered chance after chance. Winger Tyson Burling ’25 had a pair of missed shots in the final 20 minutes that would have tied the game. After another chance from Burling in the 83rd was saved by Morget, the Red and White found the equalizer. Iwowo used his pace, power, and skill that Red Devil fans have grown so accustomed to. He dribbled through several defenders and scored the brace. In the final minute, the Blue Jays had three corner kicks and one free kick but were unable to find the go-ahead goal. 

In the first ten-minute overtime period, neither side was able to find a breakthrough, with each getting only one shot. Red Devils’ Geoffrey Ogenwrot ’25 put a shot just wide left in the 109th of the second overtime period while the Blue Jays, yet again, were unable to formulate any attack.

With each team failing to score in the overtime period, a penalty shootout was left to determine the victor. The first two Dickinson penalty takers, Smith and Colin Hofmann ’25, each soared their shots over the crossbar. Kempe kept the Red Devils close by saving the first penalty from Meyer while Tim Treinen netted his penalty. Ogenwrot and Iwowo made the next two penalties but the Blue Jays’ Lech Dunser and Sam Martin both scored on their attempts. On the fifth and final shot of the penalty shootout, Johns Hopkins’ Tyler White beat Kempe to crown the Blue Jays victorious. 

The Red Devils were outnumbered in the box score in several categories, but they played a very sound game. The rotation of substitutes in the midfield and attacking third were pivotal in keeping the Devils afloat. The defense anchored by centerbacks McSlarrow and Mack Moore ’25 with first years Johnny Diederich ’26 and Jackson Wolf ’26 on the outside held the Blue Jays’ attack at bay for most of the game. Dickinson had to fight through without key attackers Jarden and Burling, who left late in the second half with an injury and did not return. Jarden, Burling and Captain Will Flannery ‘23, are all attackers who would trust themselves to take a penalty for Dickinson. Their shooting ability was heavily missed in the shootout. It was always going to be a tough task playing such a powerhouse on the road, especially with their injuries, but in the end the Red Devils were just a few penalty kicks away from the upset.