Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
March 28, 2024

Women's Lacrosse dominates 14-7 on opening day

By BRANDON WOLFE | February 15, 2018

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HOPKINSSPORTS.COM

Junior attacker Miranda Ibello scored four goals to lead the Jays' offensive efforts in Saturday's game against the Marquette Golden Eagles.

The 22nd-ranked Hopkins women’s lacrosse team got their 2018 season off to a hot start this past Friday against the Marquette University Golden Eagles.

Marquette midfielder Grace Gabriel took advantage of a free-position shot less than a minute into the first half, finding the back of the net to give the Golden Eagles an early 1-0 lead. 

It wouldn’t be long before the Jays would retaliate with a goal of their own. With the Jays winning the draw after Gabriel’s goal, sophomore attacker Maggie Schneidereith quickly moved the ball into the Eagles’ zone and found junior attacker Nicole DeMase cutting through the Marquette defense. DeMase buried a shot to even the score at one apiece just 24 seconds after the Eagles had taken the lead.

The goal would ignite a Hopkins offense that would quickly jump out to a lead on the Eagles. Junior attacker Miranda Ibello fed senior attacker Emily Kenul from behind the cage. Kenul beat the Eagles’ goalie Julianna Horning to give the Jays their first lead. 

Senior midfielder Shannon Fitzgerald would follow with an unassisted goal of her own as she charged into the fray of Marquette defenders and found a clearing on the left side, tossing a shot off the turf that bounced past Horning to extend the lead to two. The goal was made possible after freshman defender Jeanne Kachris hustled to force a turnover and give the Blue Jays possession.

“Playing in my first collegiate lacrosse game was a super exciting experience. It was great to take the field with such talented girls,” Kachris said.

Kenul and Fitzgerald would connect with two straight free-position shots to put the Jays up 4-1 and 5-1, respectively, and give the pair their second goals of the game. Ibello would notch her second point of the match, receiving the assist via a pass from freshman attacker Aurora Cordingley, to give Hopkins its sixth straight goal as the scoreboard read 6-1 in favor of the Blue Jays with 13:18 left in the opening half.

Marquette senior Charlotte McGuire would interrupt the Jays’ goal party with one of her own to cut the lead to four. However, just like the first Eagles goal, Hopkins would respond with goals of their own, as DeMase and Ibello each scored on free-position shots.

Attempting to get some momentum going against the fierce offensive attack of the Blue Jays, Marquette’s midfielder Lindsey Willcocks would help narrow the lead to four with just over 30 seconds before the half in the form of a free-position goal and an assist on midfielder Allison Lane’s goal. As the teams took to the locker room for the half, the score read 8-4 in favor of Hopkins.

Riding the energy from their late first-half push, Marquette senior Riley Hill would grab a pair of assists as she found junior Cate Soccodato and McGuire exactly two minutes apart to narrow the Hopkins lead to two.

The rest of the half featured another Hopkins goal extravaganza, sparked by Schneidereith, who grabbed her second point of the game on an unassisted bouncing shot past Horning. DeMase would pick up a hat trick midway through the half off of a free-position shot. Following the trend, Ibello would complete her own hat trick with some help from DeMase just a minute later to put the Jays up 11-6.

Wanting to join in on the parade of hat tricks, Fitzgerald buried her third of the game at the 12:23 mark off of another free-position shot. Unsatisfied with just a hat trick, Ibello would add another goal to her total to take her to four on the day. She would then tally her second assist when she connected with Schneidereith to put the Jays up 14-6.

Lane would pick up her second goal of the game for the Golden Eagles on a free-position shot to narrow the Jays’ lead to seven, but it was too little too late, as Hopkins would pick up the win on opening day 14-7.

“As a team, we’ve been continually working to mesh together, and I think that showed against Marquette. I think the depth of this team will lead us to great moments and opportunities throughout the season,” Kachris said. “I can’t wait to see the progress we make moving forward.”

Ibello led the Blue Jays in points, goals and assists with six, four and two, respectively. Cordingley, Kachris and junior goalie Haley Crosson all finished with three ground balls each, while Crosson also stopped nine shots in net. Hopkins would control the shot count 37-26. They finished a perfect 19-19 on their clearing attempts.

Hill, McGuire and Lane would notch two points apiece for the Golden Eagles, with McGuire and Lane each scoring twice and Hill picking up two assists. Lane would also co-lead the team in ground balls and cause turnovers with defender Alex Gambacorta, each racking up three in each category, and Horning would finish the day with 13 saves.

The Jays will be in action on Wednesday, Feb. 21 as they face off against Loyola University Maryland at 4 p.m. on Homewood Field.


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