This past week, the Hopkins women's lacrosse team went on the road to play No. 11 Northwestern and sixth-ranked University of Notre Dame. The Blue Jays earned a split on the trip, defeating Notre Dame 13-12 on Friday, but falling to Northwestern by a score of 15-8 on Sunday. Despite the split on their Midwest trip, the Jays maintained their number nine ranking in the most recent IWLCA poll and currently boast an impressive 12-3 record on the season.
"I still feel that what we have accomplished prior to this past weekend shows that we still deserve to be top 10," said sophomore attacker Natalie Cooper. "We are legit, and people haven't even seen our best game yet."
On Sunday, the Jays took on the Northwestern Wildcats in a game that could have secured the American Lacrosse Conference Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Northwestern wasted little time jumping in front of the Blue Jays, building a 7-2 lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half. Freshman attacker Mary Key and sophomore midfielder Kelley Putnam notched goals for the Jays, as Hopkins entered the half trailing 7-4.
The Wildcats brought a defensive intensity unmatched by anyone the Jays, have faced this season. Their persistent pursuit of the ball and insistent double-teams caused the Jays to commit 21 turnovers over the span of the game.
"Their defense was unexpected and we weren't prepared for it, which tripped us up a little bit," said Key. "However, I'm almost positive that we will be able to handle that if it ever comes up again."
Off two early second-half goals from Putnam and sophomore midfielder Steph Janice, the Blue Jays were able to cut the Wildcat lead to 8-6 with over 20 minutes to play in the game. Any chance of a comeback was quickly quelled by Northwestern. The Wildcats scored twice more, opening up a four-goal lead. The Jays were able to notch two more goals, but were outscored by a 5-2 margin the rest of the way en route to a 15-8 loss.
The most difficult part of the loss to swallow for the Jays is the fact they gave up control of their own destiny. A win would have guaranteed the Jays their first-ever ALC championship and an NCAA tournament berth. The Jays can still make their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance due to their impressive record thus far this season. However, if the Jays hope to capture the ALC title, they must win their season finale at Penn State and will need favorable outcomes in some other remaining ALC matchups.
"It was disappointing to lose a competitive conference game and also the opportunity to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament," said sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Riddick. "But we're focused on our last regular season game against Penn State and the chance that we might secure an at-large bid into the tournament."
"It is unfortunate that we lost the game that was more important, being that Northwestern is undefeated in our conference. I'd have to say that we put a lot of our energy into Friday night's game, and paid for it on Sunday," said Cooper. "If we played Northwestern on Friday, we probably would have beat them 15-8, not the opposite."
Earlier in the week on Friday, Hopkins took on sixth-ranked Notre Dame. The Jays wasted no time opening up the scoring, as Putnam found the back of the Irish net 29 seconds into the game. The Irish answered with a goal of their own to knot the score at 1-1. Key then tallied an unassisted score, as they retook a lead that turned out to be short-lived. ND went on a 4-2 scoring run to take a 5-4 lead with over 12 minutes to go in the half. The half concluded with the Jay and Irish swapping a pair of goals, as Notre Dame entered the half leading 7-6.
Displaying their resiliency in the second half, the Jays opened up the period by scoring four straight goals on Notre Dame, including a tally from senior midfielder Heidi Pearce. The scoring barrage put Hopkins on top by a score of 10-7. The Irish responded with a 4-1 run to even the score at 11.
With the score tied at just over nine minutes remaining, senior attacker Marlena Wittelsberger received a feed from Key and buried it into the Notre Dame net to give the Jays a one-goal lead. The Irish answered back with a goal less than three minutes later. With just over three minutes to go, Mary Key scored an unassisted goal that proved to be the game winner for the Jays.
Notre Dame got one more chance, though, as Hopkins was called for a foul with 43 seconds left. The foul gave the Irish a free position shot from the eight-meter. Riddick then stepped up for the Jays and stopped the shot to preserve the lead and ensure a victory.
Putnam led the offense, as she notched a career high four goals, along with Key, who tallied three scores of her own. While Riddick may have saved the game with a last minute stop, the entire defensive unit had a good night as they forced the Irish to commit 15 turnovers during the match.
In addition to being a critical win for Hopkins, the Notre Dame game will also go down in the history of the program. With a ranking of sixth, Notre Dame becomes the highest ranked opponent Hopkins has defeated in its D-I history.
"The Notre Dame game was a big win for us because we came out against the number six team in the country and played as a unified team to win the game," said Riddick. "This win proves that when we step on the field determined we can beat any... team."
The Blue Jays travel to Penn State this Saturday to take on the Lady Lions in the season finale. After the game the Jays must wait a week to learn their next destination, as the selection committee will announce the NCAA tournament invitations on May 9.
