Staying true to their nature, the 2007 women's lacrosse team once again proved that you can't hold them down for long.
The Lady Jays, ranked No. 13 in the Inside Lacrosse poll, were knocked around by the University of Pennsylvania Quakers in a 12-4 drubbing last Wednesday. Hopkins emerged from the rubble on Sunday, keeping pace with the University of Denver Pioneers for a 15-13 win to snap the visiting squad's 10-game win streak.
The reliable Blue Jay offense was unexpectedly silenced by Quakers, who had not defeated the Jays in any of their past meetings. It was a different story this year as UPenn is currently the winningest team in the Ivy League so far this season, with only one loss.
"We practiced well the whole week leading up to Penn, so our poor output offensively was a big surprise," senior midfielder Steph Janice said. "We did not do the little things well against Penn and cumulatively, they added up to major problems."
Offensive consistency has been a mainstay for the team in 2007, and not capitalizing on scoring opportunities will undoubtedly continue to hurt the Lady Jays. With reigning All-Americans senior attacker Mary Key and junior midfielder Kadie Stamper limited to one and two goals in the match, respectively, the Jays had little chance to claim the victory against the Quakers.
"Penn has a strong defense and we got away from our offensive strengths that game; moving the ball, staying spread out, and finding the open girl on the back side," head coach Janine Tucker said.
Like their three other losses this season, the team took the game as a learning experience. They made quick adjustments, which proved effective against the 16th-ranked Pioneers.
"Watching film and pointing out those little things after the [Penn] game definitely opened our eyes to what was happening and thank goodness they were all easily fixable problems," Janice said.
Hopkins stormed Denver with a six-goal barrage in the first 10 minutes. Key provided the ignition for the Jays' first offensive blaze on Sunday. The perennial Tewaaraton Trophy candidate returned to form, ending her day with five goals and four assists, while continuing to climb the list of all-time NCAA points leaders, rising to the sixth spot this week.
The Pioneers didn't allow the Jay's comfortable lead early in the game to last, countering soon after with five consecutive goals.
"Denver is a very good team and we had to fight hard for the win. We jumped on them early, but knew they wouldn't go away," Tucker said.
The Jays tacked on three more before the half, with Key sandwiching two goals around freshman attacker Samantha Schrum's 18th goal of the season. Schrum scored in each of her first eight career games and is looking like a phenom and future leader on this Blue Jay squad --- not unlike what Key is right now.
"[Samantha] has a ton of potential," Tucker said. "There will never be another Mary Key -- but Sam is on the right path to making a tremendous impact on this program."
The game carried on in similar fashion into the second period. Though the Jays never forfeited the lead, the Pioneers never fell behind by more than four goals and nearly closed the gap a number of times in the half.
"The team kept their composure and put a good Denver team away," Tucker said. "It was a big win for us."
The Blue Jay defense that was widely touted in the preseason gave yet another semi-lethargic performance; again, barely able to keep their competitors at bay in a close match.
"We have strong defenders that play their hearts out, but have been up and down with our ability to shut teams down," Tucker said. "I see positive adjustments being made every day on the defensive end of the field and we are on track to put it all together from here on out."
The offense has picked up the slack to the best of their ability, but with only half the team playing at their expectations, it will be difficult for the Lady Jays to come out on top in the end.
A grueling stretch of games lies ahead, including a match-up against the defending Division I champions -- Northwestern -- in the next few weeks.
"If we want to be one of the top teams, we have to play the top teams," Tucker said. "We will prepare as always - lots of film, a strong scouting report and intense practices. Hopefully we will have good officiating crews and execute on game day."
This Sunday, the Jays will head to Tennessee to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.
