On Saturday, the Hopkins women's lacrosse team took to the field in their first regular season match-up. After a tough fought first half, the Jays gained control of the game and maintained it for the second half, defeating the George Mason Patriots 15-10.
Last season, the team finished with a disappointing 8-9 record. Throughout the off-season, players and coaches looked for ways to improve so that the next time they laced up their cleats, pulled their uniforms out of their lockers and stepped onto the field, the statement would be made that they would be ready for the challenges a new season has to offer.
The beginning of the Jays' season was delayed by half an hour after the referees failed to show up. Because of a time mix up, two of the refs were on their way from Philadelphia at the time the game was supposed to begin. After making a few phone calls, the athletic department was able to locate some local certified referees. The players retook the field at 1:38 p.m. for the face-off.
Hopkins gained possession on the draw, but George Mason was able to clear it away after it was turned over. Freshman defender Colleen McCaffrey grabbed a George Mason ground ball and began a Hopkins charge down the field that resulted in a shot from junior attacker Danielle Ensley. The shot was saved by Patriots' goalie Sara Longobucco, but Hopkins struck again shortly af ter. A foul from Lauren Gannon set up junior midfielder Paige Ibello with a free position attempt, which she capitalized on, scoring Hopkins's and her first goal of the season. The Jays took advantage of the momentum as junior attacker Sam Schrum picked up her first goal of the season within the next minute of the game. Mason fought back on the next draw, and fouls from junior attacker Brett Bathras, junior defender Angela Hughes and junior midfielder Kim Dubansky brought the Patriots further down Hopkins's side of the field. Madalyn Jamison's shot went wide, but Brittany Berger followed up with a shot that hit its mark. The Patriots then tied it up on a free position attempt from Caroline Hoyt.
Hopkins interrupted George Mason's flow, regaining possession on the draw and setting up an attempt for freshman attacker Candace Rossi, who placed the ball between the pipes. Freshman midfielder Rachel Serio scored next, bringing the Jay lead to 4-2. Emily Ellisen took advantage of a George Mason free position attempt, bringing the Patriots within one goal of Hopkins. Hopkins picked up the next two, as McCaffrey picked up a ground ball and ran it down the field, scoring her first goal of the season. A few minutes later, McCaffery snatched up another ground ball and Hopkins cleared the ball down the field. Ibello fed the ball to sophomore attacker Brooke Foussadier, who picked up her first goal of the season. George Mason's Jamison put another point on the board for the Patriots on the next possession, but Hopkins answered with another goal from Foussadier before the half was over.
"At half time, we talked a lot about the backside double teams GMU was sending and asked our offensive players to move the ball quicker to avoid the backside double-team," head coach Janine Tucker said. "We made some adjustments at the draw that worked well in the second half. We also packed our defense in to shorten their slides and that seemed to help us. We wanted to play with a lot more energy in the second half."
Hopkins maintained their momentum going into the second half, as Bathras made the most of a free position attempt. George Mason answered a few minutes later with a goal from Julianne Tela, and the Patriots gained possession after the draw, but Hughes picked up a ground ball and cleared it away for the Jays. Ibello followed up the clear with her second goal of the game with an assist from Schrum, which they repeated five minutes later, bringing the score to 10-5. Mason put up the next three points with goals from Bridges, Chelsea Gamble and Ellisen. However, their comeback was cut short, as the Jays ran away with the game with two goals from Foussadier and one apiece from Serio, McCaffrey and sophomore midfielder Brianna Cronin.
"I thought during the game that both sides of the field had moments of brilliance. But the aspect of the game we executed perfectly was our ride," Hughes said. "Our ride is very up tempo and in your face, and it was very apparent that we were getting into George Mason's heads."
The Patriots saw two more goals, both from Jamison, to make the final score 10-5.
The Jays win over George Mason shows that being a young team does not mean much when you are able to control the ball and work well together.
"Although the team has a lot of younger players, everyone seems to play really well together," Dubansky said. "Our team has a ton of fun together but this is also one of the hardest working teams I've been a part of. We are able to have fun together while pushing each other. The younger players make up over half of our team, and they are really stepping up and contributing. They will be a big part of our success this year."
Although successful, head coach Tucker still believes that the team can improve, showing that the Jays will only get better as the season progresses.
"I'd like to minimize our fouls and do a better job on our free positions - both offensively and defensively. We need to ride harder and minimize the goals we give up in transition. I want to work on moving the ball quicker on offense as well," Tucker said. "Overall, I was very pleased with our team's effort."
The team travels up to New Jersey this Saturday to face the Princeton Tigers. Opening face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
