On the Thursday of spring break, while much of the student body was catching some rays or catching up on some sleep, the Blue Jays set out to reclaim their reputation on Homewood field. Having lost four out of their last five games, the Lady Jays had some work to do. In a highly contested match the Jays outlasted the George Washington Colonials (1-8) for a 13-12 win in overtime. On Tuesday, the Lady Jays followed this up with an 8-6 victory over UMBC (5-5). These wins brought their record for the season to 4-4.
Against George Washington it was a yo-yo of a game at Homewood as both teams rallied back and forth with possession and the lead. Coach Tucker's team came out guns blazing, going straight to work with back-to-back goals. They quickly took a 2-0 lead just 3:26 in. The Colonials retaliated and with three straight goals went 3-2 up.
It was Hopkins's chance once more as they got two back on board with goals from freshman Candace Rossi and junior Bret Bathras. The lead was cut to one with 17:01 to play. It was 4-3 and the Jays were in control, but the Colonials powered through the end of the half like revolutionaries fighting against king and country. The Jays entered the locker room at half-time down by three and with a 13 minute scoring drought.
GW kept the momentum in their direction, scoring two more only 1:17 into the second half. Colonial Megan Seidman led George Washington's 6-0 run, with a total of three goals. The Jays were not done yet however, and they broke their 23-minute scoreless streak with a torrent of goals. Candace Rossi's high shot left of GW's Liz Hoffman signaled her hat-trick and the start of a 7-0 Hopkins run, taking them from five goals down to two goals up.
Sophomore Brianna Cronin was the first to take the baton from Rossi, with a beautiful goal off a free position, before freshman Rachel Ballatori scored her first career goal only two minutes later. The Jays closed the gap 9-7. The next 10 minutes saw both teams struggle to maintain possession as neither managed to find the cage.
The stalemate was broken when Lady Jay Colleen McCaffery slipped one over Hoffman's left shoulder. The Jays were now just one behind. Jenny Higgins was quick to capitalize on a turnover and tie the score at 9-9. Brianna Cronin finished out the Jay surge scoring two consecutive goals. She put the Jays up for the first time in the half with a fantastic right-sided dodge and bounce shot. There was now only 10 minutes left to play. Her second goal followed a mere 42 seconds later as she beat a slow Hoffman with the same move and completed her hat-trick.
The Colonials didn't give up easily however; Seidman added two more bringing her tally up to five and knotting the game at 11 all with three minutes left on the clock. Hopkins fought hard to secure the win, a shot from sophomore Brooke Foussadier found Hoffman's stick and Jay goalie Julianne Wisener came up with a big save. Hopkins was forced into their first overtime of the season.
Junior captain Sam Schrum gave the Jays the advantage at the end of the first overtime period, converting a great pass from Bathras. Angela Hughes followed it up just 26 seconds later, off a Hopkins clear, taking the ball in the midfield and finishing at the GW cage. Her third goal of the season gave the Jays a two-goal lead and was all they needed to clinch the victory.
GW's Taylor Donohue rolled inside her defender along the crease and scored on a low shot in the second overtime. It was a final push from the Colonials but ended up being too little, too late. Hopkins maintained possession for the last 14 minutes to keep the win. It was the Jays' first overtime win since March 23, 2001 when they defeated Brown.
On Tuesday the Lady Jays took on the University of Maryland, Baltimore Couunty. Foussadier scored two goals in the opening minutes for Hopkins, but the Retrievers would answer back with two of its own. The two teams would exchange goals until a Bathras goal with 4:14 left in the first half ignited a 5-1 run, bringing the score to 8-4. UMBC would score the final two goals of the match, but Hopkins would hold on for an 8-6 victory.
The Jays next take to the field this Friday at Homewood Field against Stanford Cardinals. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
