W. Lacrosse splits with neighbors

The Hopkins women's
lacrosse team entered
this week's action riding
a three game winning
streak, breezing to wins
by margins of at least ten
goals in their early season
contests. However, the
Lady Jays ran into some
stiff competition against
the 11th-ranked Greyhounds
of Loyola University
(MD) and Stony Brook,
dropping a pair of closely
contested games in the
friendly confines of Homewood
Field. On Wednesday
night, however, the
Jays returned to their winning
ways, knocking off
their 19th-ranked neighbor
in Towson.
The first game pitted
Charles Street rivals Loyola
and Hopkins against one
another for the first time
in 30 years, as the Greyhounds
made the short bus
trip to face off against the
Lady Blue Jays.
Things got off to a
strange start, as lightning
strikes in the area delayed
the game for more than an
hour merely three minutes
into the contest.
Once play resumed, the
Lady Jays tallied the first
goal as sophomore Taylor
D'Amore scored the first of
her pair of goals off a feed
from senior Candace Rossi,
who also netted a pair of
goals to lead the team.
The Greyhounds responded
quickly and with
a vengeance. Loyola rattled
off five straight goals
to put them comfortably
in front by a score of 5-1.
From then on out, every
time the Lady Jays attempted
to build momentum
and make a comeback,
the Greyhounds
seemed to always have an
answer whether it be a big
save, clear or retaliatory
goal.
Bright spots for the
Blue Jays were three
points apiece for Rossi and
D'Amore, and a career high
seven draw
controls by
senior Colleen
McCaffrey
to help
Hopkins win
a total of 17
of 20 draws
overall.
Next up
for the Lady
Blue Jays
was a contest
against the
u ndefeated
Stony Brook
women's lacrosse
team,
a game that
went right
down to the
wire. The
theme to this game was
offense, offense and more
offense as the two teams
combined to score 29 goals,
including 18 in the first
half alone.
Rossi, the team's goal
scoring leader, was once
again instrumental in the
Lady Jays offensive attack,
as she along with junior
Courtney Schweizer both
notched hat tricks on the
day. The contest was back
and forth throughout with
the Jays holding a 10-8 lead
at the half.
A turning point for Hopkins
to end the first frame
was the play of freshman
goalie KC Emerson. The
Maryland native made
three big saves in the final
minutes of the half after relieving
junior stalwart Cosette
Larash, who had some
struggles handling the Sea
Wolves' offense.
However, in the second
half, Stony Brook's impressive
offensive attack proved
to be too much for the Lady
Jay defense, as they rallied
from the two goal deficit
to tie the game with 4:19
to play on a goal by Stony
Brook's Janine Hillier. The
Sea Wolves fended off the
Blue Jay final attack, and
called a timeout with 2:51
remaining in the game
when Rossi was sent off
with a yellow card. Stony
Brook then held the ball
moving it around the perimeter
holding for the last
shot until they finally got
their chance with a free position
shot with 11 seconds
to play in regulation time.
Claire Petersen was able
to net the game winning
goal, and the Sea Wolves
held on as the final seconds
ticked away on a heartbreaking
14-15 loss for the
Lady Blue Jay lacrosse faithful.
All in all, several impressive
individual performances
were had, as Rossi
totaled seven points on her
hat trick and a career high
four assists. D'Amore added
two goals to go along with
four assists as well, and
Emerson totaled nine saves
while picking up the loss.
Hopkins returned to the
win column on Wednesday
with a defense-driven
5-4 win against the Tigers
of Towson. In goal again
for the Jays was the young
Emerson who notched
six saves. On the other
end, McCaffrey scored a
hat trick alongside single
goals from Rossi and
D'Amore.
Keep your eye on The
News-Letter for all your
Lady Blue Jay lacrosse coverage
this spring as they
move through a schedule
filled with impressive
competition, in hopes of
making a run towards a
National Championship.