The No. 18 Hopkins women’s lacrosse team came back from a 10-7 deficit with seven minutes to play to force overtime and eventually upend the unranked Towson Tigers.
The Lady Jays took an early 2-0 lead on goals from senior Jen Cook and freshman Shannon Fitzgerald, but Towson senior Sarah Maloof came right back to score two and knot the game at two apiece.
Fitzgerald gave the Jays the lead back immediately after winning the faceoff and driving downfield to score, but Towson knotted the game at three after a goal by freshman Emily Gillingham at 20:14.
The two teams would trade blows to round out the second half. Towson got goals from sophomore Gabby Cha and Maloof, while Hopkins answered with goals from junior Dene’ DiMartino and sophomore Alexis Maffucci to enter halftime tied at five.
Maloof opened the second half scoring with a goal a little more than a minute in, but sophomore standout Haley Schweizer answered four minutes later with a beautiful goal off an alley-dodge. Towson would use goals from senior Andi Raymond and freshman Kaitlyn Montalbano to take a two-goal lead into the final third of the second half.
Maffucci answered with a stunning behind-the-back goal off of a pass from freshman Emily Kenul but sophomore Michelle Gildea would score 28 seconds later to maintain the two-goal lead. Then, a rare own goal by the Jays gave Towson a 10-7 lead and put Hopkins into a different gear.
“There were many times when things didn’t go our way,” Schweizer said. “We do a great job of keeping each other’s heads up.”
The Jays did just that, rallying for three goals in the final 7:11 to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Kenul scored after winning a draw, DiMartino scored after a long passing sequence and finally, freshman CeCe Finney knotted the game at ten apiece with 3:11 remaining.
After winning the draw, Towson held the ball for the remainder of the game, holding for a last shot, which it ultimately missed.
Schweizer scored the lone goal of overtime with 1:18 remaining and the Jays would be able to run out the clock for all but thirteen seconds after junior Kristen Cannon won a face-off. To clinch the game, senior Octavia Williams blocked a tiger shot attempt and forced a turnover with less than five seconds remaining.
“The victory really showed that as a team, we never will give up,” Schweizer said. “No matter the circumstance.”
The win brings the Lady Jays to 13-3 and gives them a realistic chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. However, they still have one game remaining against No. 4 Duke.
“There’s a lot of hype around [the Duke game], especially with the NCAA selection show being that night,” Schweizer said.
The Blue Devils boast one of the most balanced attacks in the nation, with nine players in double digit scoring, including senior attacker Kerrin Maurer, recognized as one of the top players in the nation.
“Draw controls will be huge,” Schweizer said.
Maintaining possession off of the face-off has been key for the Jays this season; in losses they struggle, and in wins, such as the most recent triumph over Towson, they flourish. In the second half against Towson, the Jays had six consecutive draw controls, which gave them the opportunity to take some risks and eventually send the game to overtime.
“Confidence is pretty high,” said Schweizer said. “We have high hopes heading into the tournament.”
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