Lacrosse teams suffer defeat to rival Loyola Maryland

Men’s lacrosse 

On Feb. 18, Hopkins men’s lacrosse traveled up North Charles Street to play their in-city rivals, the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds. Hopkins was coming off a close 11–7 loss to nationally ranked University of North Carolina, while Loyola came in hot off a 12–7 win over the number one ranked the University of Maryland.

Loyola started the affair with three straight goals from midfielder Evan James, forward Eric Pacheco, and attackman Matthew Minicus. Loyola pressed the early advantage, piling on the pressure. 

Despite goals from junior midfielder Brendan Grimes and freshman midfielder Matt Collison, Loyola went into halftime with a dominating 6–2 lead.

Loyola did not let up on the pressure after halftime. A red-hot Loyola squad ripped off five unanswered goals which pushed the lead to 11–2. Hopkins got hot at the end, outscoring Loyola 6–2 in the last stretch of the game. 

However, the last-minute scoring flurry was not enough to overcome the deficit, and Loyola emerged victorious 13–8.

Grimes, Collison and graduate student attackman Garrett Degnon all had two goals in a balanced Hopkins scoring effort. Degnon also collected his 80th and 81st career goals for the day, adding to his impressive collegiate career.

Loyola, after knocking off the No. 1 seed Maryland, collected another nationally-ranked win and continued their undefeated start to the season. Loyola has beaten both traditional Maryland lacrosse powerhouses to start their year. Loyola also avenged last year’s 11–10 loss to Hopkins.

Hopkins falls to 2–2 on the season. This Saturday, Hopkins will take on Utah at home and seek to win their first matchup against Utah in school history.

Women’s lacrosse 

Hopkins women’s lacrosse also made the trip to Loyola on Feb. 18. The Greyhounds were ranked ninth overall nationally. Hopkins lacrosse came into the matchup fresh off a dominant win over the University of Albany, while this was the first match for the Loyola Greyhounds.

The match began as an even affair. Hopkins took a 7–6 lead into halftime thanks to goals from senior attackman Maeve Barker, sophomore midfielder Ashley Mackin, freshman midfielder Ava Angello, junior midfielder Jordan Carr and junior midfielder Georgie Gorelick.

However, Loyola came out of the halftime roaring. Loyola scored three straight goals in the third period to blow open the game. Sophomore midfielder Quinlan O’Brien stemmed the tide with an unassisted goal. However, Loyola’s defense prevailed as the Greyhounds clung to a two-goal lead to win the affair 12–10.

Barker led the scoring for Hopkins with four goals, tying her career high. Freshman midfielder Reagan O’Brien also forced six turnovers.

Loyola begins their season with a nationally-ranked win. Hopkins falls to 1–1 on their young season. Hopkins will take on the University of Pennsylvania at home this Saturday, where they look to bounce back and improve to 2–1.