Men's and women's lacrosse teams emerge victorious at home openers

Men’s lacrosse pulled off the upset of the year in last Saturday’s matchup against third-ranked Georgetown University Hoyas. 

The Blue Jays had the fourth-quarter advantage in shots on goal, ground ball and face-offs. This was a game of runs, as the Hoyas jumped out to an early 4–1 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game. The Blue Jays responded rapidly, scoring three goals in 41 seconds to cut the Hoya’s lead to 5–4. Junior attackman Russell Melendez scored shortly thereafter to tie the game.

Melendez scored a career-high four goals in this game. In an interview with The News-Letter, he spoke about what the win meant for him and the team going forward.

“I've been waiting for that moment for about 12 years,” he said. “It feels amazing to play well, especially in a huge game like that, but it starts with the coaches and other players opening opportunities for me. I couldn't do it without their help, so the credit goes to them.”

According to Melendez, the team has been feeding off each other’s energy so far this season.

“The coaching staff has really put an emphasis on setting the tone. With such a close-knit group, the only energy we need is in our own huddle, and I really think we are starting to realize how special this program and team really are. Although it's a huge win to the outside world, it was expected of us,” he said. “Each game is a new challenge that I know my boys are ready to take on. We will continue to work, improve and excite. On to the next!”

Melendez, graduate student attackman Garrett Degnon and junior midfielder Johnathan Peshko all recorded hat tricks in the victory for the Blue Jays. 

The Georgetown Hoyas was the highest-ranked opponent Hopkins has beaten since the 2019 season, when they defeated second-ranked Maryland. The Blue Jays are now 4–1 all-time against Georgetown.

Women’s lacrosse won their season opener against the University of Albany (UAlbany) in what was Tim McCormack’s head coaching debut for the Blue Jays. 

After spending the last three seasons as the head coach at Arizona State University, the two-time Pacific-12 Coach of the Year started his Hopkins coaching tenure off in a dominant fashion.

Hopkins took control of the game midway through the first quarter, scoring six goals in a 13-minute span. Among the goal scorers were junior midfielder Megan Kielbasa, who scored back-to-back goals in under two minutes, sophomore midfielder Annie Marshall and junior midfielder Georgie Gorelick, the latter two of whom scored within 25 seconds of each other. 

The Blue Jays had an answer for every UAlbany run. Even when UAlbany opened the fourth quarter with three straight goals, Hopkins remained composed and responded, scoring back-to-back goals within 38 seconds of each other. The Blue Jays ultimately won the game 17–10.

It is the most goals scored in a Hopkins season opener since 2019. The Blue Jays will return to action this Saturday, Feb. 18 when they face off against Loyola University Maryland.