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March 29, 2024

Hopkins lacrosse recap (March 4 and 7)

By TIMOTHY MCSHEA | March 7, 2023

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COURTESY OF HOPKINSSPORTS.COM

Men’s and women’s lacrosse both traded a loss for a win in games over the past week.

Men’s Lacrosse vs. St. Joseph’s University — March 4th

In a thrilling, 15–14 game, the 15th-ranked Hopkins men’s lacrosse team started a winning streak and climbed the leaderboards, defeating the 13th-ranked favorite, St. Joseph’s University (SJU).

With senior Tim Marcille at goal and dominant play on the part of the Hopkins defenders, the dominant SJU offense was held back, and the Hopkins offense flourished. Hopkins did not trail for a single moment during this game. Though the game may seem like a wash, SJU did not sit back and let the game get away from them.

In the first quarter, scores from junior midfielder Jonathan Peshko, junior attackman and midfielder Dylan Bauer, graduate student attackman Garret Degnon and senior attackman Jacob Angelus put Hopkins at a three-point lead as the SJU offense struggled to return the favor.

The second quarter saw many missed opportunities due to mistakes on offense, with Hopkins only scoring twice, allowing the SJU offense to claw their way back to a one-score deficit. Turnovers and penalties cost the Hopkins offense, and SJU made their way back into the game.

Following halftime, the third quarter was still riddled with the occasional turnover and penalties, but the Blue Jays’ shots were connecting, and the score rocketed to 12–7, the largest lead of the game, up five scores. Three consecutive saves by Marcille in the remaining four minutes stifled the SJU offense.

At this point, the game seemed out of SJU’s reach. The fourth quarter would prove otherwise.

The Hopkins defense stuttered, allowing the SJU offense to score five times in just under four minutes, answering with only two scores of their own to make the score 14–12. The goal by Bauer, with ten minutes until the end of regulation, would be the final Hopkins score of the game.

SJU turned the score to 15–14 in two quick goals with just over two minutes remaining. Hopkins struggled on offense as the SJU goalie Robbie Seeley stepped up, preventing two Hopkins scores. In the final minutes, the defense boxed out the SJU attackmen, and a turnover caused by Brett Martin ended the game with the ball in Hopkins’ possession.

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Drexel University — March 4th

In a hard-fought 11–16 loss, the Hopkins women’s lacrosse team showed resilience, but Drexel University proved too efficient. Hopes skyrocketed as Hopkins came out 3–0 in the first five minutes of the match with a three-score run that was kickstarted by sophomore midfielder Ashley Mackin with an assist by senior midfielder Bailey Cheetham.

For the rest of the first quarter, though, the Hopkins offense was boxed out and held scoreless. At the same time, the Drexel offense quickly answered with four quick scores in the remaining five minutes. The momentum had shifted.

The second quarter continued Drexel’s scoring streak with four more scores, and Hopkins was only able to connect one of their shots to make the score 4–8 going into the second half.

After halftime, the Hopkins offense once again failed to get much going on offense while the defense was cracking due to extended pressure. The two teams traded two scores, and the Hopkins offense put in a valiant effort for two whole minutes of possession mid-quarter, shooting and picking up ground balls repeatedly. In the end, Drexel came back, and the four-score deficit remained with a total score of 7–11 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was the Blue Jays’ last chance, but fouls on freshman midfielder Reagan O’Brien and senior defender Olivia Caan set the period off to a bad start. The lowest the deficit got between the two teams was 9–12 after two consecutive scores: one free position shot by junior midfielder Georgie Gorelick and another standard score by sophomore attackman Alayna Costa shortly after. From then on, the match only loosened farther from Hopkins’ grasp — Drexel went on to score three more times, making the final score 11–16. 

Men’s Lacrosse vs. University of Virginia — March 7th

This past Tuesday, the Hopkins men’s lacrosse team lost to the University of Virginia (UVA) 13–18, making their new record 4–3. 

The first quarter was completely one-sided, with UVA controlling possession and scoring five times. Hopkins' struggle was not due to a lack of opportunities and was not even necessarily due to a lack of accurate shots on goal. The UVA defense did a good job of keeping the Hopkins attackmen boxed out, but what did nearly make a score was saved by UVA goalie Matthew Nunes.

In the next quarter, the Hopkins offense made the right adjustments and returned five scores of their own, but the UVA offense wasn’t slowing down and kept the five-score deficit, making the score 5–10 going into halftime.

The third quarter was a similar story. The Hopkins offense couldn’t make up for their embarrassing first quarter, no matter how often they scored. The Hopkins defense desperately needed to step up and prevent UVA from scoring, but once again they scored four times, making the Blue Jays’ five scores seem moot. UVA’s lead had refused to budge, with the score 10–14 going into the fourth quarter.

As the Hopkins offense lost steam in the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays were already defeated. Nevertheless, the UVA offense scored four more times, and the final score at the end of regulation was a stifling 13–18 defeat, as Hopkins men’s lacrosse moves on to Syracuse this Saturday 4–3.

Women’s lacrosse vs. Monmouth University — March 7th

In a dominant 20–6 game bounce from this past Saturday’s disappointing loss, Hopkins women’s lacrosse put on a show on offense and held Monmouth University to just six points.

Each quarter saw at least five scores by Hopkins and next to nothing from Monmouth’s team, which struggled with shot accuracy. The Hopkins defense played lights out, while standout freshman midfielder Ava Angello had a six-score game. The Jays' offense was a team effort, with scores coming from 11 separate players.

The first quarter saw six scores, each from a separate player — Monmouth’s defense struggled to keep the Blue Jays’ attackmen out of range, and Hopkins was already spreading the ball around. The sheer number of Hopkins players that scored during the game is not only an indicator of Monmouth’s struggles on defense but also a testament to the Blue Jays’ versatility. The star attackmen often chose to pass the ball instead of forcing a shot, and the strategy more often than not paid off.

This dominant victory was just what the Hopkins women’s lacrosse team needed, as they improve to 3–3 on the season. The team looks forward to facing James Madison University on Saturday, with the hope of a winning record.


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