May 8, 2001
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The Team:
The 17th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team went 1-1 last week, defeating #15 George Mason, 13-9, but falling to No. 12 Cornell, 8-5. The Blue Jays move to 10-6 overall to finish out their regular season.
Hopkins to Host ECAC Championship Game:
Johns Hopkins will host the 2001 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 13, 2001 against the University of Pennsylvania at 2:00 p.m. on Homewood Field.
The Quakers, who ended their regular season at 8-8, finished fifth in the Ivy League with a 3-4 league mark.
Hopkins, a playoff contender on the NCAA Division III level for 23 years, earns its second consecutive postseason bid in just its third season at Division I. JHU advanced to the ECAC finals last year, beating Connecticut 14-10 in the semifinals, before falling to host Cornell, 16-4 in the championship game.
Admission is FREE to the ECAC Championship game. The contest will mark the first-ever meeting between Johns Hopkins and Pennsylvania.
ECAC Championship
#1 Johns Hopkins (10-6) vs. #2 Pennsylvania (8-8)
Sunday, May 13, 2001
Homewood Field
2:00 p.m.
The Coach:
Janine Tucker (Loyola '89) enters her eighth season as head coach of Johns Hopkins. She ranks as the second-winningest coach in program history, sporting a 100-32 (.756) overall mark. She earned her 100th career victory in the 13-9 win at George Mason. Tucker led the Blue Jays to the postseason in 2000 in only its second year in Division I.
Last Week's Action
May 1 at George Mason: Junior midfielder Erinn Dennis (Wilton, NY/Saratoga Springs) and junior attacker Erin Wellner (East Williston, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) each notched three goals, and Wellner added three assists in leading 18th-ranked Johns Hopkins to a 13-9 decision over 15th-ranked George Mason. Wellner tied her season high with six points as the Blue Jays won for the fourth consecutive outing and gave Head Coach Janine Tucker her 100th career victory. JHU has now posted 10 or more wins for nine consecutive seasons. The Patriots lose their regular season finale and their sixth straight contest.
The match looked like it would be a high scoring affair after the two teams recorded nine total goals in the first 16 minutes with JHU holding a 5-4 lead. However, the pace slowed considerably as only three scores were made in remaining minutes of the half. Junior midfielder Christy Peterson (Fallston, MD/Fallston), who had two goals on the day, received a feed in front of the net from Wellner, giving Hopkins a 6-4 margin at 11:58. Blue Jays' junior attacker Jamie Larrimore (Chestertown, MD/Kent County) pushed the advantage to 7-4 at 8:55, but the Patriots' Katie Ruch closed out the half with a tally at 1:42 for a 7-5 JHU lead at halftime. After GMU's Jill Toomey closed the gap to 7-6 to begin the second half, Hopkins ran off four consecutive goals, and kept George Mason from scoring until 8:37 remained in the game. Dennis poured in back-to-back jacks to push the Hopkins edge to 13-7 with 5:39 left. The Patriots tossed in two late goals, resulting in the 13-9 final.
Sophomore attacker Meghan Burnett (Auburn, NY/Auburn), freshman attacker Marlena Wittelsberger (Phoenix, MD/Dulaney), and freshman midfielder Kate Gilland (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) also tallied goals for Hopkins. Freshman midfielder Heidi Pearce (Chestertown, MD/St. Andrew's) was shut out for the first time in her career, but she did register one assist.
JHU sophomore goalkeeper Jen McDonald (Garden City, NY/Garden City) made nine saves. GMU's Jamie Tiburzi had six saves and allowed 13 goals in 58 minutes, while reserve goalie Carolyn Whittenberg played two minutes.
May 5 at Cornell:
Johns Hopkins, ranked 18th in the nation, fell to No. 12 Cornell, 8-5. Junior midfielder Erinn Dennis led the Blue Jays with a season-high four goals, while junior Ginny Miles posted three goals to pace the Big Red. The loss snaps JHU's four-game win streak and closes out the team's regular season. Dennis scored the first goal of the game at 24:59, but the Big Red answered back with three consecutive tallies, of which two were scored Miles, to post a 3-1 lead at 21:00. Dennis trimmed the deficit to 3-2 at 19:26 after receiving a pass from junior attacker Erin Wellner. Turnovers by both teams kept the scoring low throughout the first half until finally CU junior Jaimee Reynolds found the back of the net with 3:42 left in the half, giving the Big Red a 4-2 margin at halftime.
Cornell struck quickly and often to begin the second stanza. The Big Red managed four consecutive goals in the period's first 14 minutes for an 8-2 advantage at 16:27. It took Hopkins over 33 minutes to nab its third goal of the contest when freshman midfielder Heidi Pearce dished to Dennis at 16:03, making the score 8-3. The Blue Jays increased their defensive pressure, forcing several Cornell turnovers and shutting down the Big Red attack. However, Hopkins could only score two more goals for the remainder of the game, as junior midfielder Christy Peterson and Dennis both connected. Dennis tallied JHU's last goal with 7:05 left in the contest.
Hopkins sophomore goalkeeper Jen McDonald made nine saves and allowed eight goals, while Cornell goalie Carrie Giancola had six saves and allowed five goals.
Point Positive:
Junior tri-captain Erin Wellner is second on the JHU leaderboard in points (57) and third in goals (37), but leading the team in assists (20). She has scored at least one point in 32 consecutive games, tying Hopkins All-American Danielle Maschuci (1997-00) for the JHU Division I record.
Good "Position" To Be In:
So far this season, the Blue Jays are 35-of-76 on free position shots, connecting at a 46.1% clip, while opponents are only 22-of-68 (.324).
In The Polls:
Hopkins has been ranked in the Brine/IWLCA top 20 poll for 19 straight weeks, dating back to April 10, 2000, when the Blue Jays debuted at the No. 20 position. The team is currently ranked #17.
JHU posted its highest-ever Division I ranking of 14th in the March 12, 2001 poll. The Blue Jays ended the 2000 campaign ranked 16th in the nation.
Net Results:
Hopkins sophomore goalkeeper Jen McDonald has started every game this season, collecting 148 saves. She has 205 in her career, which ranks sixth all-time at JHU. Currently, McDonald sports a 9.17 GAA and a .507 save percentage. She registered a career-high 15 saves in the contest against Davidson.
Stop Them...Or Hope To Contain Them:
The trio of Erin Wellner (37G, 20A, 57P), Jamie Larrimore (41G, 17A, 58P), and Heidi Pearce (38G, 5A, 43P) has combined to score 116 of JHU's 188 goals this season, accounting for 61.7% of the team's markers. The trio also has 158 of 255 total team points (.620).
The Senior Class:
Three seniors played their final regular season game on Saturday. Despite the outcome, Kim DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), Lauren Carney, and Candice Smith (Syracuse, NY/Phillips Exeter Academy) post the 11th-best win total of any senior class (46-19), including a thrilling 13-6 win over Yale in the final regular season home game. The seniors rank 12th overall in winning percentage (70.77%) at Hopkins.
This trio not only helped the Blue Jays win two Centennial Conference titles in 1997 and 1998 and appear in two NCAA Tournaments, but they also guided the program in its transition to the Division I.
Defensive Gems:
Junior Shanu Kohli (Radnor, PA/Radnor) leads the defense with a +28 steal-to-turnover ratio. Senior Lauren Carney (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall) is next at +15 followed by junior Caroline Miller (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) who is +8.
Midfielder Heidi Pearce, who has exploded offensively for the Blue Jays, is also a threat on the defensive end of the field, having earned a plus-12 steal-to-turnover ratio.
As a team, Hopkins creates 14.0 turnovers per game and has a minus-26 ST ratio, while opponents are minus-121.
Rocketing:
Junior Jamie Larrimore, who leads the team in goals (41), has tallied multi-goal games in 39 of 47 contests since her arrival at Homewood and has only been shutout three times in her career.
En Fuego:
Midfielder Erinn Dennis has been on fire in JHU's last three games. Entering the contest against Yale, the junior had collected only six goals in the first 13 games of the season. In her last three contests, She's exploded for eight goals while shooting 57.1% (8G on 14 shots) from the field, improving her shooting pct. from .240 to .359.
Streaking:
The Blue Jays are on a roll as of late, having won four of their last five games, including two victories over ranked teams. Yale, ranked 13th at the time, is the highest ranked team JHU has ever beaten in its three seasons at the Division I level.
Hopkins is averaging 11.6 gpg in its last five games while holding opponents to 8.2 gpg (+3.40 scoring margin). The defense has caused 14.40 turnovers per contest, while the offense has outshot opponents, 28.4 to 21.8.
History:
Johns Hopkins is 32-16 (.667) in three years at the Division I level and 249-154-4 (.617) overall in 26 seasons.
10-Win Seasons:
Hopkins women's lacrosse has continued to enjoy immense success under head coach Janine Tucker. With its 10-6 record, the team has now posted 10 or more wins in each her eight seasons, and has recorded nine straight 10-win campaigns.
Almost There:
JHU has had at least five players score 10 or more goals every year since Janine Tucker's first season (1993) as head coach. However, only once during her tenure (1997) have the Blue Jays had seven players tally 10 or more goals in a season. Currently, the team has six players in double-digit goal scoring, but freshman attacker Marlena Wittelsberger (Phoenix, MD/Dulaney) is near the mark with nine goals thus far.
Climbing the Charts:
Junior attacker Jamie Larrimore continues to move up the JHU career charts. She has 41 goals so far on the season, bringing her career mark to 148, which ranks sixth all-time at JHU. She is one goal away from tying the No. 5 position and three shy of the #4 spot. Add to that her 17 assists, and Larrimore has 185 career points, which places her 7th all-time in school history. She is nine points away from the sixth position. Her 37 career assists ranks 10th all-time.
Junior Erin Wellner is also no stranger to the JHU record books, having claimed the single-game assist mark of seven, which she set last year. She has been just as giving this year and holds the team lead in assists with 20. Wellner is in sole possession of the No. 6 position on the JHU all-time assists list (59), and recently moved into the top-11 in points (153).
Division I Exploits:
Since entering Division I in 1999, Johns Hopkins is 29-1 when leading at the half and 3-12 when trailing at the half. The Blue Jays are 0-3 when tied at the half and 30-3 when the team scores 10 or more goals.
