March 7, 2009

COLUMBUS, OH - The American Lacrosse Conference opener for #14 Johns Hopkins and Ohio State was an offensive show, with a combined 34 goals in the game. The Buckeyes saw seven different players score en route to a 22-12 win over the Blue Jays at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. Hopkins slips to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while Ohio State improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Freshman Candace Rossi (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) paced the Blue Jays with five goals on the day.

Trailing 10-4 after an Alayna Markwordt goal just 12 seconds into the second half, Hopkins got three unanswered goals in a span of just 2:52 to cut the deficit in half at 10-7. Rossi got things going when she took a feed from junior Brett Bathras (Severna Park, MD/Severn School) and scored her second of the day. Junior Sam Schrum (Pasadena, MD/St. Mary's) followed with her third of the season just over a minute later to cut it to 10-6. Rossi then notched her second straight hat trick with 25:06 to play on a free position shot.

Ohio State responded with six straight goals in just 4:11 to push its lead to 16-7. Five different Buckeyes scored during the run, led by a pair from Markwordt. Rossi temporarily halted the run with her fourth of the day with 19:36 to play, making it a 16-8 game. Maghan Beaudrault then connected with Kelly Haggerty and Ohio State's lead was back to nine with 17:37 remaining.

Hopkins put together another 3-0 run, with goals from freshman Cami Kramer (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach), Bathras and Rossi. But it was answered by a 5-2 game-ending run by the Buckeyes.

Ohio State jumped on Hopkins early, opening the game with four straight goals. Freshman Alyssa Kildare (Massapequa Park, NY/Farmingdale) scored on a free position goal with 20:17 to play in the first to get Hopkins on the board. But the Buckeyes got three quick goals from Jayme Beard and Beaudrault in just 69 seconds to push out to a 7-1 lead. The teams would trade goals for the remainder of the half and Ohio State took a 9-4 lead into the lockerroom.

Rossi scored five goals for the second straight game and is the first Blue Jay with back-to-back five-goal games since Mary Key turned the trick in 2007. Bathras was the only other multi-goal scorer for the Blue Jays, finishing with a pair. Rossi also controlled a career-high seven draw controls, the most by a Hopkins player since Kadie Stamper had seven against Ohio on March 10, 2006. Junior Lizzie O'Ferrall (Baltimore, MD/Mount De Sales) played 51:04 in the cage for Hopkins and finished with five saves in the loss. Sophomore Julianne Wisner (Parkton, MD/Notre Dame Prep) and senior Jess Buicko (Altamont, NY/Hotchkiss) combined to play the final 8:56.

Markwordt led the Buckeyes with a game-high 11 points on six goals and five assists. She led six Buckeyes with multi-goal games. Beaudrault finished with four while Beard also had a hat trick. For the Buckeyes, Kristen Gilwee posted 19 saves in the cage for the win.

It was a rough affair with 54 total fouls called and a total of 12 yellow cards given out. Hopkins outshot Ohio State 41-31 and won the ground ball battle (26-22). But Ohio State won more draws (21-13).

Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, March 15 at Oregon. Game time from Pape Field in Eugene, OR is slated for 1:00 pm PST.