Box Score

Junior Alexis Maffucci scored two goals at Ohio State Saturday.

The Basics
• Score: #17 Ohio State-8, #18 Johns Hopkins-7
• Records: JHU (3-3), OSU (4-1)
• Location: Columbus, OH • Ohio Stadium
• The Short Story: Host and 17th-ranked Ohio State took a two-goal lead with 12:21 to play in the game and held off the 18th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team, 8-7, on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium. Junior Alexis Maffucci and sophomore Shannon Fitzgerald scored two goals each for the Blue Jays (3-3) in the defensive battle.

How it Happened
• It was a defensive battle through the first 13 minutes of the game but Ohio State got on the board first at 17:01 to take the first lead. Molly Wood broke the deadlock when she spun on her defender in the middle of the fan and scored from six yards out. Cian Dabrowski doubled the Buckeyes' lead on a low-to-low shot at the 14:47-mark.
• Hopkins cut the deficit in half 20 seconds later as senior Dene' DiMartino slipped a shot to sophomore Shannon Fitzgerald, who was cutting down the middle of the fan. Fitzgerald took the pass, cradled and blew a shot past Katie Federick from eight yards out. Ohio State answered with back-to-back goals just 42 seconds apart to push out to a 4-1 lead on strikes from Rainey Hodgson and Wood.
• The Blue Jays pulled back within one by the 4:32 mark, to make it 4-3. Sophomore Emily Kenul converted a free position shot after picking up the ground ball off a Frederick save. The Jays then cashed in off a failed Buckeye clear when senior Caroline Turco checked the ball from Federick and then found DiMartino for the quick score. Ohio State had the final say of the half however, as Kelsey Gallagher took a pass from Dabrowski and went low-to-high with 2:19 to play.
• Junior Alexis Maffucci and Fitzgerald scored goals 77 seconds apart to start the second half and knot the score for the Blue Jays. Maffucci scored from the doorstep, one timing a pass from senior Jenna Reifler at 26:01. Fitzgerald then scored off a roll dodge from behind the goal to tie the game at 5-5.
• Dabrowski gave the Buckeyes back the lead with a free position goal at 19:09. Maffucci answered when she took a dump pass from junior Haley Schweizer and beat Frederick from close range with 16:40 to play. The tie was shortlived however as Hodgson scored back-to-back goals in less than two minutes to stake Ohio State to an 8-6 lead.
• Schweizer cut the deficit in half at the 3:07-mark when she weaved through several defenders in the fan and scored high-to-low. Ohio State won the draw and was able to run off all but the final 10 seconds of the game.

What it Means
• Johns Hopkins is now 9-6 all-time against Ohio State, including 2-5 in Columbus. This is the fourth straight game and eighth overall that was decided by one goal.
• Senior Dene' DiMartino extended her point and goal-scoring streaks to 40 and 32 games, respectively. Sophomore Emily Kenul pushed her point streak to 24 games and junior Haley Schweizer extended her goal-scoring streak to 16 games.

Johns Hopkins Leaders
• Points: Four (2)
• Goals: Alexis Maffucci (2), Shannon Fitzgerald (2)
• Assists: Four (1)
• Draw Controls: Dene' DiMartino (4)
• Ground Balls: Jenna Reifler (3)
• Caused Turnovers: Emily Kenul (2), Kirsti Paavola (2)
• Saves: Caroline Federico (6)

Opponent Leaders
• Points: Rainey Hodgson (4)
• Goals: Rainey Hodgson (3)
• Assists: Three (1)
• Draw Controls: Olivia DiCarlantonio (5)
• Ground Balls: Meredith Bushell (6)
• Caused Turnovers: Meredith Bushell (1), Morgan Castelein (1)
• Saves: Katie Frederick (14)

Up Next
• Johns Hopkins returns to action on Friday, March 11 as the Blue Jays host the Boston University Terriers. Opening draw at Homewood Field is slated for 4:00 pm.