• Johns Hopkins makes the short trip to Towson Wednesday in the Blue Jays' penultimate non-conference game of the season.
• The Blue Jays are coming off a tough loss to eighth-ranked Maryland on Saturday at Homewood Field.  
  • The Blue Jays are 221-160-2 (.579) all-time in the month of April, including 115-70 (.622) under head coach Janine Tucker.
• Since moving to Division I in 1999, Hopkins is 74-63 (.540) in the month of April.
  • Three of Hopkins' losses this season have come by just one or two goals to ranked opponents.
• JHU lost in overtime at 25th-ranked Navy on March 10 and then dropped a tough two-goal decision to 10th-ranked Michigan eight days later. Hopkins fell by just one goal at 13th-ranked Rutgers (March 26).
  • Head coach Janine Tucker announced in August that 2022 will be her final season at Johns Hopkins. She is in her 29th, and final, season and sports a career record of 309-177 (.636), including a 241-161 (.599) record since she successfully transitioned the program from Division III to Division I in 1999.
• The all-time winningest coach in program history, Tucker has led the Blue Jays to double-digit wins 22 times, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and three ECAC Division I championship games. Her 309 wins are the second most by a female coach in any sport in Johns Hopkins history. In addition, she ranks seventh among all JHU coaches in career victories.
• In a career filled with thrilling victories and big moments, Tucker's most recent milestone came in 2021 as she became just the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 300 wins when her Blue Jays beat 13th-ranked Penn State, on April 18.
• Tucker was presented with the IWLCA's Diane Geppi Aikens Award in November. The award is named in honor of the legendary Loyola coach whose courageous battle with cancer inspired the nation and recognizes lifetime achievement to the women's college game.
• After a successful career as an All-American lacrosse player at Loyola, Tucker broke into the coaching ranks at her alma mater as an assistant alongside Geppi Aikens.
  • Hopkins is tied for 22nd in this week's IL Women/IWLCA Poll.
• Seven of the Blue Jays' 2022 opponents are ranked in the top-25 in this week's IL Women/IWLCA Poll, including four in the top-10 (Maryland, Northwestern, Stony Brook, Loyola).
• The Blue Jays boast the third toughest schedule in the nation this season. JHU's opponents have a combined win percentage of 66.1. Only Syracuse (68.8) and Florida (67.4) have tougher schedules.  
• Hopkins has been ranked in 104 of the last 134 IWLCA Coaches Polls, beginning with the first regular season poll in 2012. 
  Several Blue Jays are making their move up the Johns Hopkins Division I record book. Here's a look at where they rank:
 
Keegan Barger (Gr. • M):
• Needs 3 ground balls to rank 17th and 10 to rank 16th (has 105)
• Needs 40 draws to rank 5th (has 162)
• Needs 2 caused turnovers to rank 7th and 9 caused turnovers to rank 6th (has 74)
 
Kathleen Garvey (Gr. • GK):
• Needs 18 saves to rank 5th (has 296)
• Needs 4 saves to reach 300 for her career (has 296)
 
Shelby Harrison (Gr. • M):
• Needs 9 points to reach 100 for her career (has 91)
• Needs 18 free position goals to rank 1st (has 37)
• Needs 1 caused turnover to rank 18th and 3 to rank 16th (had 49)
 
Jeanne Kachris (Gr. • D):
• Needs 2 ground balls to rank 14th and 9 to rank 13th (has 115)
• Needs 7 caused turnovers to rank 6th (has 76)
 
Annika Meyer (Sr. • D):
• Needs 5 caused turnovers to rank 13th (has 57)
• Needs 3 ground balls to rank 18th and 6 to rank 17th (has 102)
 
Kaitlyn Pham (Jr. • GK):
• Needs 2 saves to rank 13th and 11 to rank 12th (has 8)
  • The Blue Jays are looking forward to a more traditional schedule in 2022 with 11 non-conference and six Big Ten contests. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hopkins was unable to practice in the fall and then faced a Big Ten-only schedule in the spring, playing each Big Ten team twice.
• The 2022 schedule features 10 home games and three new opponents (VCU, East Carolina and Coastal Carolina). Seven of the Blue Jays' 2022 opponents advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, including one which advanced to the national semifinals.
  • Inside Lacrosse released its Midseason All-America Teams on Thursday and three Blue Jays were named to Honorable Mention - fifth-year seniors Shelby Harrison and Jeanne Kachris and senior Annika Meyer.
• Harrison leads the Blue Jays in goals (25), free position goals (10) and draws (44) and is second in points (26). She is eighth in the Big Ten in draws per game (3.67).
• Kachris leads Hopkins with 22 caused turnovers, tying her career high, and is also second in ground balls (23). She ranks second in the league in caused turnovers per game (1.83) and is eighth in ground balls per game (1.82).
• Meyer is JHU's leader in ground balls (25) and is second in caused turnovers (14). She ranks seventh in the Big Ten in ground balls per game (2.08) and is ninth in caused turnovers per game (1.17).
  • Fifth-year senior Shelby Harrison became Johns Hopkins all-time leader in draw controls last Saturday at Rutgers. She won the game's opening draw, the 268th of her career, to break Dene' DiMartino's (2013-16) record. Harrison finished with a game-high seven draws. It was the 24th time in her career (69 games) that she has had five or more draws.
• Harrison ranks 14th among all active players in the nation, and second among players in the Big Ten, with her 280 draws.
• Harrison has led the team in draws in each of her four seasons and notched the 200th draw of her career on February 28, 2021 versus Northwestern - in just her 47th career game. She averages 3.94 draws per game in her career, the best per game average in program history. Harrison holds the school record for draws in a game (11) and by a freshman (91).
• Fifth-year senior Keegan Barger is also a threat at the draw circle. She ranked second on the team in draws in a COVID-shortened 2020 (17) and as a freshman (54). She ranks sixth in school history with 162 career draws. and has had five or more draws in a game nine times in her career.  
• Senior Mia Farnella has emerged as a draw specialist this season and ranks second on the team with 25 daws (2.77 per game). She entered the season with nine career draw controls.
  • Eighth-ranked Maryland scored the final eight goals of the game in a 17-6 win over host Johns Hopkins Saturday afternoon
• After a 3-1 spurt pulled the Blue Jays within three with 6:44 to play, Jordyn Lipkin scored to spark that eight-goal Terps' run that put the game away.
• Hopkins struck first when Madison McPherson blew past her defender in the right alley and stuck one inside the right post just 64 seconds in. Maryland answered with five straight to push out to a 5-1 lead with 19.1 seconds left in the first quarter. But Hopkins wasn't done for the quarter. Georgia Esmond found a cutting Maeve Barker, who scored with just 0.6 seconds on the clock.
• The Terps opened the second quarter with a 3-1 burst to push out to an 8-3 lead wiht 6:26 to go in the half. Shelby Harrison and Georgie Gorelick answered with back-to-back goals to make it an 8-5 game at the half. The teams traded goals to open the third quarter and Maryland led 9-6 before closing the game on that eight-goal run.
• Barker led the Blue Jays with two goals, while Esmond had a pair of assists. McPherson's goal extended her point streak to 11 games, while Harrison pushed her point and goal-scoring streaks to 10 games.
• McPherson also had a team and season-best four draws as the Blue Jays won draw battle (13-12). Jeanne Kachris had a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover for the defense. She also held the nation's leader in points (6.80 ppg) to just two goals, both of which came on free position. Garvey finished with 13 saves and a pair of ground balls. This was her second straight double-digit save performance and third in the last six games.
  • Junior middie Madison McPherson is having a breakout season on the offensive end of the field for the Blue Jays. After playing a primarily defense role in her first two seasons, she made the transition to more of a two-way middie.
• McPherson had tallied just one point in her first two seasons (17 games). This season, she ranks second on the team in goals (22) and is third in points (25) and assists (3). She also leads the team in shooting percentage (.512) and is second in free position goals (7).
  • A trio of Blue Jays - Jordan Carr, Georgie Gorelick and Charlotte Smith - scored their first career goals in the season-opening win versus VCU.
• Junior Madison McPherson scored her first career goal just 2:11 into the game versus ninth-ranked Loyola (February 19). She then tallied her first career hat trick in JHU's win over Georgetown (March 2). Senior Claire Mills also turned in her first career hat trick versus the Hoyas.
• Gorelick notched her first career hat trick in Hopkins come-from-behind win over Drexel (March 6).
• Four Blue Jays had career firsts in the win over the UMBC Retrievers (March 29). Fifth-year defender Jeanne Kachris scored her first career goal. Sophomores Jordan Carr, Cameron Levine and Marielle McAteer each notched their first career assist.
  • Senior Georgia Esmond leads the Blue Jays and ranks fifth in the Big Ten  with 19 assists. She has at least one assist in nine of Hopkins' 12 games this season and has had four multi-assist games.
• Just four games into the season, Esmond had already doubled her career assist total. She entered the season with nine career assists and now has 28 helpers to her credit. 
  • Hopkins and Towson meet for the 26th time on Wednesday. The Blue Jays own a 15-10 advantage in the series. JHU beat Towson, 10-3, in the last meeting between the two on April 2, 2019. The Tigers had won the previous two meetings.
  • Senior defender Annika Meyer has been named to the 2022 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. She is just the third Blue Jay defender to be named to the watch list and the first since Alyssa Kildare in 2012. A Hopkins women's lacrosse player has been named to the watch list 16 times in the last 19 seasons.
• Meyer was named a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch after earning First Team All-Big Ten honors in 2021. She was also named a preseason All-American by both USA Lacrosse Magazine (Second Team) and Inside Lacrosse (Honorable Mention). 
  • Fifth-year seniors Shelby Harrison and Kathleen Garvey were also named Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch.
• Harrison, a two-time All-Big Ten selection in the midfield, returns as one of the top draw specialists in the 46-year history of the program. Garvey returns after earning Big Ten Goalie of the Year honors in 2021. She led the league in saves (129) and was second in save percentage (.436), goals against average (11.14) and saves per game (8.60).
  • Senior attacker Georgia Esmond was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week on February 15. She finished with a game and career-high six points and four assists, along with three ground balls in the season-opening win against VCU. Five of her six points came in an 11-minute span of the second half as the Blue Jays turned a one-goal game into a nine-goal game.
• Freshman attacker Charlotte Smith was named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week for her effort in the Blue Jays' 10-8 win at 19th-ranked Penn (February 26). She scored twice and added an assist for three points.
  • The Blue Jay defense ranks third in the Big Ten and 17th in the nation with 9.33 caused turnovers per game. JHU is also fourth in the league and 26th in the nation in scoring defense (10.33).
• In 2021, the Blue Jays led the Big Ten and ranked 14th in the nation in caused turnovers (10.00). JHU also ranked second in the league in scoring defense (11.20) and ground balls (17.60) a year ago.
• Fifth-year senior Jeanne Kachris ranks seventh in school history and 12th among all active Division I players with 76 career caused turnovers. She is second in the Big Ten in caused turnovers (1.83/game). She is also tied for 15th in JHU history with 115 career ground balls.
• Fifth-year senior Keegan Barger ranks eighth in JHU history, and is 14th among all active players in Division I, with 74 caused turnovers. She also holds the school single-game record with seven takeaways in a game.
• Senior Annika Meyer ranks ninth in the league in caused turnovers (1.17) and seventh in ground balls (2.08). She ranks 14th in program history with 59 career takeaways and is 19th with 102 career ground balls.
• Hopkins held VCU to just six goals on 15 shots in its season-opener (February 12). The Blue Jays' also forced 13 Rams' turnovers, led by Meyer's game-high four takeaways.
• In the come-from-behind win over Drexel (March 6), Hopkins held the Dragons scoreless for a stretch of 26:07 between the second and fourth quarters. Hopkins held ECU (March 20) scoreless for nearly 22 minutes in a drought that spanned the second and third quarters. Last Saturday, JHU held Rutgers scoreless for nearly 21 minutes in a drought that spanned the second and third quarters. And on March 29, the Blue Jays held the UMBC Retrievers scoreless for a span of 17:26 in the second and third quarters.
  Seven Blue Jays carry active goal, assist and/or point streaks into Wednesday's game at Towson. Here's a look at those streaks:
 
Maeve Barker (Jr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 9 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 5 straight games
 
Eliza Bowman (So. • A):
• Has at least one point in 3 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 3 straight games
• Will miss the season due to injury
 
Bailey Cheetham (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 3 straight games
 
Georgia Esmond (Sr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 2 straight games
• Has at least one assist in 2 straight games
 
Georgie Gorelick (So. • M):
• Has at least one point in 3 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 3 straight games
 
Shelby Harrison (Gr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 10 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 10 straight games
 
Madison McPherson (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 11 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 5 straight games
  • Johns Hopkins was picked to finish fourth in the 2022 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll of the league's seven head coaches.
• Northwestern was the unanimous pick to the win the Big Ten in 2022, followed by Maryland, Rutgers, Hopkins, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.
  • Fifth-year senior midfielders Keegan Barger and Shelby Harrison and senior defender Annika Meyer have been selected in a vote by their teammates as captains for the 2022 season.
• This is Barger's second turn as a captain as she was the Blue Jays' lone captain in 2021.
  • The Blue Jays welcome back four seniors from last year's squad in Keegan Barger, Kat Garvey, Shelby Harrison and Jeanne Kachris. After the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted all spring athletes an extra year of eligibility.
  • Head coach Janine Tucker welcomed eight freshmen to the team this season. Joining Hopkins are Hadley Boston, Paris Colgain, Jordan Conversano, Alayna Costa, Ashley Mackin, Annie Marshall, Quinlan O'Brien and Charlotte Smith.
• Colgain was ranked #17 by Inside Lacrosse while Boston was named to the Watch List.
  • Under head coach Janine Tucker, the Blue Jays are 141-72 (.662) within the friendly confines of Homewood Field and the Jays are 50-26 (.657) at home since the start of the 2014 season.
• Hopkins will play 10 of its 17 regular season games at Homewood this spring. 
  • Johns Hopkins will play three nationally-televised games this season. Hopkins' games versus Maryland (April 2) and Ohio State (April 23) will be televised on ESPNU while JHU's game at Penn State (April 28) will air on the Big Ten Network.
• In addition, Hopkins' games at Penn (Feb. 26), Navy (Mar. 10) and Stony Brook (Mar. 13) will be shown on ESPN+
  • This marks the 47th season for Johns Hopkins, which sports an all-time record of 459-297-4 (.606) and a 241-161 (.599) record as a Division I program.
• The Blue Jays have posted 35 winning seasons, including 21 straight from 1987 to 2007. Hopkins has also made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including nine in the Division I Tournament (2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021).
  • Hopkins returns to Homewood Field on Sunday to take on Coastal Carolina in the Blue Jays' final non-conference tilt of the season. Opening draw is slated for 12:00 pm.