• Johns Hopkins hits the road for the first time this season as the Blue Jays visit the ninth-ranked Loyola Greyhounds on Saturday. 
• JHU is coming off a 17-10 win over Albany on Sunday in the first-ever meeting between the two.
• Hopkins improved to 33-14-1 (.697) all-time in season openers and has now won 18 of its last 20 openers.   
  • Hopkins is 41-21 (.661) all-time in the month of February. Now in their 48th season, the Blue Jays did not play a game in February until 2002. Hopkins, then in just its fourth season as a Division I program, lost to Vanderbilt, 7-4, on February 24.
  • For the first time in three decades, there is a new coach at the helm of the Blue Jays. Tim McCormack was named just the fourth coach in program history on June 7, 2022.
• McCormack comes to Homewood after a successful three-year stint at Arizona State. He led the Sun Devils to a 26-17 record, including back-to-back 10 wins seasons and a berth in the Pac-12 championship game.
  • Hopkins opened the season with a 17-10 win over Albany on a rain-soaked Homewood Field last Sunday.
• The Blue Jays broke open a 3-2 game with a six-goal goal run that spanned nearly 13 minutes over the first and second quarters. Megan Kielbasa sparked the run with back-to-back goals just 84 seconds apart late in the first quarter. Ava Angello capped the run with her first career goal at 5:43 in the second to take JHU to a 9-2 lead. Albany got back on the board less than two minutes later, but Hopkins responded with five straight goals to go up 14-3 with 9:50 left in the third and put the game away.
• Georgie Gorelick tied her career high with five goals, while Maeve Barker handed out a career-best five assists. Angello (3g), Annie Marshall (2g), Jordan Carr (2g, 1a), Kielbasa (2g), Bailey Cheetham (1g, 1a) and Campbell Case (1g, 1a) all had multi-point games for Hopkins. Marshall also controlled a career-high six draws. Madison McPherson and Reagan O'Brien led the defense with three caused turnovers each, while O'Brien also had a team-best three ground balls.
  • Georgie Gorelick's five goals and Maeve Barker's five assists versus Albany mark the first time since 2021, and the 11th time overall, that Hopkins had  a player with five goals and a player with five assists in the same game.
• Mary Key is the only player in program Division I history to have at least five goals and five assists in the same game. She accomplished the feat on March 24, 2007 versus Orgeon.
  • Ava Angello scored three goals in her collegiate debut Sunday. She is the first freshman to tally a hat trick in their debut since Miranda Ibello accomplished the feat on Feburary 12, 2016 versus Marquette.
• In fact, Angello is just the fifth freshman in school Division I history to score a hat trick in their collegiate debut.
  • Hopkins moved up two spots and is now ranked 18th in the IL Women/IWLCA Poll with 195 points. The Blue Jays are also ranked 20th in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Poll.
• JHU has been ranked in 21 of the last 22 IL Women/IWLCA polls.
• Seven of the Blue Jays' 2023 opponents are ranked in the IL Women/IWLCA poll, including five in the top-10.
• Hopkins boasts the ninth toughest schedule in the nation. The Blue Jays' opponents have a combined win percentage of 65.7.
  • Head coach Tim McCormack announced on June 24 that Nicole Graziano and Dorrien Van Dyke would join his staff at Homewood.
• Van Dyke and Graziano spent the last three seasons on McCormack's staff at Arizona State. During their time in Tempe, the Sun Devils went 26-17 with back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2021 and 2022. Arizona State also made its first-ever appearance in the Pac-12 Championship game in 2022. Van Dyke will coach the Blue Jay defense and Graziano will coach the offense.
• Graziano helped turn around the Arizona State offense. In the year prior her arrival in Tempe, the Sun Devils ranked 96th in the nation with 9.89 goals per game. In her first season, a COVID-shortened 2020 season, ASU ranked 12th in the nation with 16.38 goals per game. Arizona State led the Pac-12 in scoring in 2020 and 2021 (16.44 goals per game) and ranked third in 2022 (13.21).
• Van Dyke's Arizona State defense led the Pac-12 in ground balls and ranked fourth in scoring defense in 2021 (12.62) and 2022 (12.79). The squad also ranked third in caused turnovers in 2020 (7.13) and then second in 2021 (8.50) and 2022 (7.11).
• In addition to her work with the defense, Van Dyke made immediate improvements in the Sun Devil draw control unit. Arizona State ranked fourth in the Pac-12 prior to her arrival in Tempe. ASU ranked third (14.25) in 2020, second in 2021 (16.68) and then led the league (15.95) this past season. The Sun Devils also ranked in the top-20 in the nation in draws in each of the last two seasons.
  • Kathleen Garvey returned to her alma mater in August to join head coach Tim McCormack's staff as the graduate manager. She will assist with the Blue Jay goalies.
• Garvey returns to Homewood after a standout career in the cage for the Blue Jays. She finished her career ranked fourth in program history with 352 saves and seventh in goals against average (11.10) and save percentage (.433).
• A three-year starter, Garvey posted 15 double-digit save performances in 41 starts. She earned Big Ten Goaltender of the Year honors and Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic honors in 2021 after leading the league in saves (129) and ranking second in save percentage (.436).
  • Saturday's game at Loyola will be just the fourth for Hopkins on February 18. The Blue Jays are 3-0 on this date.
 
     2017      at Marquette___________ W, 12-10
     2015      George Washington______ W, 16-3
     2012      at George Mason________ W, 19-6 
  • The Blue Jays' 2023 roster includes seven seniors, 11 juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen.
• The 33-woman roster features players from 10 states and one Canadian province (Ontario). By state, the Blue Jays hail from Maryland (13), New York (5), Massachusetts (4), California (2), Connecticut (2), New Jersey (2), Pennsylvania (1), Florida (1), Oregon (1) and Virginia (1). 
  • Head coach Tim McCormack welcomed seven freshmen to the Blue Jays this season. Joining Hopkins are Ava Angello, Morgan Giradina, Hannah Johnson, Grace Karstetter, Jillian McNaughton, Reagan O'Brien and Emily Peek.
  • Hopkins and Loyola meet for the 21st time in a series that dates to a 12-4 Greyhounds win on April 12, 1976.
• Loyola leads the all-time series, 15-5, and have won the last two meetings.
• The Blue Jays and Greyhounds met every year from 1976 until 1982. But the series took a 30-year hiatus and did not resume until February 29, 2012. Since 2012, the series is even at 5-5.
  • Saturday's game is the 47th game for Johns Hopkins against a team currently in the Patriot League.
• Hopkins is 27-19 all-time against current members of the Patriot League.  Thirty of the 46 games played against Patriot League members have come against Loyola (20) and American (13).
• JHU has never played Army, Colgate or Lafayette.
 
     American_______________ 11-2
     Boston University_________ 4-0
     Bucknell_________________ 3-0
     Holy Cross_______________ 1-0
     Lehigh__________________ 3-0
     Loyola__________________ 5-15
     Navy____________________ 0-2
  • Seniors Maeve Barker and Bailey Cheetham and junior Jordan Carr have been selected as captains for the 2023 season.
• Barker returns after starting 18 games on attack a year ago and carries a 16-game point-scoring streak into the 2023 season. She is the Blue Jays' active leader in goals (43), assists (24) and points (67).
• Cheetham, a two-way middie, returns after posting career highs in every statistical category last season. She finished with 10 goals and 15 points in 18 games. Cheetham also tallied 23 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and five draws.
• Carr had a breakout season as a two-way middie in 2022. After seeing action in just two games as a freshman, she played in 18 games and started 16 a year ago. She totaled 16 points (12g, 4a), 23 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers and six draws. Carr scored on 75 percent of her shots on goal.
  Four Blue Jays carry active goal, assist and/or point streaks into Saturday's game at Loyola. Here's a look at those streaks:
 
Maeve Barker (Sr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 17 straight games
 
Eliza Bowman (Jr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 4 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 4 straight games
 
Bailey Cheetham (Sr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 2 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 2 straight games
 
Georgie Gorelick (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 2 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 2 straight games
  • Johns Hopkins was picked to finish fifth in the 2023 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll of the league's seven head coaches.
• Maryland is the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, followed by Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan, Hopkins, Ohio State and Penn State.
• All seven teams will qualify for the 2023 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament, with the top team in the final league standings earning a bye into the semifinals. The teams that finish second, third and fourth will host quarterfinal games on Saturday, April 29. Ohio State will host the semifinals (May 4) and finals (May 6).
  • Senior Maeve Barker, junior Georgie Gorelick and sophomore Annie Marshall have been named to the 2023 Big Ten Players to Watch list. Three players from each of the Big Ten's six teams were named as players to watch.
• Barker returns after starting 18 games on attack. She ranked second on the team with 12 assists and tied for third with 23 goals. She posted 12 multi-point games and finished the season on a 16-game point streak.
• Gorelick saw action in 17 games in the midfield and finished fifth on the team in goals (20) and assists (5). She was also tied for second with seven free position goals.
• Marshall played 18 games in her freshman campaign as a center draw specialist. She totaled six ground balls, six draw controls and three caused turnovers.
  • Athletics at Johns Hopkins is a family affair and this year's team is no different.
• Freshman Reagan O'Brien joins her sister, sophomore Quinlan O'Brien, at Homewood this spring. The O'Briens are the 13th pair of sisters to don the Hopkins Blue & Black.
• Freshman Morgan Giardina is following in the footsteps of her father, Scott, who played lacrosse at Johns Hopkins and is a 1992 graduate.
• In addition, junior Liza Regan played alongside her cousin, Caroline Somerville, for two seasons (2021, 2022) at Homewood.
  • Hopkins will play four nationally televised games this season. JHU willl take on Penn (Feb. 25), Rutgers (Apr. 1) and Maryland (Apr. 5) on ESPNU. In addition, Hopkins' game at Michigan (Apr. 13) will be shown on the Big Ten Network. 
  • This marks the 48th season for Johns Hopkins, which sports an all-time record of 464-301-4 (.606) and a 246-164 (.600) record as a Division I program.
• The Blue Jays have posted 36 winning seasons, including 21 straight from 1987 to 2007. Hopkins has also made 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 10 in the Division I Tournament (2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).
  • Hopkins produced a school-record and Big Ten-best 33 Academic All-Big Ten selections for the 2022 season. Fifteen Blue Jays were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
• In addition, JHU set a school record as 14 student-athletes were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll in late July.
• The Blue Jays posted an impressive 3.57 GPA for the Spring semester, which included five players with a perfect 4.00 GPA.
  • Hopkins returns to Homewood Field on Saturday, February 25 to take on Penn. Opening draw for the non-conference contest is slated for 4:00 pm. The game will be shown on ESPN+ and will air on ESPNU on Sunday, February 26 at 9:30 am.