• Johns Hopkins finally returns to the friendly confines of Homewood Field on Thursday to take on second-ranked Northwestern. 
• Thursday's game kicks off a three-game homestand for the Blue Jays, in which all three opponents are ranked in the top-25.
• Hopkins is coming off an 11-8 win at Ohio State in the Blue Jays' Big Ten opener on Saturday.   
  • The Blue Jays are 166-69-2 (.704) all-time in the month of March, including 3-2 under first-year head coach Tim McCormack.
• Since moving to Division I in 1999, Johns Hopkins is 117-53 (.688) in the month of March.
  • The Team Up For 1 Foundation (TU41) mission is to enhance the quality of life for children with physical and developmental disabilities, chronic and life-threatening illnesses and economic hardship by connecting them with sports teams at every competitive level – collegiate, high school and professional, as well as providing a variety of other programs that promote the values of inclusion, teamwork, education and fun.
• The Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team partnered with TU41 in March 2019 when the Blue Jays welcomed Amara as their MVP.
• March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. The Blue Jays will celebrate the day and their TU41 MVP, Amara, on Thursday.
  • Last Saturday's game was the fifth consecutive road game for Johns Hopkins.
• That stretch of five straight road games is the longest for the Blue Jays since April 2021 when they also played five straight road games. In fact, including two neutral site games following that five-game road swing, JHU played seven straight away from Homewood Field to end the 2021 season.
• This was just the fifth road trip of five games (or more) for the Blue Jays in the 48-year history of the program.
  • 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 came 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 is receiving votes in this week's IL Women/IWLCA Poll.
• Nine of the Blue Jays' 2023 opponents are ranked in the IL Women/IWLCA poll, including five in the top-10.
• Hopkins boasts the fifth toughest schedule in the nation. The Blue Jays' opponents have a combined win percentage of 66.4.
  • Johns Hopkins got three goals from Maeve Barker and three assists each from Bailey Cheetham and Ava Angello as the Blue Jays opened Big Ten play with an 11-8 win at Ohio State Saturday.
• Ohio State struck first, but Hopkins answered with a five-goal run that spanned more than 10 minutes and bridged the first and second quarters. Ashley Mackin sparked the run with back-to-back goals just 30 seconds apart. Barker, Marielle McAteer and Megan Kielbasa added goals as the Blue Jays went up 5-1 with 12:11 to play in the second quarter. Zoe Coleman scored five minutes later to kick-start a 4-1 run as the Buckeyes trimmed the lead to one with 2:14 left in the third.
• Barker and Cheetham scored at the end of the third and to open the fourth to put Hopkins on top 8-5. Ohio State came right back with a pair of goals less than two minutes apart and once again it was a one-goal game. Campbell Case, Barker and Jordan Carr answered with three goals in a five-and-a-half minute span to push the Blue Jays' lead to 11-7. The Buckeyes got one back with 44 ticks on the clock to account for the 11-8 final.
• Cheetham finished with a career-best four points and matched her career high with the three assists. Case (2g) and Mackin (2g) also had multi-point games, in addition to the three goals from Barker. Annie Marshall tied her high with 10 draws, her third double-digit draw game of the season. McPherson and Reagan O'Brien had three caused turnovers each to lead the defense and Haleigh Moore had a team-best five ground balls to go with a pair of takeaways.
  • Ava Angello scored three goals in her collegiate debut against Albany. 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.
• Angello erupted for six goals in the win at Monmouth. Her six goals are tied for the most by a Hopkins' freshman since the program moved to Division I in 1999. She joins Meghan Burnett (2000) and Jamie Larrimore (1999) as the only Blue Jay freshman with six goals in a game.
• Angello leads the Big Ten in assists by a freshman (8) and also ranks second in points (24) and third in goals (16).
• In addition, freshman defender Reagan O'Brien is tied for seventh in the Big Ten in assists by a freshman (2).
  • Senior Maeve Barker (3g, 3a) and freshman Ava Angello (6g) each turned in six-point performances in the win at Monmouth. It is the first time that two Blue Jays had at least six points in a game since 2021 when Aurora Cordingley (6g, 1a)  and Mackenzie Heldberg (1g, 6a) had seven points each against Rutgers.
• Since JHU moved to Division I in 1999, there have been 15 games in which two Blue Jays have had six-point performances. In fact, in two of those games (Denver 2012, Furman 2019), Hopkins had three players with at least six points.
  • 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.
  • Hopkins ranks second in the Big Ten and 13th in the nation with 7.25 assists per game.
• JHU has notched 58 assists through eight games and is assisting on 55.8 percent of its goals.
• Senior Maeve Barker leads the Blue Jays, and ranks fifth in the Big Ten, with 1.38 assists per game. She is JHU's active career leader with 35 assists and is tied for 20th in school Division I history.
• Senior Bailey Cheetham ranks second on the team with a career-high nine assists. She is tied for 11th in school history in assists by a midfielder with 18. Freshman Ava Angello is third on the team with eight helpers, which is already tied for 11th most by a freshman in program history. 
  • Sophomore defender Quinlan O'Brien scored a transition goal with 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter at Loyola. She is the first Blue Jay defender to score since Jeanne Kachris scored, also in transition, against UMBC on March 29, 2022.
• O'Brien is the 12th Hopkins defender to score a goal since the program moved to Division I in 1999 (see chart at right). Six of the 12 have scored multiple goals.
• Lacey-Leigh Hentz is first among all JHU defenders with 12 career goals (2002-05). She was inducted into the JHU Hall of Fame in 2020.
  • Freshman Reagan O'Brien is making her mark early on the Blue Jay defense. She notched three caused turnovers and three ground balls in her collegiate debut versus Albany and has totaled 21 caused turnovers and 19 ground balls in her first eight games. 
• O'Brien had six caused turnovers at Loyola, that's one shy of the school single-game record. The six takeaways are also tied for the most by a freshman in a game.
• O'Brien leads Hopkins, ranks second in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation with 2.62 caused turnovers per game. She also ranks fourth in the league with 2.38 ground balls per game.
• O'Brien's 21 caused turnovers are already sixth most by a freshman in program history. Lacey-Leigh Hentz set the record with 54 in 2002. 
• As a team, Hopkins leads the Big Ten and ranks ninth in the nation with 10.88 caused turnovers per game. JHU had 17 caused turnovers in the win at Georgetown - that's the most by the Blue Jays since they had 18 against Furman on February 29, 2020.
  • Hopkins shutout Georgetown in the first and fourth quarters on March 1. It was the first time JHU had shut out an opponent for a quarter since April 28, 2022. On that date, Hopkins held host Penn State scoreless in the fourth quarter. It is also the first time the Blue Jays have held an opponent scoreless for two quarters since women's lacrosse moved to quarters in 2022.
• In addition, JHU has held opponents scoreless for 15 minutes or more six times this season, with three of those coming against Georgetown. On Saturday, the Blue Jays held the host Buckeyes scoreless for over 21 minutes as they built a 5-1 lead.
  • Sophomore Annie Marshall has taken the majority of the draw controls for the Blue Jays this season. She has tallied 53 draws and ranks third in the Big Ten, and 15th in the nation, with 6.62 draws per game. Marshall matched her 2022 season total (6) in JHU's opener against Albany.
• Marshall controlled a career-high 10 draws versus Penn on February 25 - one shy of the program single-season record. She is only the fourth player in program history to register double-digit draws in a game, joining Shelby Harrison, Dene' DiMartino and Ellie McNulty.
• Marshall turned in her second 10-draw game in the win at Monmouth and again at Ohio State. She and Harrison are the only players in program history with multiple double-digit draw games.
• As a team, Hopkins ranks second in the Big Ten, and 21st in the nation, with 15.50 draws per game. The Blue Jays are winning 57.4 percent of their draws, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 17th in the nation. 
• Hopkins won 22 of 28 draws at Monmouth on March 7. That's the second most draw control wins in a game in program history and are four shy of the program record. JHU won the draw battle, 19-3, at Ohio State on Saturday.
  • 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).
  • Senior Maeve Barker needs six points to reach the 100-point mark for her career. She would be the 45th player in program history, and 27th since the program moved to Division I in 1999, to reach the milestone.
  • Multiple Blue Jays are making their move up the Johns Hopkins Division I record book. Here's a look at where they rank:
 
Ava Angello (Fr. • A):
• Needs 3 points to rank 16th, 4 to rank 15th in points and 5 to rank 14th by a freshman (has 24)
• Needs 1 goal to rank 17th and 3 to rank 15th in goals by a freshman (has 16)
• Needs 1 assist to rank 10th, 2 to rank 7th and 3 to rank 5th in assists by a freshman (has 8)
 
Maeve Barker (Sr. • A):
• Needs 6 points to reach 100 for her career (has 94)
• Needs 1 assist to rank 19th, 2 to rank 18th, 3 to rank 17th and 4 to rank 15th in assists (has 35)
 
Bailey Cheetham (Sr. • M):
• Needs 1 assist to rank 10th, 2 to rank 9th and 3 to rank 8th in assists by a midfielder (has 18)
 
Georgie Gorelick (Jr. • M):
• Needs 1 point to rank 18th, 3 to rank 15th in points and 6 to rank 14th by a midfielder (has 46)
• Needs 1 goal to rank 18th, 2 to rank 17th and 4 to rank 16th in goals by a midfielder (has 35)
• Needs 2 assists to rank 17th and 4 to rank 16th in assists by a midfielder (has 11)
 
Abbey Hurlbrink (Jr. • M):
• Needs 3 points to rank 14th in points by a midfielder (has 49)
• Needs 4 goals to rank 12th in goals by a midfielder (has 43)
 
Madison McPherson (Sr. • M):
• Needs 1 point to rank 19th, 2 to rank 18th in points and 4 to rank 17th by a midfielder (has 45)
• Needs 2 goals to rank 16th and 4 to rank 15th in goals by a midfielder (has 37)
• Needs 5 draws to rank 17th (has 80)
 
Reagan O'Brien (Fr. • D):
• Needs 1 caused turnover to rank 5th and 7 to rank 4th by a freshman (has 21)
 
Maggie Tydings (Jr. • GK):
• Needs 62 saves to rank 11th (has 58)
  • Freshman Ava Angello was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week last Tuesday after she totaled eight goals and 10 points in a 1-1 week for the Blue Jays. She is the first Blue Jay to earn B1G Freshman of the Week honors since Charlotte Smith in March 2022.
• Angello scored a career-high six goals and controlled one draw in the win at Monmouth on Tuesday afternoon. Her six goals are tied for the most by a freshman in school history. Angello finished with four points on two goals and two assists in a tough loss at eighth-ranked James Madison Saturday.
• Angello is tied for the team lead with 16 goals and ranks second in points (24) and assists (8). She also leads the B1G in assists by a freshman, is second in points and third in goals.
  • Senior Maeve Barker, junior Georgie Gorelick and sophomore Annie Marshall were 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.
  • Thursday's game is the 22nd meeting between Johns Hopkins and Northwestern in a series that dates to an 11-7 Hopkins win on March 26, 2002 at Homewood Field.
• Hopkins and Northwestern have been conference opponents in two different conferences. The two were inaugural members of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) from 2002 to 2014. The ALC disbanded after the 2014 season due to the formation of the Big Ten. JHU joined the Big Ten in 2017 after playing as an independent in 2015 and 2016.
• Northwestern leads the all-time series, 17-4, and has won six straight.
  • Thursday's game against Northwestern will be the ninth for Hopkins on March 23. The Blue Jays are 6-2 all-time and have won their last two games on this date.
• Six of JHU's eight games on March 23 have come since the Blue Jays moved to Division I in 1999.
 
     1991      Roanoke_________________ L, 7-8
     1996      at Muhlenberg____________ W, 20-8
     2001      at Brown_________________ W, 12-11 (OT)
     2005      at George Mason__________ W, 8-6
     2011      #4 Penn__________________ W, 8-5
     2013      at Princeton______________ L, 7-10
     2016      at Vanderbilt______________ W, 12-11
     2019      UMBC___________________ W, 17-7
  • Seven Blue Jays carry active goal, assist and/or point streaks into Saturday's game at Ohio State.
• Here's a look at those streaks:
 
Ava Angello (Fr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 8 straight games
• Has at least one assist in 2 straight games
 
Maeve Barker (Sr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 5 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 5 straight games
 
Jordan Carr (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 5 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 5 straight games
 
Campbell Case (Jr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 3 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 3 straight games
 
Georgie Gorelick (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 9 straight games
• Has at least one assist in 3 straight games
 
Abbey Hurlbrink (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 3 straight games
 
Ashley Mackin (So. • A):
• Has at least one point in 4 straight games
  • 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.
  • 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 carried a 16-game point-scoring streak into the 2023 season. She is the Blue Jays' active leader in goals (55), assists (34) and points (89).
• Cheetham, a two-way middie, returns after posting career highs in every statistical category last season. She finished with 10 goals and 15 points, to go with 23 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and five draws in 18 games. For her career, Cheetham has 29 points (14g, 15), 45 ground balls, 19 draws and 19 caused turnovers.
• 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. She now has 19 goals and 22 points to go with 25 ground balls, nine draws and 16 caused turnovers in 26 career games. 
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • 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 467-305-4 (.604) and a 249-168 (.597) 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 is back at Homewood Field on Wednesday as the Blue Jays host the sixth-ranked Stony Brook Seawolves. Opening draw for the non-conference contest is slated for 4:00 pm.