PHILADELPHIA, PA – Host Drexel used eight-goal run that bridged the first and second quarters to take control of the game en route to a 16-11 win over 19^th-ranked Johns Hopkins Saturday.
 
Hopkins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in a span of just one minute and 58 seconds. Sophomore Ashley Mackin opened the scoring with a beautiful finish off a freed from senior Bailey Cheetham at 12:35. Senior Madison McPherson and junior Georgie Gorelick followed with unassisted tallies just 38 seconds apart and just like that the Blue Jays led 3-0 with 10:37 to play in the first.
 
Bridget Finley scored on a free position shot for the Dragons at 5:22 to spark that eight-goal run. It spanned more than 14 minutes and included three goals from Hayleigh Simpson. Grace Harding capped the run and put Drexel up 8-3 with 6:13 left in the half. Freshman Ava Angello got Hopkins back on the board in the final two minutes of the half and made it an 8-4 game at the break. Sophomore Alayna Costa found a cutting Angello in the middle of the fan, who hitched and then beat Jenika Cuocco in-tight.
 
Simpson opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals to push the Dragons' lead to 10-8. Junior Jordan Carr answered with a pair of her own to trim the deficit back to four with 4:25 to go in the quarter. Carr took a pass from sophomore Annie Marshall in the middle of the fan and picked the far post just 21 seconds after Simpson's second goal. Carr then used a Maeve Barker pick to get open down the middle of the arc for the score. Barker then made it a three-goal game when she scooped up a loose ball and deposited into the open goal at 3:30.
 
Harding snapped the Blue Jays' three-goal run with her second of the afternoon to make it an 11-7 game at the end of three. Finley then scored on a free position shot just 69 seconds into the fourth to push Drexel's lead to five. Gorelick answered less than a minute later with a free position goal of her own. Costa then scored off a give-and-go with Barker and it was a three-goal game with 11:57 to play. Another Dragons' free position goal pushed the lead back to four. Again Gorelick answered, scoring off the dodge with three defenders on her, and it was 13-10 at 9:07.
 
Harding and Finley answered with consecutive goals to push the lead back to five with 5:47 to go. JHU got one back as the Blue Jays capitalized on a Reagan O'Brien takeaway. O'Brien cleared the ball, drew a double and found Costa open on the doorstep for the score. Alex Wall would tack on one last goal for the Dragons however as they took the 16-11 win.
 
Gorelick led the Blue Jays with her third hat trick of the season, while Costa finished with a career-high three points (2g, 1a). Carr added a pair of goals and Barker had a goal and an assist. Angello tallied a game and career-high six draw controls, while McPherson controlled four. Senior Olivia Caan led the defense with a career high three caused turnovers, while O'Brien and sophomore Paris Colgain each had two. Junior Maggie Tydings made eight saves.
 
Corinne Bednarik led the Dragons with eight points on three goals and five assists to go with five draws. Simpson scored a game-high five goals, while Finley added four tallies. Cuocco made nine saves and picked up six ground balls in the cage.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Tuesday, March 7 at Monmouth. Opening draw at Kessler Stadium is slated for 3:00 pm.
 
Notes: O'Brien is now tied for 11^th in caused turnovers by a freshman with 16 • McPherson is now tied for 19^th with 76 career draw controls.