ALBANY, NY – The 14^th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team used an 8-2 run to break open a tie game and went on to beat host and 21^st-ranked UAlbany Friday in both teams' season opener. Senior Abbey Hurlbrink led the Blue Jays and tied her career-high with six points.
 
The Great Danes tied the game at six on a Katie Pascale goal with 9:49 to play in the second quarter. Graduate student Maeve Barker answered less than two minutes later to spark that 8-2 run. Senior Georgie Gorelick drew a slide at the top of the fan and then found Barker open in the middle for the score. Hurlbrink scored 90 seconds later off the dodge, followed by a transition goal from senior Jordan Carr and the Blue Jays took a 9-6 lead into the half.
 
Hurlbrink opened the third with back-to-back goals just over two minutes apart to push Hopkins' lead to five. UAlbany halted the five-goal spurt with two goals in just a 62-second span to pull back within three with 5:40 to go in the third. Senior Campbell Case answered for JHU when she used a Barker pick to get free down the alley and blew home her second of the game. Junior Ashley Mackin then found a cutting MK Lescault in the middle, and the freshman scored on a quick shot with just 19.8 ticks on the clock.
 
Ava Poupard opened the fourth-quarter scoring for the Danes with a goal in transition and it was 13-9 Blue Jays with 13:30 to play. The Blue Jays came right back, scoring just 12 seconds later to push the lead back to five. Hurlbrink won the draw and carried into the offensive end before finding an open Charlotte Smith, who made it a 14-9 game. Both defenses took over from there and more than nine minutes went by without a score. Pascale ended the scoring drought with a goal in traffic for UAlbany to make it 14-10 with 4:11 to play. That turned out to be the final goal of the game as graduate student goalie Madison Doucette stuffed Pascale on a free position shot as time expired.
 
Hopkins jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 4:19 into the game with goals from Hurlbrink and Barker. UAlbany responded with a 4-1 run to grab a 4-3 lead with 46 seconds left in the first. The Blue Jays weren't done in the quarter however as Marielle McAteer took a feed from Mackin and scored on the doorstep to tie the game, 4-4, at end of one.
 
Case put Hopkins back on top just 20 seconds into the second on a quick-stick shot from in-tight. Bryar Hogg and Pascale then sandwiched scores around a free position score from junior Annie Marshall and the teams were tied at six with 9:49 on the clock.
 
Hurlbrink finished with four goals, two assists and two caused turnovers. Case (2g, 2a), Mackin (1g, 2a), Barker (2g) and Smith (1g, 1a) also had multi-point games. Graduate student Jennifer Barry had a game-high eight draws. Senior Jordan Carr had three caused turnovers, three draws and a pair of ground balls to go with her goal. Doucette finished with 11 saves, along with eight ground balls, to earn the win.
 
Pascale led the Great Danes with three goals and four assists, while also controlling six draws. Poupard (2g, 1a), McCauley (2g), Hogg (1g, 1a) and Paisley Cook (2g) also had multi-point games. Grace Cincebox made 15 saves and picked up four ground balls for UAlbany.
 
Hopkins is right back at it on Sunday, February 11 as the Blue Jays take on the Siena Saints. Opening draw at Hickey Field is slated for 12:00 pm.