NEW HAVEN, CT – Ashley Mackin and Ava Angello combined for seven goals and the Johns Hopkins' defense held 25^th-ranked Fairfield in check as the Blue Jays beat the Stags, 11-5, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday.
 
Hopkins grabbed a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals from Mackin just 19 seconds apart. Mackin scored the first of her four goals at the 9:23-mark on a one-timer off a feed from Charlotte Smith. The Blue Jays won the ensuing draw and Maeve Barker found Mackin all alone on the doorstep, where she finished with a behind-the-back shot. Maggie Fort answered for the Stags, cutting across the fan and scoring off a pass from Elizabeth Talluto at the 5:29-mark.
 
Angello got the first of her three goals on the afternoon as the Blue Jays capitalized on a failed clear. Abbey Hurlbrink picked off a Fairfield pass in the midfield and sprung the counterattack with a pass to Mackin. Some quick passing ended with Angello on the doorstep, where she hitched and then beat Claire Morris at 4:16. Kelly Haggerty cut the lead back to one in the final minute of the first when she dodged from goal line extended and scored from a tough angle.
 
Mackin completed her hat trick with a transition goal just 75 seconds into the second quarter. Sixty-one seconds later, Marielle McAteer converted an eight-meter shot and Hopkins led 5-2. The Blue Jays got another transition goal from Angello at the 10:22-mark and the lead was four. After scoring three goals in less than three and a half minutes, the pace slowed. JHU ended the stalemate with 2:34 to play in the second. Another failed Stags' clear ended with a Mackin curling around the crease, taking a pass from Barker and scoring in tight. Fairfield had the final say of the half, when Haley Burns got open in the middle of the fan, turned and score with just 22 ticks on the clock to make it a 7-3 game.
 
It took more than 10 minutes into the third before either team could get on the board and it was MK Lescault that did the honors. With 4:34 to go in the quarter, she took a pass from Barker, dodged through a pair of defenders and scored to the left post to push the lead to five. Exactly 60 seconds later, Christina Fabrizi scored on a quick shot from the right alley. Jordan Carr then got in on the scoring, when the defender cleared the ball after a Hannah Johnson takeaway, and then was there for a quick-stick finish off a Campbell Case pass at the 1:05-mark.
 
The Blue Jays pushed their lead to six with 9:46 to go in the fourth off Angello's third of the game. Some great tic-tac-toe passing ended with Angello on the doorstep for the score. Just 41 seconds later, McAteer drew a triple team before finding a wide-open Hurlbrink, who went uncontested down the middle of the arc for the score. Fabrizi got one back for Fairfield, scoring with 3:44 to play to account for the 11-5 final.
 
Mackin led the Blue Jays with four goals, while Angello also had four points (3g, 1a). Case and Barker each had three assists. Barker now ranks seventh in school Division I history with 63 career assists. Jennifer Barry finished with a game-high seven draws and became only the 10^th player in NCAA Division I history with 500 career draws. Johnson and Reagan O'Brien led the defense with three caused turnovers each, while Paris Colgain, Johnson and Carr had three ground balls. Madison Doucette tallied five saves in the win, along with three ground balls, and broke the program single-season record for saves and now boasts 174 on the season.
 
Fabrizi led the Stags with two goals while Talluto had three helpers. Julia Rigolizzo had four caused turnovers and three ground balls. Morris finished with 10 saves in the loss for Fairfield.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, May 11 as the Blue Jays take on host and sixth-ranked Yale. Opening draw at Reese Stadium is slated for 2:30 pm.
 
Notes: The five goals are the fewest by Fairfield since February 26, 2022 • The Stags entered the game averaging more than 14 goals per game • This is Hopkins' second straight trip to the second round and just the fourth in the NCAA Division I Tournament • JHU broke the program's all-time single season record for points (407) and draw controls (280).