EVANSTON, IL – Johns Hopkins dropped a 13-12 heartbreaker at top-ranked Northwestern on Thursday afternoon in the Big Ten Semifinals. The Blue Jays slip to 11-7 on the season while the Wildcats improve to 14-2 and advance to Saturday's title game.
 
With the game tied at 10 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats got back-to-back goals from Madison Taylor in a 67-second span to take a two-goal lead. Taylor Hoss answered at the 6:07-mark when she dodged the right alley and then beat Molly Laliberty to the back post from a tough angle. Erin Coykendall pushed the lead back to two with 3:31 to play when she scored with 10 seconds left on the shot clock.
 
Hopkins wasn't done yet. Jordan Carr won the ensuing draw and just 46 seconds later, Campbell Case scored off a give-and-go with Maeve Barker to pull the Blue Jays back within one. Hopkins then got a pair of Madison Doucette saves and a late Wildcat turnover, taking over with 18 seconds on the clock. Abbey Hurlbrink got a look at goal with time winding down, but Laliberty came up with the save to end the game.
 
Northwestern struck first with a left-handed shot from Taylor just 38 seconds in. But Ava Angello tied the game with an absolute rocket from the center hash off an eight-meter at 11:49. Dylan Amonte put the 'Cats back on top at the 6:00-mark to spark a four-goal run as the top seed took a 5-1 lead at the end of one.
 
Angello opened the second quarter with a short-handed goal to make it a three-goal game. Barker found Angello cutting down the middle of the fan, she spun on her defender and beat Laliberty high-to-low. NU answered with a 3-1 spurt to push out to an 8-3 lead with 10:03 to play in the second. On the ensuing possession, MK Lescault looked to connect with Angello in the slot, but couldn't connect and the ball skipped past Laliberty and into the cage. That goal ignited four-goal run, in a span of just two minutes and 16 seconds, as the Blue Jays sliced the deficit to one.
 
Mackin scored on the doorstep off a Charlotte Smith feed 50 seconds later. Angello then followed with a pair of goals, including a back-handed shovel shot, and it was 8-7 midway through the second. The pace slowed after that and a Coykendall goal with 1:09 on the clock gave Northwestern a 9-7 lead at the half.
 
Smith scored on an eight-meter shot at 13:38 in the third to cut the lead to one. Mackin then scored twice in less than two minutes and the Blue Jays led 10-9 at 6:55. Taylor responded for the Wildcats with three unanswered to put the home team up 12-10 early in the fourth.
 
Angello led the Blue Jays with four goals and five points, while Mackin added a hat trick and four points. Lescault (1g, 1a), Barker (2a), Case (2g) and Smith (1g, 1a) also had multi-point days. Jennifer Barry had a game-high eight draw controls, tying the program post-season record. Reagan O'Brien led the defense with three caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls. Kacie Riggs and Hannah Johnson had two takeaways each and Carr added five draws. Doucette finished with 10 saves, including the 500^th of her career.
 
Taylor paced the Wildcats with five goals and six points. Coykendall tallied five points (3g, 2a) and Amonte added a hat trick. The Blue Jays held Izzy Scane, the second leading scorer in NCAA history, to just one goal for the first time this season.  
 
Hopkins finds out if its season continues on Sunday, May 5 with the announcement of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket. The selection show is scheduled for 9:00 pm and will air on ESPN2.
 
Notes: Doucette now has 169 saves on the season, one shy of the program Division I single-season record • Angello has 49 goals on the season, the most by a Blue Jay since Taylor D'Amore scored 52 in 2014.