BALTIMORE, MD – Eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins outscored visiting Loyola, 7-1, in the second half to beat the 19
th-ranked Greyhounds, 14-8, Wednesday afternoon. The Blue Jays improve to 2-0 on the season while the 'Hounds fall to 0-1.
After a first half that saw the two teams combine for 14 goals, the third quarter saw just two scores, both from the Blue Jays. Hopkins finally got on the board in the third quarter with 2:38 to play.
Reagan O'Brien took the ball away on defense and then
Lacey Downey scored off the dodge to spark that 7-1 run. Just 37 seconds later,
McKenzey Craig spun away from her defender on goal line extended and bounced her home first career goal.
Hopkins wasted little time in the fourth quarter pushing its lead to three as
Paige Willard scored just 38 seconds in. Downey and
Ava Angello connected on a pick-and-roll at the 13:40-mark to put the Blue Jays up 11-7. Three minutes later, Downey found Willard on a back-door cut for her second of the game.
Mim Suares-Jury answered for Loyola, snapping a 23-minute scoring drought, with a sidearm shot from eight yards out. Angello then completed her hat trick when she got free, thanks to a
Sally Zinser screen, and scored in-tight off another Downey helper at 4:28.
Sienna Chirieleison capped the scoring 75 seconds later with a behind-the-back shot in the slot off a feed from Willard.
After Loyola took the game's first lead on an Elisa Faklaris goal less than two minutes in, the rest of the half was a game of runs.
Zoey Smith tied the game with a transition goal off a failed 'Hounds goal at 11:05. That sparked a 5-0 Blue Jay run that spanned just seven minutes.
Laurel Gonzalez the put the Jays on top with another goal off a failed clear.
Taylor Hoss then blew home a lefty shot, followed by free position goals from
Samantha DiCarlo and Downey to stake Hopkins to a 5-1 lead.
Loyola answered with a 5-0 run of its own, with goals from five different players, over a span of just 6:24 to take a 6-5 lead. Ava Kane punctuated the run at the 11:20-mark in the second to give the 'Hounds their first lead since early in the first.
Angello and Hoss responded with back-to-back goals, just 25 seconds apart, to grab a 7-6 lead for the Blue Jays. It looked like JHU would take that lead into the half, but a Kane transition goal with just 1.9 ticks on the clock made it a 7-7 game at the break.
Downey led the Blue Jays with five points (2g, 3a) while Angello (3g, 1a) and Willard (2g, 2a) added four points each. Angello notched her 34
th career hat trick and extended her goal-scoring streak to 41 games. Hoss tallied two goals and nine players notched at least one point in the win. O'Brien finished with five caused turnovers and six ground balls while Gonzalez controlled five draws.
Hannah Johnson added three caused turnovers and two ground balls and
Ashley Langdon posted five saves in the cage.
Suares-Jury (2g, 1a) and Emma Talago (1g, 2a) led the Greyhounds with three points apiece. Kane (2g), Faklaris (2g) and Lauren Perfetto (2a) added two points each. Mae Murphy controlled a game-high 12 draws and Kennedy Buntrock tallied five saves.
Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, February 15 as the Blue Jays visit the 14
th-ranked Duke Blue Devils. Opening draw at Koskinen Stadium is slated for 3:00 pm.
Notes: O'Brien is now tied for ninth in NCAA Division I history with 177 career caused turnovers • Hopkins snapped a five-game losing streak in the series.
