Wildcat Woes: Hopkins Beats Northwestern
from press release
BALTIMORE - Johns Hopkins scored three goals in
an eight-minute span late in the second half and forced three
turnovers in the final three minutes to upset second-ranked
Northwestern, 12-11, on a rain-soaked Homewood Field Saturday
afternoon in American Lacrosse Conference action. The Blue Jays win
their second straight to improve to 9-5 on the season and 1-2 in
the ALC, while the Wildcats lose their second straight to fall to
12-2 and 2-2 in the conference.
Shannon Smith scored to give Northwestern a 10-9 lead with 15:12
to play when she dodged left to right across the arc and scored her
team-leading 46th goal of the season but first of the afternoon.
The Blue Jays answered just eight seconds later however as senior
Brooke Foussadier won the ensuing draw and passed to a wide-open
Katie Duffey, who ran uncontested to the cage and buried her second
of the day to knot the game at 10 apiece.
A little less than two minutes later, Hopkins led 11-10, just its
second lead of the game. Foussadier dodged to the goal from behind,
drew a defender and then passed to junior Rachel Ballatori, who was
wide open on the left post. Ballatori one-timed Foussadier's pass
into the open net at 13:08 to put the Blue Jays up by one. With the
clock ticking under nine minutes, the Wildcats' Brianne LoManto
made a save on junior Candace Rossi but the Wildcats were offside
and Hopkins got the ball back. Ninety-seconds later, the Blue Jays
made them pay when junior Colleen McCaffrey took a pass from Rossi
up high and ripped a shot from seven meters out past LoManto to
stake Hopkins to a 12-10 lead with 7:09 still to play.
Northwestern cut the deficit to one just 45 seconds later, however
when Smith fed a behind-the-cage pass to a cutting Alex Frank, who
put it home to make it 12-11. The Wildcats won the ensuing draw but
after a shot missed wide and a second clanked off the post, junior
Rachel Serio scooped up a ground ball and Hopkins cleared. The Blue
Jays were able to kill more than two minutes of clock before the
`Cats forced a turnover. But they were unable to clear it and
Hopkins took over once again. NU forced another turnover and looked
to have a chance to tie it when Brooke Matthews earned a free
position shot with 1:52 to play. Instead of shooting, she attempted
a pass but freshman Sarah Taylor tipped it and Duffey was able to
pick up the loose ball. The Blue Jays milked another minute off the
clock before losing the ball but Hopkins got it right back when
Alyssa Kildare forced a Northwestern turnover. This time Hopkins
was able to run out the clock and earn its biggest upset in program
history.
Early on, Northwestern seemed to have all the momentum as the
`Cats pushed out to a 3-0 lead in the game's opening five minutes.
Hopkins would answer as Foussadier and Rossi scored a pair of goals
just 74 seconds apart to cut the deficit to one. NU retook its
three-goal lead on strikes from Matthews and Kara Mupo as the `Cats
led 5-2 with 13:37 to play in the half. Foussadier and Rossi once
again answered, this time in just a 65-second span as the pair
ignited a 4-1 run that saw Hopkins tie the game on Duffey's free
position goal with 1:05 on the clock. Taylor Thorton would answer
with a free position goal for the Wildcats, however as they took a
7-6 lead into the locker room.
Hopkins came out quick to start the second as McCaffrey scored
back-to-back goals to give Hopkins an 8-7 lead, its first of the
game, with less than seven minutes gone. Northwestern retook the
lead with a pair of back-to-back goals from Gabriella Flibotte and
Matthews to make it a 9-8 game. Just 37 seconds after Matthews
scored to put the `Cats on top, Ballatori took a pass in the slot
from junior Rachel Serio, turned and buried her first of two on the
day to tie the game at 9-9 at 17:21 and setting up an exciting
finish.
McCaffrey finished with three goals on three shots, while
Foussadier had a career-high-tying four points on two goals and two
assists. She also controlled three draws and grabbed a pair of
ground balls. Ballatori, Rossi and Duffey also had multi-goal games
for the Blue Jays. Sophomore Cosette Larash finished with eight
saves in the win, including five in the first half. Matthews
notched a hat trick as she was the only player to finish with
multiple goals for the `Cats, while Smith (1g, 1a) and Frank (1g,
1a) each finished with two points. LoManto had a pair of saves for
Northwestern in the loss.
Hopkins snaps an eight-game losing streak to Northwestern as the
second-ranked Wildcats are the highest ranked opponent the Blue
Jays have ever beaten. It also marks the first time in school
history that Hopkins has beaten two top-five opponents in the same
season as Hopkins beat then fourth-ranked Penn, 8-5, on March 23.
It is the Blue Jays, first win over the Wildcats since a 14-7 win
in Nashville on March 28, 2003. Northwestern losses back-to-back
games for the first time since 2003, when the `Cats lost three in a
row in mid-April.
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, April 23 as Penn State
visits Homewood Field. It is the Blue Jays' final regular season
home game and the Blue Jays will honor their four seniors prior to
the game. The ALC contest is slated to begin at 1:00 pm.
