May 4, 2005

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At the Polls: Johns Hopkins (10-5) remained #11 in the latest IWLCA Poll for the fourth straight week. The Blue Jays played just one game last week, losing by one goal, 9-8, to #10 Penn State. Northwestern still holds the #1 spot with the only perfect record in Division I, followed by Duke and Boston University.

About the Hoyas: Georgetown (12-3) was ranked #6 in this week's poll for the second consecutive week. The Hoyas were ranked as high as #3 and no lower than #8 throughout the season. Georgetown finished its conference season with a 5-0 mark to win its fifth straight BIG EAST Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

History Lesson: Hopkins leads the all-time series with Georgetown, 5-3, dating back to 1977, but the teams have not met since the Blue Jays moved to Division I. The last meeting was a 18-8 Georgetown win in 1990. Hopkins won the previous two games in 1988 and 1989.

Lucky Number Six: The highest ranked team ever defeated by Johns Hopkins was #6 Notre Dame last year. A win over Georgetown would tie that mark.

Common Enemies: Georgetown and Johns Hopkins played three common opponents this year. Both teams lost to Princeton (Georgetown lost 13-12 in double overtime; Hopkins lost 9-6) and defeated Notre Dame (Georgetown won 14-6; Hopkins won 10-9). The Hoyas also defeated Maryland, 8-6, whereas the Jays lost to the Terps, 12-10.

Tourney Time: The NCAA Division I Championship Tournament starts next Thursday, May 12, and several teams already clinched berths. Georgetown (BIG EAST), Northwestern (ALC), Towson (CAA), Dartmouth (Ivy), and Colgate (Patriot) received automatic bids by winning their conferences. Three more teams also receive automatic berths but have yet to be decided - the America East, the Atlantic-10, and the play-in game between Mount St. Mary's (NEC) and Manhattan (Metro Atlantic). That leaves eight teams, including Johns Hopkins, in the running for at-large berths.

Week in Review: Last week Hopkins lost 9-8 to Penn State in its final regular-season game at Homewood Field. Mary Key (two goals, two assists) led the Blue Jays in scoring for the 12th time in 15 games, while Lauren Schwarzmann added two goals and one assist. Schwarzmann drew a free-position attempt with three seconds remaining in the game, but All-American goalie Lee Tortorelli stopped the game-tying goal and preserved the win for the Nittany Lions.

Breaking Records: With four points against Penn State, Key set the Johns Hopkins Division I record for points in a season. She has 76 this year (48 goals, 28 assists), which eclipsed her own record of 74 set last season. She has 150 career points, good for fourth on the all-time list, and is fifth in career goals (100) and fourth in career assists (50).

The Key: Key has 48 more points than any of her teammates do. She is second in the ALC and second in the nation in points per game (5.07), is first in the conference and 10th in the nation in goals per game (3.20), and is third in the ALC and seventh in the nation in assists per game (1.87).

Scoring Threats: The next highest scorer is Sarah Walsh with 23 goals, 10 assists, and 33 points, followed by Schwarzmann with 17 goals, 11 assists, and 28 points. Neither Walsh (injury) nor Schwarzmann (freshman this year) played for Hopkins last season.

Another Newcomer: Freshman Kadie Stamper has started every game at midfield and leads Hopkins in draw controls (47) and ground balls (36). She is second in caused turnovers (17) and has chipped in 15 goals, two assists, and 17 points this season.

On Defense: Senior captain Lacey-Leigh Hentz leads the Blue Jay defense with a team-high 25 caused turnovers, along with 28 ground balls and 21 draw controls. The Hopkins defense is second in the ALC and11th in the nation in goals allowed per game (7.80).

Between the Posts: Junior goalkeeper Lauren Riddick has played every minute in goal for Johns Hopkins, and boasts a .473 save percentage and 7.80 goals against average. Her GAA is the second best in the ALC, 11th best in the nation, and the second best among any Hopkins Division I goalie in a single season. Riddick tied a career-high with 12 saves against Penn State.

How We Score: Hopkins averages 11.13 goals per game and holds its opponents to 7.80 goals for a +3.33 winning margin. Of the Blue Jays' 167 total goals, 22 were free-position, 85 were unassisted, 80 were in the first half, and 87 were in the second half. Over 26% of their opponents' goals have been free-position goals.

How They Score: Georgetown averages 12.34 goals per game and allows its opponents 8.08 goals. The Hoyas, who have a .937 shots on goal percentage, scored 84 of their 185 goals unassisted and 28 off free-position shots. They scored 85 goals in the first half and 99 in the second half.

All-Around Leader: Tewaaraton candidate Coco Stanwick leads the Hoyas' offense with 49 goals, 19 assists, 68 points, and 29 ground balls.

Balanced Attack: Allison Chambers is second in scoring with 46 points off 32 goals and 14 assists, followed by Catherine Elbe with 24 goals, 15 assists, and 29 points. Sarah Oliphant is first in assists with 21, and fourth in scoring with 34 points. Four other Hoyas have over 10 points this season.

More Chambers: In addition to scoring over three points per game, Chambers leads Georgetown in draw controls and caused turnovers with 24 of each.

In Goal: Sarah Robinson has played every game in goal and holds a .497 save percentage and 7.75 goals against average, but backup keeper Maggie Koch has also seen time in 10 games. Koch has a .525 save percentage and 9.45 goals against average.

Defense Wins: Junior defender Kristin Smith was named last week's BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, which was the third straight conference defensive award for the Hoyas. Smith had three caused turnovers and two ground balls, and helped hold James Madison to two second-half goals in a 13-8 Hoya win last week.

Fresh Faces: Hopkins starts three freshmen this year - Annie Wagner at attack, Schwarzmann and Stamper at midfield, and Sarah Gallion at defense. Kirby Houck has also started one game this year.

Consistent Key: Key has scored at least three points in all but one game (Northwestern) this year, and has led the team in scoring in 12 of 15 games.

Scoring Streak: Key has scored a point in every game of her career at Hopkins, and has scored a goal in every game except the final game last year. She holds the longest active scoring streak (15 games).

Jays In The Preseason: Johns Hopkins was ranked sixth in two preseason polls - the IWLCA Poll and the Lacrosse Magazine Poll - while Inside Lacrosse slotted the Blue Jays at No. 7. In the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) predictions, Hopkins was picked second behind Northwestern.

Flying High: The Jays were selected sixth in the preseason and Week 1 IWLCA Polls, the highest ranking in the seven-year history of the Johns Hopkins Division I program. Last year Hopkins was ranked as high as ninth and finished the year at No. 10.

Head of the Class: This year's freshman class was ranked the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, second only to Duke.

Streaking: The 2004 team set the program's Division I winning streak record when it won its first 10 games last year. The 1994 Division III Blue Jays started the season 16-0.

Hopkins History: Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse moved from Division III to Division I at the start of the 1999 season, which was Janine Tucker's sixth year as head coach. Since then the Blue Jays reached the ECAC championship game three times and won one title (2001) before receiving their first NCAA Divison I bid in 2004. Hopkins went to the NCAA Division III tournament four times under Tucker.