No. 11 Loyola Maryland reasserts dominance
There might come a time when the Loyola Maryland women’s lacrosse team’s grip on the Patriot League will loosen.
That time is not now.
Facing an Army West Point team that had a half-game lead in the conference standings, the Greyhounds served up an emphatic reminder on who runs the league. They scored 10 unanswered goals to break a 3-3 tie and cruise to a weather-shortened 19-5 victory Saturday afternoon before an announced 503 at Ridley Athletic Complex.
The win helped No. 11 Loyola (12-2, 6-0 Patriot League) leapfrog the No. 15 Black Knights (12-2, 6-1) in the conference standings and assume control in the race for the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage in the league tournament. The Greyhounds have captured the last seven regular-season titles and the last three tournament championships.
“Something that [coach] Jen [Adams] talked about earlier in the week was obviously respecting your opponent and that a team that has a winning mentality is always a dangerous team,” sophomore attacker Georgia Latch said. “I think the way we just went out there and if we played the way we usually play and if we just stuck to our lacrosse, there was sort of no hope.”
Graduate student midfielder Jillian Wilson was her usual versatile self for Loyola, which extended its winning streak to seven games. The Hampstead native and Gerstell graduate amassed five points on three goals and two assists, 14 draw controls and two ground balls and contributed to the Greyhounds owning a 19-7 advantage in draws.
Wilson got plenty of help from her teammates. Junior attacker Sydni Black and Latch tied for game-high honors in points with six each on two goals and four assists. Senior midfielder Meg Hillman scored a game-high five goals on seven shots, and sophomore midfielder Chase Boyle racked up four goals and one assist.
How dominant were the Greyhounds? After Black Knights senior attacker Kathleen Sullivan curled around the left post and tied the score at 3 with 6:17 left in the first quarter, Loyola responded with 10 consecutive goals over a 10:37 span capped by senior attacker Emily Wills’ goal on a dodge from the right point to the slot with 9:36 left in the second.
The 13-3 score initiated a running clock that was briefly stopped when freshman attacker Allison Reilly collected an errant shot by junior attacker Julia Gorajeck and scored with 4:47 remaining. Reilly’s goal ended a drought of 16:30 for Army.
But the running clock resumed when Black connected with Latch in front of the net for a goal with 3:10 left in the second quarter. Latch’s tally kick-started a 5-0 burst for Loyola over an 18:19 span of the second and third quarters and allowed the team to salt away the victory.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one, and we started with our backs against the wall a little bit,” said Adams, the former Maryland great. “But just so proud we came out swinging and for the remainder of the game that we did get to play, I think we put together a pretty tidy performance.”
The game was delayed at 1:41 because of the appearance of lightning. After a 1-hour, 14-minute delay caused by more lightning strikes in the area, the game was called at 2:55 p.m. with 8:29 left in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Ava Yovino had four goals and three assists and Leelee Denton scored five goals to lead the host Midshipmen (12-3, 6-1 Patriot League) over the Crusaders (5-9, 2-4) on Saturday.
Julianna Sanchez (St. Mary’s) scored seven goals to lead the Mountaineers (4-11, 2-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) over the Red Foxes (4-10, 2-4) on Saturday. Abby Osmeyer (Towson High) added five goals, Dani Donoghue chipped in four and Erin Anderson (Westminster) finished with three goals and four assists for Mount St. Mary’s, which ended a two-game losing streak.
Libby May (Hereford) and Kori Edmondson (McDonogh) each recorded a hat trick, but the Terps (12-4, 4-1 Big Ten) fell to the host Nittany Lions (11-4, 3-2) on Thursday, ending a nine-game winning streak. Penn State led 4-3 at the half, scoring four goals in a row after Edmondson and May scored the first two of the game. While Maryland kept the deficit at one late in the third quarter, Penn State scored five fourth-quarter goals to pull away.
The Blue Jays outscored the visiting Wolverines,
5-1, in the fourth quarter to secure the victory on Thursday. Ava Angello finished with a game-high four goals for Johns Hopkins (6-7, 3-2 Big Ten), while Maeve Barker added six points (three goals, three assists). Barker’s first assist of the night was the 100th point of her career.
The host Retrievers (7-5, 1-3 America East) scored nine consecutive goals to erase a late first-half deficit and defeat the River Hawks (6-8, 0-4) on Saturday. The game featured a second half weather delay that lasted nearly three hours. Claire Bockstie scored a game-high six goals and became just the third player in program history to record 200 career points. In addition, she moved into a tie for third place on the career goals list with 156.
Lindsey Marshall scored five goals and Milana Zizakovic added four goals and an assist to lead the host Tigers (10-3, 5-0 Colonial Athletic Association) over the Hawks (8-7, 2-3) on Saturday. scored four straight goals over an eight-minute stretch in the first quarter en route to a victory over the visiting Greyhounds (6-5, 3-3) on Saturday. Adam Poitras scored three goals for Loyola, which has lost three of its past four games.
The Mountaineers (8-6, 7-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) scored three straight goals in the third quarter to take the lead for good in a victory over the host Pioneers (4-9, 4-4) on Saturday. Jared McMahon, Kelly Gouin, Dan Bradley and Cormac Giblin each scored two goals for Mount St. Mary’s, which has won seven straight games.
Coach Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th career victory Saturday, joining Carl Runk as the only coaches in program history to reach that milestone. The game was called with 14:21 left in the fourth quarter because of inclement weather. Andrew Milani scored four goals and Ryan Schrier added three to lead the Tigers (4-8, 3-2 Colonial Athletic Association) over the Pirates (2-10, 0-4).