March 11, 2009

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Setting the Scene: Johns Hopkins travels to the west coast to take on the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, OR for the first time in the history of the series. The Blue Jays are coming off a tough 22-12 loss in their ALC opener at Ohio State on Saturday while the Ducks have won three straight.

Last Time Out: The American Lacrosse Conference opener for #14 Johns Hopkins and Ohio State was an offensive show, with a combined 34 goals in the game. The Buckeyes saw seven different players score en route to a 22-12 win over the Blue Jays at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. Trailing 10-4 after an Alayna Markwordt goal just 12 seconds into the second half, Hopkins got three unanswered goals in a span of just 2:52 to cut the deficit in half at 10-7. Ohio State responded with six straight goals in just 4:11 to push its lead to 16-7. Hopkins put together another 3-0 run, but it was answered by a 5-2 game-ending run by the Buckeyes. Freshman attacker Candace Rossi had her second straight five-goal game as seven different Blue Jays combined for 12 goals.

Series History: Sunday's game is just the fourth all-time meeting between Johns Hopkins and Oregon with the Blue Jays having won all three previous meetings. This will be the fourth different state the series has been played in. The series begain in 2006 as the two teams squared off in Honolulu, Hawaii. The following year the two met in Baltimore, MD before meeting in San Diego, CA in 2008.

When Last We Met: With the game tied at 5-5 coming out of the half, Erin Chisnell scored on a free position shot to give the Ducks their first and only lead of the game. Hopkins got a pair of quick goals from sophomore Sam Schrum and freshman Brooke Foussadier to retake the lead. Cara Mead and Lindsay Killian then sandwiched a pair around a strike from sophomore Brett Bathras and the score was knotted at 8-8 with 8:49 to play in the game. Sophomore Paige Ibello completed her hat trick with 7:46 to play on a free position shot, to give the Blue Jays the lead for good. Bathras then scored on an unassisted shot just over two minutes later to make it a two-goal game. Jana Bradley scored for Oregon with 1:43 to play to cut it to one. Chisnell got a shot off as time was winding down, but sophomore Lizzie O'Ferrall came up with the save to give Hopkins the win. Bathras, Ibello and Schrum each netted hat tricks for the Blue Jays, while O'Ferrall posted six saves in the cage.

Freshman Five: Freshman attacker Candace Rossi scored a game and career-high five goals in Hopkins win over Cincinnati on Wednesday to become the first freshman to score five goals in a game since Mary Key turned the trick on April 14, 2004 against Villanova. Rossi followed that with a five-goal performance at Ohio State on Saturday. She is the first freshman in program history to notch five goals in back-to-back games.

Red, White and Blue: Three players with ties to Johns Hopkins were selected to the 2008-09 U.S. Developmental Team in the fall. Junior defender Angela Hughes and freshman middie Colleen McCaffrey, along with 2008 graduate Lauren Schwarzmann were named to the team. In fact, McCaffrey was the only player without college experience selected for the U.S. National Team pool when it was announced in August.

In March: Since moving to Division I, Johns Hopkins is 76-26 (.745) under head coach Janine Tucker in the month of March. The loss at Ohio State snapped a four-game win streak in the month of March for Hopkins.

Welcome Back Brianna: Sophomore Brianna Cronin played in her first game on Feb. 21 since suffering a torn ACL on March 27, 2008. The middie scored nine goals in eight games last season and picked up where she left off, coming off the bench to score in the win over George Mason. Cronin scored eight goals in the first four games of the season, on just 10 shots. She was held scoreless in the loss at Ohio State, snapping a five-game goal scoring streak that dated back to last year.

Youth Abounds: Johns Hopkins sports a young line-up in 2009. Of the 17 players that have started atleast one game this season, eight are either freshmen or sophomores. Just one of the 17 is a senior. In addition, freshmen or sophomores have scored 44 of the Blue Jays' 60 goals this season.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins dropped out of this week's IWLCA Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. This marks the first time since March 1, 2004 that the Blue Jays have not been ranked by the IWLCA, snapping a streaking of 59 consecutive weeks in the top 20. In fact, it is just the second time since April 10, 2000 that Hopkins has not been ranked in the top 20.

Friends of Jaclyn: In September 2008, the Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team welcomed a new member to their family. Through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, the Blue Jays "adopted" Paige Setzer. Paige was diagnosed with an ependymoma brain tumor on Friday, January 14, 2005. After numerous surgeries and six weeks of radiation, she is now officially tumor and cancer free. The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children suffering with pediatric brain tumors and helps fund research. FOJ matches a child with a college or high school sports team based on geographic location. Currently there are over 50 children paired with collegiate and high school teams in 17 different sports. There are over 180 schools waiting to adopt. FOJ is creating other programs that will continue to form life-changing relationships between children, their families and teams. This year Hopkins participated in a "Friends of Jaclyn" game on March 4 against Cincinnati. The team collected donations for the foundation and had Paige on the sidelines.

Scouting the Ducks: The Ducks enter Sunday's game on a three-game win streak and is 4-2 overall on the season. Oregon is coming off a stellar weekend, with wins over Fresno State and Vermont, by combined score of 30-6 as the Ducks never trailed in either contest. Oregon shutout Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent Fresno State, 20-0, on Friday night for the first shutout in program history. The Ducks followed that with a 10-6 win over the visiting Catamounts on Sunday. Sunday's game versus Hopkins is the third in a four-game homestand for Oregon. Youth is the name of the game for Oregon as well as four of the top five scorers are freshmen or sophomores. Freshman Catherine Davidson and sophomore Alex Breiner lead the Ducks with 10 goals apiece.

All-Time Record: The 2009 season marks the 34th season of women's lacrosse at Johns Hopkins and the Blue Jays post an all-time record of 328-199-4 (.621). As a Division I program, Johns Hopkins boasts a 111-64 (.634) record in 11 seasons.

Family Affair: The Johns Hopkins lacrosse program has become a family affair in recent years, with four sets of sisters in the last seven seasons. Joining her sister, junior attacker Sam Schrum, this season is freshman middie Megan. In addition, Gavin Crisafulli, a freshman on the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team, is the third Crisafulli to play on Homewood. He joins older sisters Anne `05 and Meghan `07, who both played under head coach Janine Tucker. Meghan `02 and Molly `06 Burnett began the trend, followed by the Crisafulli sisters. Next up were the Schwarzmann sisters, Ashley `06 and Lauren `08. Kristen Miller `05 followed in her brother Pat's (`02) footsteps choosing to play college lacrosse for Hopkins. Marlena Wittelsberger `04 followed her father's path. Franz Wittelsberger `76 was a four-time All-American for Hopkins and stills rank third all-time in career goals with 151. Alex Nolan `07 followed in both her father and her mother's footsteps. Her father Bill `74 was a two-time All-American for the Blue Jays and a member of the 1974 national championship team. Her mother Shellee played for the Hopkins women's lacrosse team.

Sister Act: First year assistant coach Jen Kasper squared off against her younger sister Kelly for the first time from the sidelines on February 21. Jen came to Hopkins after a one-year stint at Stanford, where she served as the co-head coach in 2008. She helped guide the Cardinal to a 12-8 record and a fourth straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament Championship. The Cardinal placed five players on the 2008 MPSF All-Conference Team and 15 players were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team. Kelly is in her first season as an assistant coach with George Mason after a stellar playing career at Maryland. She was a four-year starter at midfield for the Terps and a three-time All-American and capped her career in 2008 as a finalist for both the Tewaaraton and Honda Awards.

We're Going Streaking: Seven Blue Jays carry point streaks into Sunday's game at Oregon, led by freshman middie Alyssa Kildare's four-game point streak.

Preseason Honors: Junior defender Angela Hughes and junior attacker Sam Schrum were named to the 2009 ALC Preseason All-Conference team. Hughes anchored a Hopkins defense that held its opponents to 9.63 goals per game. In addition, the Blue Jays held five of their opponents to seven goals or less last season. Schrum led the Blue Jays in goals (30) and points (36) and was second in draw controls last season. She is Hopkins active career leader in goals (60), points (75) and draw controls (64). She ranks 13th in school Division I history in goals and points and 10th in draw controls.

Oh Captain, My Captain: Hopkins will be captained this season by senior attacker Gina Maranto and junior attacker Sam Schrum, junior middie Kim Dubansky and junior defender Angela Hughes.

Records Watch: Junior attacker Brett Bathras enters the season as Hopkins active assist leader with 25 helpers in her career. She is currently tied with Danielle Maschuci `00 for ninth in program Division I history and is just three shy of eighth-ranked Erin Riordan `05. Bathras also ranks 17th in program history with 50 career points. Junior attacker Sam Schrum is Hopkins active goals and points leader with 63 and 82 respectively. She needs just one goal to move into a tie with Kirby Houck `08 for 12th in school Division I history. Schrum also needs just two points to move into a tie with Houck for 12th in program history. She also ranks eighth in career draw controls and needs just one to move into a tie with Kristen Miller `05.

At the Helm: Head coach Janine Tucker is in her 16th season at the helm of the Blue Jay women's lacrosse program. Just the third coach in the 34-year history of the program, she is not only the longest tenured, but she is also the winningest with a record of 179-80 (.691). Tucker led JHU to a 68-16 (.809) in five seasons at the Division III level with three NCAA Final Four appearances. She then guided the program through its transition from DIII to DI in 1999.

On Tap: Johns Hopkins returns home to kick off a three-game home stand with George Washington on Wednesday, March 19.

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