June 6, 2008

2008 Season Review Notebook in PDF Format

The 2008 season opened in unfamiliar territory for head coach Janine Tucker and the Blue Jays. For the first time in five seasons, Johns Hopkins opened its season with a loss. Hopkins ran into a tough George Mason team on opening day, suffering an 11-10 loss in Fairfax, VA. Sophomore Sam Schrum picked up where she left off in 2007, scoring four goals in the opener but a late rally from Mason ended the Blue Jays four-game win streak over the Patriots. The loss turned out to be a "good" loss, as the Patriots went on to have the finest season in their 15-year history.

Just three days later, Hopkins traveled to George Washington where youth was the name of the game. The Blue Jays rolled to a 12-2 win over the Colonials as seven of the team's 12 goals were scored by sophomore or freshmen. In addition, freshman Julianne Wisner made her collegiate debut in goal and stopped eight shots to earn the win.

Hopkins opened March with its first ranked opponent of the season, #7 Princeton. In a defensive battle, the Tigers held on for a 7-5 win at Homewood Field. Senior Kadie Stamper tied the game at 5-5 with 19:15 to play in the second half, but two unanswered goals from the Tigers halted the Blue Jays upset bid. Hopkins took on another top 10 opponent the following week, #9 Georgetown, in a nationally televised game. The first half was a defensive struggle as the Hoyas took a slim 3-2 lead into the half. The second half was just the opposite as the two teams exploded for 17 goals. Georgetown outscored Hopkins 9-2 in the first 20 minutes of the second half and led 12-4. Sophomore Kim Dubansky scored to ignite a 6-0 Hopkins rally that fell just short in a 12-10 loss.

In its next game, Hopkins was on the winning side of a 12-10 game as the Blue Jays handed cross-town rival Towson its first loss of the season. A hat trick from senior Kirby Houck and a 10-save performance from Wisner keyed the Blue Jays in the win. Five days later, the Blue Jays played their third top 10 opponent in four games in the #2 Maryland Terrapins. Hopkins got multi-goal games from Houck, Schrum and senior Lauren Schwarzmann but it was not enough as Maryland went on to a 16-8 win.

The Blue Jays then hopped a plane for San Diego where they would take on the #16 Oregon Ducks. Schrum and sophomores Brett Bathras and Paige Ibello combined for nine goals as the Blue Jays held on for a 10-9 win. Hopkins returned home from California and hosted Division I newcomer Cincinnati. Ibello scored a career-high five goals as 10 different Blue Jays scored in a 19-3 win.

Hopkins made it two in a row just three days later, beating #19 Denver 13-7. Tied 6-6 at the half, the Blue Jays scored six unanswered in the second half en route to a 13-7 win. The Hopkins defense held Denver to just eight shots and one goal in the final 30 minutes. Schwarzmann became just the ninth player in school Division I history to tally 100 career points to highlight the win. The Blue Jays met yet another top 10 opponent when they traveled up I-95 to take on 2007 NCAA semifinalist Penn at historic Franklin Field. Behind a 10-save performance from sophomore Lizzie O'Ferrall, the Blue Jays cut a six-goal deficit to just one with 16 seconds remaining. Hopkins won the draw following Schrum's free position goal that made it 9-8, but Schwarzmann's last second shot was saved by Sarah Waxman as the Quakers held on for the win.

The Blue Jays hosted the #17 Vanderbilt Commodores in their American Lacrosse Conference opener and lost a heartbreaker 11-10 in double overtime. Hopkins never trailed in the game, until Carter Foote completed her hat trick at 2:43 in the second overtime to dash the Blue Jays hope of a win on senior day. Hopkins got a much needed win in a mid-week contest with another cross town rival, UMBC. Hopkins held a 4-3 lead coming out of the half but erupted for 11 second half goals en route to a 15-7 win. Stamper netted a hat trick to join Schwarzmann in the 100 point club, while O'Ferrall tied her career-high with 12 saves in the win.

Hopkins suffered a set back that weekend dropping a tough 17-6 decision at #4 Virginia. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 9-0 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half and did not look back.

The following week, Hopkins put a big scare in three-time defending NCAA Champion Northwestern on its own field. The Blue Jays came out firing on the Wildcats and led 7-5 at the half. Northwestern used a 6-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead. But the `Cats had to hold off the upset-minded Blue Jays, squeezing out a 14-12 win.

Hopkins had to rally for a 10-8 win in State College a week later, outscoring Penn State 8-2 in the second half on the Nittany Lions' senior day. Junior goalie Jess Buicko came on in relief just 8:17 into the game and finished with a career-high six saves while giving up four goals. Her performance earned her ALC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.

The Blue Jays closed out the regular season at home just two days later against the Ohio State Buckeyes in a rain-soaked affair. In a game that would decide the #3 seed in the upcoming ALC Tournament, Hopkins held on for a 13-12 win thanks to hat tricks from Houck and Schrum.

Hopkins faced off against second-seeded and ninth-ranked Vanderbilt in the ALC Semifinals at Northwestern. The first 15 minutes were a back-and-forth affair until a 6-1 Vanderbilt run broke the game open for the Commodores. The Blue Jays weren't going away easily as they outscored the `Dores 3-1 in the final 26 minutes, but it wasn't enough as they fell 10-7. In the final game of her career, Stamper broke the Hopkins all-time career draw controls record with the 203rd of her career, surpassing Jamie Larrimore (1999-2002).