AU Lacrosse lost to No. 12 Johns Hopkins Wednesday in a non-conference match that showcased two players who were honored for their performances last week. AU sophomore Moriah Linnell was named honorable-mention Player of the Week by Inside Lacrosse, while Blue Jay Heidi Pearce was named Player of the Week.
The top honors once again went to Pearce and her team as Hopkins (8-0) slid past the Eagles (3-4, 2-0 Patriot League) 13-7. The Blue Jays, fourth in the nation with 14.86 goals per game before this week, got multiple goals from five players as they beat AU for the fifth time in a row to continue their best-ever Div. I start.
Juniors Rebecca Copeland (two goals, one assist) and Tara Michael (one goal, two assists) led the scoring for the Eagles, who only managed sporadic scoring throughout the contest. AU kept Hopkins' scoring below its high average, but the Eagles never strung a run together.
Hopkins took advantage of AU's infrequent scoring to gradually pull away. The Blue Jays never launched a barrage of goals - they never scored more than three consecutive times - but peppered AU sophomore goalkeeper Kathleen Finnegan with 33 shots. Finnegan had to make 13 saves, a tie for her season-high.
AU fired 23 shots and tested Hopkins goalkeeper Lauren Riddick who made eight saves.
Hopkins' Pearce won the battle of last week's honorees. She led her team with three goals and three assists, while Linnell managed only a lone assist for AU. Also leading the charge for the Blue Jays was Mary Key, who scored three goals. She was 10th in the nation in goals before the game.
The Blue Jays were quick to strike first when Steph Janice beat Finnegan 2:13 into the game. Copeland returned fire for AU minutes later, but her goal was overshadowed immediately after a pair of Hopkins goals in 14 seconds.
The teams traded the next three goals before the Blue Jays began trading two goals for every AU tally, a trend that continued until late in the second half.
AU entered the second half trailing 9-4 and got a break from the Blue Jays attack. Neither team scored for the first 10:38, but it was Hopkins that ended the drought. The Eagles countered six minutes later when Michael fed Copeland for her 20th goal of the season, but Hopkins scored the next three goals to ice the victory.
The Eagles return to conference play this Saturday when they host Lafayette (1-5, 0-1 PL).
