Four Lady Jays net hat tricks in 20-5 rout

Following impressive
double-digit victories
against George Mason
and Mount St. Mary's,
the Hopkins women's lacrosse
team squared off
against Denver in their
home opener this past Friday
afternoon.
For the fans at Homewood
Field, the Blue Jays
did not disappoint, tallying
a season-high of 20 goals
to defeat the Pioneers, 20-
5. The Lady Jays featured
goals from seven different
players with four players
recording hat tricks. Those
goals came off impressive
runs of six and eight goals,
culminating in Hopkins'
third win of the season.
The Pioneers, playing their
season opener, fell to 0-1.
Hopkins took the lead
very early on and never
looked back. Just 35 seconds
in, senior attacker
Rachel Ballatori, from
goal-line extended, found
junior Courtney Schweizer
wide open on the crease.
Schweizer accepted the
pass, faked a shot and then
snuck a goal past Denver
goalie Ashley Harman to
put Hopkins up 1-0.
After the teams alternated
possessions for nearly
10 minutes without a score
from either team, the Blue
Jays made up for lost time
and found the net twice in a
span of just 25 seconds. The
first came from sophomore
midfielder Taylor D'Amore,
who dodged from behind
the net and scored her
sixth of the season with
19:17 remaining in the first
half. D'Amore was hardly
finished, finding Ballatori
just 20 seconds later alone
in front of the net. Ballatori
did the rest as she quickly
found twine to put Hopkins
up 3-0.
The Jays were sure not
to become complacent, as
they continued the barrage
just five minutes later. Hopkins
scored three quick
goals in an 82-second span
from D'Amore, sophomore
midfielder Sammy Cermack
and senior attacker
Candace Rossi to take a 6-0
lead with 12:28 still to play
in the first half.
Despite the lopsided
score, Denver made sure
there would be no shutout,
as they scored their first goal
with 11:43 left in the first
half on a free-position shot
by Mikayla Clark. Hopkins
responded, just 57 seconds
later, when Rossi drove past
several defenders from midfield
and scored one of her
career-high tying five goals
on the day.
Rossi's goal began what
would be an eight-goal run
for the Blue Jays, extending
their lead to 14-1. The eight
goals included two more
by both Rossi and Ballatori,
giving them hat tricks before
the run was complete.
The Pioneers found more
success offensively in the
second half. Denver's Melissa
Maier controlled the
draw after the Ballatori goal
and carried into the offensive
end before finding Kara
Secora for the Pioneers' second
goal with 20:41 left.
The goal marked Secora's
first of the season; the
junior ranked 11th in the
nation last season in points
per game.
Despite the increased
offense from Denver, the
13 goal Hopkins lead was
too much to overcome.
Hopkins responded with
yet another run of four
goals in just a five and a
half minute time period to
take an 18-2 lead.
The run was capped
with D'Amore once again,
who notched her fourth
goal of the day and ninth
of the season at the 9:45
minute mark. The goal
came off of a great play by
junior Monica Fischer, who
found D'Amore all alone in
the slot with a great pass.
The teams alternated
goals over the final nine
minutes to account for the
20-5 final.
The game featured career
performances by Rossi,
Ballatori and D'Amore,
who each accounted for
six points for the Blue Jays.
Rossi's points came on five
goals and one assist, while
Ballatori and D'Amore each
scored four times and tallied
two assists. D'Amore
also grabbed a game and
career-high eight draw
controls, which was just
one shy of the school Division
I record of nine.
Ballatori's four goals
and Schweizer's three
goals were both career
highs in that category.
On the other side, the
Pioneers did not have a
single multi-goal scorer for
the game.
Schweizer was elated
after the win, and commented
that "the win was
so rewarding because everyone
made valuable contributions,
and it was a total
team effort."
The Blue Jay defense
was stellar as well, holding
Denver to just 10 shots,
while also forcing them
into 14 failed clears and a
total of 25 turnovers.
Hopkins returns to action
on Feb. 29 against the
Loyola Greyhounds, the
first meeting between the
two teams since 1982. The
game is scheduled for 7:00
pm and marks the second
of four straight home
games to be played at Homewood Field.