As the Hopkins women’s lacrosse team enters the home stretch of the regular season, their recent victory against Big Ten rival Ohio State was highlighted by the strong performance from junior attacker Emily Kenul.
Her three goals and one assist was what the Jays needed to capture their 10th victory of the season and improve their Conference record to 2-3.
Kenul got the Jays off to an early start, opening the game with two quick goals, swinging the momentum in the Blue Jays’ favor.
When the Buckeyes began to battle back, Kenul followed a goal from junior teammate Maggie Friel with another goal of her own to secure a hat trick for the day.
The Jays kept up the pressure and went on to defeat the Buckeyes 12-6.
Kenul led the team in points (4), goals (3) and draw controls (6) in the victory. The four-point day moves Kenul into a tie for 14th in school history with 118 career points.
She is also tied for eighth with 94 career forced turnovers.
For her impressive performance, The News-Letter would like to recognize Kenul as the Athlete of the Week. Before the Jays face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday, a game in which the team could potentially clinch a Big Ten tournament spot, Kenul sat down to answer some questions.
The News-Letter: What does Hopkins lacrosse mean to you?
Emily Kenul:Hopkins lacrosse means a lot to me. It is something that I take pride in everyday and am so grateful to be a part of.
N-L: How are you and the team preparing as you enter the final stretch of the regular season?
EK: We have two huge games left in our regular season. Our game against Rutgers on Thursday is our last Big Ten game, and the Towson game on Sunday gives us a chance to improve our record and gain a significant win.
N-L: What are your goals for the postseason?
EK: Going into the postseason, we want to get into and win the Big Ten tournament to guarantee ourselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. At NCAAs, we want to make it farther than we did last year (past the second round).
N-L: How do you prepare for each game?
EK:In order to prepare, we like to look at one game at a time. We will focus on some of the things we need to improve upon as a team and then try to look at our opponent’s style of play and see how we can combat their strengths as well as expose their weaknesses.
