BALTIMORE, MD - The #12 Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team held off #15 Denver in a shootout at Homewood Field Sunday afternoon, 15-13. The Blue Jays improve to 6-4 with the win, while the Pioneers had their 10-game win streak snapped and fall to 10-2 on the season.

Hopkins opened the game with a 6-0 run, starting with senior Mary Key's (Stevensville, MD/St. Mary's) goal just 34 seconds in. Denver failed to clear the ball out of its defensive zone and Key picked up the loose ball and shot low for her 35th of the season. Over the next nine minutes the Blue Jays would build a 6-0 lead as Key, juniors Kadie Stamper (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) and Kirby Houck (Baltimore, MD/Garrison Forest) and freshman Sam Schrum (Pasadena, MD/St. Mary's) all found the twine.

Denver pulled goalie Becky Childs in favor of Katie Gold following the Hopkins run, swinging the momentum in favor of the Pioneers. Denver finally got on the board at 11:07 when Ali Flury struck on a free position shot. Exactly a minute later, Lexi Sanders scored to make it 6-2 after picking up a loose ball and firing a low shot past freshman Lizzie O'Ferrall (Baltimore, MD/Mount De Sales). Flury scored again followed by goals from Steph Coyne and Kristie Leggio to make it a 6-5 Hopkins lead.

Hopkins answered with 7:30 to play when senior Alex Nolan (Baltimore, MD/Roland Park) fed Key from the left side and she one-timed a shot past Gold. Schrum made it a three-goal game with 3:35 to play when she drove toward the right side of the cage and snuck the ball between Gold and the post. Key closed out the scoring for the half with her fourth of the day, making it a 9-5 game heading into the break.

Denver came out firing in the second half scoring three quick goals to make it one-goal game at 9-8. Houck ended the Pioneers run with back-to-back goals, pushing the score out to 11-8. Flury scored her third of the day with 20:01 to play cutting it back to a two-goal game. But once again, Hopkins answered. Stamper scored back-to-back goals in the span of just 56 seconds to make it a 13-9 game with 18:09 to play.

This time it was Denver's turn for a run. Karen Morton scored after picking up a loose ball to make it 13-10. Leggio then scored just 40 seconds later but after her stick was ruled to be illegal by the officials, the goal was called back. Leggio scored at 10:51 to make it 13-11, followed by a goal from Megan Carver with 9:17 to play. Leading 13-12, Hopkins got two quick goals from Key and Stamper to push out to a 15-12 lead. Leggio would come right back with her fourth of the day with 4:44 to play. But that's as close as the Pioneers would get as Hopkins was able to hold off the Denver offense for the remainder of the game.

Key led Hopkins with five goals and four assists on the day, moving her into third in NCAA Division I history with 131 career assists and sixth with 337 points. Houck's four goals on the day were a career high, while Stamper tied her career high with four goals. Fifth-year senior Sarah Walsh (Port Washington, NY/P.D. Schreiber) also had three assists for the Blue Jays. Sophomore goalie Amelia Harris (Clifton, VA/J.W. Robinson) came in with 20:01 to play for Hopkins and made two saves for the Blue Jays. O'Ferrall finished with three saves for Hopkins. For Denver, Childs had three saves while Gold had seven.

Hopkins returns to action on Sunday, April 8 when the Blue Jays travel to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores. The American Lacrosse Conference game is set to begin at 1:00 pm CST.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  5  8 - 13
Johns Hopkins.......  9  6 - 15
 
Denver SCORING:
GOALS: Leggio, Kristie 4; Flury, Ali 3; Carver, Megan 2;
       Morton; Karen 2; Coyne, Steph 1; Sanders, Lexi 1.
ASSISTS: Carver, Megan 2; Coyne, Steph 2; Morton, Karen 2;
         Leggio, Kristie 1; O'Connell, Kelly 1.
 
Johns Hopkins SCORING:
GOALS: Mary Key 5; Kadie Stamper 4; Kirby Houck 4; Sam Schrum 2.
ASSISTS: Mary Key 4; Sarah Walsh 3; Steph Janice 1; Alex Nolan 1;
         Sam Schrum 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  9 12 - 21
Johns Hopkins....... 21 12 - 33
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver.............. 12 10 - 22
Johns Hopkins....... 11  8 - 19
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  6  7 - 13
Johns Hopkins.......  9  8 - 17
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Denver..............  6-10  8-10 - 14-20
Johns Hopkins.......  9-11  7-8  - 16-19
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Denver..............  2-2   0-0  -  2-2
Johns Hopkins.......  1-1   0-1  -  1-2
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  5  5 - 10
Johns Hopkins.......  2  3 -  5
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  4 10 - 14
Johns Hopkins....... 11  6 - 17
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Denver..............  8  6 - 14
Johns Hopkins.......  9  8 - 17

2007-04-01