The last 11 minutes of the first half of Tuesday's match at Reeves Field looked good for the AU Women's Lacrosse team. No. 11 Johns Hopkins, with the ninth best offense in the nation, didn't score once, while the upset-minded Eagles got a pair of goals from junior midfielder Moriah Linnell to trail by two at halftime.
But then, the second half came.
The Blue Jays showed how dangerous their offense can be in both quality and quantity, scoring the first four goals of the second half en route to a 16-10 win. Their depth also surfaced, as Mary Key and Sarah Walsh scored six points each through goals and assists, joining eight other players on the scoreboard.
Despite the outcome, the Eagles listened to coach Ashley Flanigan's postgame talk in an upbeat mood.
"I think this was the best we've played this season and the best we've ever played versus Hopkins," said Linnell, who scored a game-high five goals.
That goes without saying. AU (5-8, 3-1 Patriot League) fell behind 7-2 in the first half to a team with a knack for scoring a lot of goals at just the right time. But the Eagles scored four of the next five to bring them within striking distance at the break.
The run was capped by a pair from Linnell, who scored the last goal of the half with 5:36 left after cutting to the net and firing a pass from freshman defender Chloe Dee, who came into the game with only one goal on the year but added two more and an assist Tuesday.
The Blue Jays (8-3) called timeout after that and finished the session without any more harassment from the Eagles. They then kicked off the second half by controlling the ball for the first five minutes and getting two goals in the process. They scored two more 15 minutes later with no response from the Eagles, who saw the attempt for their first-ever win over Hopkins slip out of reach.
"It definitely got us into a big hole," Linnell said. "If we had stopped that run earlier it would have changed things. The momentum switched."
Despite trailing throughout, the Eagles didn't let up their pressure, although Hopkins' stranglehold on midfield made playmaking a challenge.
AU, which had been outscored 68-39 in the first half this season, had a strong first half to trail by two at the break. The team also pulled off three goals in the last 2:10 of the game, though by then it was clearly too late to come back.
The game also saw a change of goalkeepers. In her third appearance of the year, freshman Katherine Vida started in place of junior Kathleen Finnegan. She allowed 14 goals, but had six saves. Several times she was left without help from defenders as the Hopkins offense, built on speed and finesse, created odd-man rushes.
A match against a nationally ranked opponent came at a good time, tucked in the heart of the toughest end of AU's PL schedule. According to Linnell, it's good preparation for Saturday's home match against defending champion and league-leader Colgate (9-4, 4-0).
"By the way we played today, it showed what we're capable of," she said. "If we beat Colgate and Bucknell [on April 23], we can host the tournament, and that would be great"
