The No. 18 Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (3-1, Big East) suffered its first loss on Wednesday afternoon, falling in a 12-11 thriller at No. 14 John’s Hopkins (3-1, Big 10). Senior attacker Morgan Ryan notched a hat trick for the Hoyas, and senior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst added three assists. Junior midfielder Mackenzie Heldberg had four goals for the Blue Jays, while junior attacker Maggie Schneidereith added two goals and four assists.
It was the Hoyas who came flying out of the gates with junior midfielder Natalia Lynch scoring in 20 seconds to make it 1-0, but the Blue Jays responded with two goals fifty seconds apart, the second assisted by Schneidereith, to take the lead inside three minutes. The flurry continued in the opening five minutes, with junior attackers Emily Ehle and Michaela Bruno scoring for Georgetown and Whitehurst assisting both goals. Schneidereith and Heldberg scored after a five-minute lull to take a 4-3 lead for Hopkins, and after Georgetown senior goalkeeper Haelle Chomo and Hopkins senior goalkeeper Haley Crosson traded a series of saves, Schneidereith teed up senior midfielder/attacker Nicole DeMase to take a 5-3 lead midway through the half. Bruno pulled one back in the 18th minute, and despite a pair of saves from Crosson, Ryan found the equalizer from a free position shot with 8:52 to go in the half. The momentum would swing again, though, with the Blue Jays scoring a free position shot before Schneidereith set up Heldberg to make it 7-5 with 3:20 left in the half, the last multi-goal lead of the game for either team. Ehle snuck a goal in with 20 seconds to go in the first half to bring the Hoyas back within one at the break.
Despite Hopkins holding a 7-6 lead, Georgetown was the more dominant team. The Hoyas held a 21-13 shots advantage, kept turnovers fairly even at 7-6, and led draw controls 10-4. While the Blue Jays were better with their clearances, failing only once in 10 attempts while Georgetown failed four times in its 11, Crosson kept them in the game, making eight first half saves while Chomo managed only three.
Hopkins’ halftime lead would only last nine seconds, with Whitehurst winning the draw and setting up senior attacker Taylor Gebhardt to make it 7-7. The Hoyas continued their strong start to the half, with junior midfielder Liza Liotta scoring in the 35th minute for the lead. The Blue Jays would settle into the half, and while Chomo saved a free position shot to temporarily keep Hopkins at bay, Schneidereith tied the game at eight in the 42nd. Ryan would answer a minute later with a free position shot, and the Hoyas continued on the offensive to gain a cushion with Ryan hitting the post twice and Crosson saving Ehle’s free position shot in the space of a minute and a half before freshman midfielder Katie Crager hit the post again with 9:14 to play.
Hopkins cleared the scramble, and the drama began with 6:55 to go. Heldberg made it 9-9, Hopkins won the ensuing draw, and redshirt senior midfielder Ellie McNulty made it 10-9 22 seconds later. Georgetown won that draw, 36 seconds passed, and Liotta tied the game at 10. Crosson saved from Gebhardt with 4:38 to play, and Hopkins would clear the danger before Chomo saved a free position shot with 3:20 to go. Hopkins managed to retain possession and called timeout with 3:11 remaining. Four seconds later, Heldberg scored her fourth to make it 11-10 Blue Jays. Hopkins won the draw and used the whole shot clock before Georgetown could get forward. After calling timeout with 1:02 to go, the Hoyas pulled Chomo and left and empty net. The gamble paid off, and Ryan completed her hat trick to tie the game up with 28 seconds remaining. McNulty would win the ensuing draw though, and with eight seconds on the clock, Schneidereith found senior attacker Miranda Ibello for the game winner, handing the Hoyas their first loss of the season at the death.
The Hoyas don’t have long to dwell on the result, as the team travels to Delaware (2-2, CAA) on Saturday afternoon, with the opening draw slated for 1:00 p.m. ET. For coverage of that game and the rest of Georgetown’s sports teams, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
