Northwestern lacrosse (8-3, 2-0 B1G) earned its third win over a ranked opponent by defeating No. 23 Johns Hopkins (7-5, 0-3 B1G) in an 11-10 thriller on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats came back from a 10-7 deficit with 13:50 remaining and scored four unanswered goals to win a tough contest on the road.
Northwestern, playing its second Big Ten game of the season, struggled to find consistency on offense for much of the game. Johns Hopkins scored the first two goals of the game and prevented Northwestern holding a lead until the final stages of the game. The Wildcats trailed 5-2 after 23 minutes, but a 3-0 run to end the first half and begin the second brought the game back to 5-5.
Johns Hopkins battled ahead once again to make it 7-5. Sheila Nesselbush scored to make it 7-6, but Johns Hopkins kept its advantage and probably felt comfortable with a 10-7 lead. However, goalkeeper Julie Krupnick kept Northwestern in it. She made 14 saves on the day and was clutch down the stretch as Northwestern rallied back. The only player who was more clutch was Nesselbush, who continued her remarkable offensive stretch with two goals in the final 13 minutes. Danita Stroup tied the game with 8 minutes left. Northwestern’s defense held strong and Nesselbush scored what would be the game-winning goal with 2:22 remaining. Krupnick saved Johns Hopkins’ final attempt and Northwestern escaped Baltimore with a thrilling comeback.
Northwestern will have a quick turnaround before facing No. 6 Penn on April 1st at 11 a.m. CST.