Women’s lacrosse: Northwestern sweeps Johns Hopkins to remain undefeated

Riding high after its season-opening thrashing of Ohio State, No. 4 Northwestern swept to Johns Hopkins in a two-game series in Baltimore this weekend.

Unlike their matchup against the Buckeyes, in which the Wildcats scored 18 unanswered goals to start the game, they started slower in their first game Friday.

Johns Hopkins scored three goals in the first four game minutes and led 6-3 with 13:10 left in the first half half before junior Izzy Scane bust open the floodgates with an unassisted goal. It set off a monster run in which the Wildcats scored eight goals in 10 minutes to take an 11-6 lead into halftime, including this phenomenal no-look goal from first-year Leah Holmes.

The ‘Cats cruised in the second half Holmes and seniors Taylor Pinzone and Jill Girardi each adding a goal to put the Cats up 15-6. Two Hopkins goals ended its scoring drought of nearly 29 minutes, and a pair of late goals from Scane gave her a hat trick as the Wildcats won the first game 17-8.

While its defense was solid, NU can largely attribute the win to its dominance on the attack. The electrifying Wildcat offense kept the ball on its opposite side of the field, thereby limiting the Blue Jays’ offensive chances and finding open shots to pad the lead. During NU’s 12-0 stretch, it was apparently that the persistence and aggressiveness of the Wildcat attack stymied Hopkins from generating anything.

Scane led all Wildcats with four goals, a slight step down from her record-setting nine-goal performance against OSU. Senior Lauren Gilbert netted a hat trick of her own.

After a day of rest, Northwestern started the final game of the weekend with a bang, as Scane scored her 14th goal of the season only 35 seconds in. NU led 8-5 at the half.

Determined to flex their muscle, the Wildcats scored seven goals to Johns Hopkins’ one, including three consecutive by Scane, to open the second half. The Blue Jays tallied three late goals, but the outcome was never in doubt, and NU won 18-9.

Scane once again led all scorers with seven goals (20 on the season), while Gilbert scored four of her own (13 on the season). Hansen, Mueller and McKone each had two goals; Coykendall added one as well.

The Wildcats next host Penn State in a two game series this upcoming weekend.