By Alex Mitchell - STAFF WRITER
Hofstra’s opportunity at an upset against a nationally-ranked team featured a worthy effort, but wasn’t quite enough.
The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team played the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday at James M. Shuart Stadium. On a rainy day in Hempstead, the Pride was unable to stop the 20th-ranked team in the nation, dropping them to 4-3 on the season.
The game started with JohnsHopkins scoring two goals in the first seven minutes of play. One of which was answered by freshman midfielder Amanda Seekamp approximately nine minutes into the game.
Following that, the Blue Jays scored on a man-up advantage, bringing the score to 3-1. Attacker Morgan Knox cut the Hopkins lead to just one off of a feed from fellow attacker Brittain Altomare. The Blue Jays were persistent as they scored again to regain the two-goal advantage with less than 15 minutes to play in the first half.
Hofstra scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at four with about seven minutes before the half. The rest of the first half was a defensive battle for both teams as neither side let in a single goal.
Johns Hopkins, however, started the second half with two quick goals, again giving them a two goal, 6-4 lead over the Pride. Hofstra then went on a three-goal run to take their first lead of the day at 7-6.
The Blue Jays then went on a decisive four-goal run that the Pride couldn’t keep up with. With six minutes left to play, Hopkins was leading 10-7. Altomare answered one goal, but then Hopkins scored another three. Following those, Hofstra scored one more before the end, rendering the final score 13-9.
Head coach Shannon Smith called the loss “a tough one to swallow.” She also said that the amount of turnovers in the first half was highly detrimental.
The Pride’s next game is on Wednesday, March 18 against Rutgers University. To compete with Rutgers, Smith said, “We need consistency on the offensive side of the field… We have to be able to dominate the draw controls more than we did today.”
Following Rutgers, the Pride will travel to Ohio State University to play on Sunday, March 29. After they face the Buckeyes, Hofstra will begin conference play.
