Women's Lacrosse Live Blog Recap: Hopkins Beats UMBC, 12-7

From the start of Wednesday night's game versus Johns Hopkins, UMBC women's lacrosse coach Kelly Berger said her team could not establish any kind of flow.

The Retrievers lost 7-of-9 draw controls in the first half, making going on any kind of offensive run nearly impossible.

By the time UMBC began winning draws in the second half, the Blue Jays had already established a four-goal lead that was ultimately insurmountable for the out-of-synch Retrievers, who lost 12-7 in front 287 spectators at UMBC Stadium.

With only two games remaining, playing out-of-conference Johns Hopkins (8-5) felt odd before completing play with Binghamton and Albany in the next two weeks.

But Berger said playing a non-conference opponent in mid-April did not disrupt her team's rhythm, though the Retrievers (9-5, 3-1 America East Conference) appeared out of synch against the Blue Jays.

"I certainly felt weird about it," said UMBC midfielder Alicia Krause, who led the team with three goals. "It's hard having that in the middle of our conference."

But Krause said she didn't think the schedule affected her or her teammate's play, a statement Berger stood by as well.

"It a cross-town rival," Berger said. "So they get pumped for it."

The Retrievers were kept in the game in the first half by goalkeeper Natalie Rau, who made six saves while the majority of the half was played on her side of the field.

Berger said Rau "played awesome," especially considering how she fared during warmups. Berger said Rau was seeing the ball very poorly before the opening draw a 6 p.m., and wasn't expecting her senior goalie to get off to such a fine start.

But Rau, like the rest of the defense, struggled to slow the Blue Jays in the second half. Berger said her team may have been "a bit tired," while Hopkins was able to consistently make substitutions for fresh legs.

The Retrievers have only one home game remaining this season, a Sunday matchup versus Binghamton (3-10, 1-2 America East Conference). If UMBC wins that game, they clinch a spot in the conference tournament. If the Retrievers win and New Hampshire (6-6, 1-2) loses, UMBC can be no worse than the third-place team in the conference.

Albany (11-0, 3-) leads the America East. The Retrievers play the Great Danes in Albany on April 30.

One bright spot for UMBC was senior attack Erika Braerman's continued ascent up the school's career assists leaderboard.

With her second assist on a Kristen Bilney goal with 11:40 remaining in the first half, Braerman moved to third place all-time in assists, with 55.

(7:47 p.m.) Hopkins has defeated UMBC, 12-7.

With under a minute remaining in the game and Hopkins apparently willing to run out the clock, the Blue Jays wound up scoring, anyway.

Taylor D'Amore was bumped by a UMBC defender and lost control of the ball. After hitting the turf, the ball rolled into the goal for another Hopkins score.

It was D'Amore's sixth point and third goal of the game.

I'll head down to the field and be back in a bit with reaction from Retrievers coach Kelly Berger.

(7:36 p.m.) With under five minutes to play, UMBC has closed the gap and trails Hopkins by three goals.

The Retrievers cut a five-goal deficit by one when Alicia Krause scored her third goal of the game with 9:33 remaining. Attack Emily Coady scored UMBC's seventh goal with 5:01 on the clock. Hopkins 11, UMBC 7.

(7:27 p.m.) Taylor D'Amore scored her second goal of the game to give Hopkins an 11-5 lead with 11:08 remaining in the game, forcing UMBC coach Kelly Berger to call a timeout.

D'Amore leads the Blue Jays with five points in this game (two goals, three assists), but Hopkins has spread the scoring around. Six players have scored and five of those six have two goals. Hopkins 11, UMBC 5.

(7:23 p.m.) Hopkins has scored two straight goals and has its largest lead of the game, 10-5.

UMBC is giving up significant size on the field, as evidenced by the 5-foot-10 Candace Rossi driving for the last Blue Jay score, and are struggling to stop the Hopkins attack in this second half.

Retriever goalkeeper Natalie Rau has made nine saves, but has faced a barrage of shots: 18-of-25 Hopkins shots have been on goal. Hopkins 10, UMBC 5.

(7:15 p.m.) With 18:31 remaining in the second half, UMBC midfielder Alicia Krause scored unassisted to keep the deficit at three, 8-5.

Hopkins had scored with just over 21 minutes to play when Rachel Ballatori was assisted by Colleen McCaffrey.

The Retrievers have gotten their offense going in this second half, but the Blue Jays have turned up their scoring in response. Hopkins 8, UMBC 5.

(7:06 p.m.) UMBC and Hopkins have traded goals in the last few minutes, and the Retrievers still trail by three.

After having play stopped due to a shooting space violation, Retriever attack Ashley Stodter scored on the free position shot to make the score 7-4 with 24:44 remaining.

Before that, the Blue Jays' Jen Fox scored Hopkins' seventh goal of the game. Hopkins 7, UMBC 4.

(6:58 p.m.) Seven seconds into this second half, UMBC is on the board and back within three goals, 6-3.

After winning the draw, Retrievers midfielder Alicia Krause scored unassisted.

We're under 29 minutes to play now, with the Blue Jays on the attack. Hopkins 6, UMBC 3.

(6:50 p.m.) Hopkins scored its sixth and final goal of the first half, with 35 seconds on the clock, when attack Colleen McCaffre drove toward the net and scored unassisted.

UMBC won the ensuing draw control, but was unable to mount a serious threat as the Blue Jays' defense went to a press, preventing the Retrievers from moving the ball closer than 15 yards from the goal. UMBC did not get off a shot before time expired.

The first half was played almost entirely on the Retrievers' side of the field, as Hopkins got off 17 shots to UMBC's five.

After averaging better than 12 goals per game at UMBC Stadium this season, the Retrievers have yet to solve the Blue Jays' defense, which has forced eight turnovers.

Hopkins is also leading in two other possession categories, winning 7-of-9 draws and holding a 10-6 edge in ground balls. At halftime, Hopkins 6, UMBC 2.

(6:41 p.m.) UMBC has struggled mightily through this first half, but has been spared a large deficit by the solid play of goalkeeper Natali Rau, who has made six saves already.

Less than two minutes remain in the half, and Hopkins again has the ball.

Sammy Cermack, assisted by Candace Rossi, scored Hopkins' fifth goal with 9:45 remaining in the half, re-establishing a three-goal lead for the Blue Jays. Hopkins 5, UMBC 2.

(6:30 p.m.) UMBC has moved within two goals of Hopkins after a score by Kristen Bilney from close range. She was assisted by Erika Braerman.

But Hopkins won the ensuing draw control and is again on the attack. The Blue Jays have won 6-of-7 draws, putting a lot of pressure on the UMBC defense and goalkeeper Natalie Rau. Hopkins 4, UMBC 2.

(6:25 p.m.) Pretty strange scene here at UMBC Stadium: After making a save with just over 19 minutes remaining in the half, Hopkins goalkeeper Cosette Larash held the ball uncontested for more than a minute before UMBC decided to pressure Larash, forcing her to pass and end the stall.

By rule, Larash could have held the ball for the rest of the half had the Retrievers not forced her to make a pass. Playing with a three-goal lead, Larash appeared content to do just that without pressure from the UMBC defense. Hopkins 4, UMBC 1.

(6:13 p.m.) After UMBC answered with a goal to tie the score 1-1, Hopkins scored two straight goals and have retaken the lead, 3-1.

Candace Rossi scored the most recent Blue Jay goal with 22:47 remaining in the first half.

After UMBC knotted the score 1-1 with just over 24 minutes to play,  Hopkins' Brooke Foussadi gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.

The Retrievers' score came from Amanda Pappas, who was assisted by Erika Braerman following a Retrievers draw control. Hopkins 3, UMBC 1.

(6:06 p.m.) Johns Hopkins has drawn first blood - literally.

First, UMBC's Kristen Milligan went down near the sideline and appeared to be bleeding, though the injury didn't appear serious after she walked off the field.

Then, one possession later, the Blue Jays' Rachel Ballatori scored Hopkins' first goal of the game off an assist from Taylor D'Amore. Hopkins 1, UMBC 0.

(6:02 p.m.) With 26:42 remaining in the first half, UMBC has already shown a strong defense, thwarting two Johns Hopkins offensive possessions.

But the Retrievers have yet to mount any offense themselves, and have played the majority of the game defending their own goal.

(5:55 p.m.) Coming off a 14-13 win over America East Conference opponent Vermont, the UMBC women's lacrosse team faces a challenge in visiting Johns Hopkins (7-5), winners of three straight.

Opening draw is slated for 6 p.m.

Unlike the men's lacrosse series between the two schools, the Retrievers (9-4, 3-1 America East Conference) hold an edge over the Blue Jays in the all-time women's lacrosse series, going 12-8-2 since 1976.

UMBC has fared well at home this season, averaging better than 12 goals scored per game in going 6-1 at UMBC Stadium.