April 1, 2012
Box Score | Joe Howell’s Photos 
NASHVILLE – Senior Kacie Connors had a game-high six points and the No. 12 Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team defeated No. 17 Johns Hopkins, 14-11, Sunday in American Lacrosse Conference action at the VU Lacrosse Complex.
After the Blue Jays pulled within a goal at 11-10 with 15 minutes to play, Connors assisted on an Alex Priddy breakaway goal before scoring two of her own to ice the game. Connors finished with four goals and two assists for a career-high six points just four days after putting together a five-point performance at New Hampshire.
The game was tightly contested throughout, with the Commodores never building more than a three-goal advantage. Hopkins actually grabbed an early lead when Rachel Ballatori scored three straight to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 edge. That marked the only time Vanderbilt would trail.
The Commodores answered with four consecutive goals from four different players–senior Ally Carey, junior Carly Linthicum, senior Hannah Clark and Kacie Connors. The Blue Jays were able to tie the game, but a late goal from Carey gave VU a 7-6 advantage at the break.
Vanderbilt led for the entire second half. Priddy and fellow senior Kendall Pittinger each had two goals in the second half, while Carey capped off her hat-trick. Senior goalkeeper Natalie Wills made five of her eight saves in the second half for her fifth win of the season.
The Commodores held a 16-11 advantage in draw controls, led by Carey’s season-high of 10 draw controls.
The victory stopped a three-game losing slide for the Commodores while snapping Hopkins’ four-game winning streak. Vanderbilt has now won seven straight over its conference rival and holds a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series.
The Commodores will stay at home over the next week, playing host to Presbyterian on Wednesday before facing another league opponent next weekend, Ohio State.
