March 22, 2017
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Vanderbilt Commodores (4-3) have had their fair share of ranked opponents to begin the season and both contests were close games. This time around, the Commodores were looking to come out on the winning end.
The opening half was close for the first 20 minutes and the score was tied at 3. The last third of the half belonged to the Blue Jays though, as they scored the final four goals of the half and brought a 7-3 lead into the break. The deficit was too much for the Commodores to overcome in the second half and Johns Hopkins (8-2) recorded the win 13-8.
“Tough loss today,” said head coach Cathy Swezey. “We felt prepared, but needed better execution. We know our program is ready to compete with the top 20, and we will keep working hard to achieve a ranked win.”
Johns Hopkins was on the board first with two straight goals in the opening six minutes of the game to build a 2-0 lead.
The ‘Dores would answer with a goal from sophomore Melanie Becker at the 18:57 mark. Then fellow sophomore Julie Blaze found the back of the net to tie the game at 2 with 17:37 left.
The Commodores looked to take the lead on the ensuing possession as it was Blaze again to find the back of the net but the goal was called off. Blaze was awarded a free position opportunity that hit off the post and the Blue Jays corralled the rebound. The Jays took it down the field and would score to take a 3-2 lead with 15:18 remaining.
The ‘Dores would come up with an answer from freshman Emily Mathewson. She scored her first goal of the afternoon with 12:58 left in the first half to tie the game at three.
The rest of the first half belonged to the Blue Jays as they held the ‘Dores scoreless and took advantage of opportunities on the offensive end. The Jays would score four straight goals and took a 7-3 lead into the half.
The ‘Dores would answer in the second half by scoring the first two goals. Becker got her second goal of the game at the 25:45 mark in the second half. Then it was Mathewson with her second goal of the game to bring the deficit down to 7-5 with 20:25 left.
That would be the closest the Commodores would get as the Blue Jays would outscore the ‘Dores 6-3 the rest of the half en route to the 13-8 win. The ‘Dores final three goals came from Blaze (two) and Becker (one) as they both had hat tricks on the afternoon.
Becker set a career-high in goals along with a career-high in draw controls with four. Blaze tallied her second hat trick of the season along with winning a draw control on the afternoon. Mathewson had her fifth multi-goal game in a row, scooped up a ground ball and caused two turnovers against Johns Hopkins.
Jill Doherty totaled a team-high four ground balls, won three draw controls and caused two turnovers. Lily Argyle started her second consecutive game in the cage and made seven saves on the afternoon.
The Commodores will have another quick turnaround before they are back on the field again. The ‘Dores will be back at home this weekend for the first time since the home opener on Feb. 11. They will face BIG EAST newcomer Butler on Saturday at 1 pm CT at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.
