PHILADELPHIA – Caroline Cummings is back, though no one would have known it through the first 57 minutes of No. 13 Penn’s game against Johns Hopkins.
The senior attacker who missed the final four games last year with a knee injury finished with a flurry in Penn’s 12-11 win Saturday at Franklin Field.
Cummings only goal of the game tied Hopkins with 2:19 left, then she fed Zoe Belodeau’s game-winner for her only assist with 52 seconds left. For good measure, she came up with a loose ball to help Penn (2-0) retain possession and run out the clock on Hopkins (3-1).
"It means everything," Cummings said. "I’m so happy to be back, and I’m so happy to be able to play. I’m happy I can be quiet for the game and everyone else can contribute. We have so many good attackers. We’re a big force on attack this year."
With Cummings back on the field, Penn has its top six scorers and 92 percent of its goals returning from last year. They’ve also added Belodeau, the freshman from Potomac Falls, Md. who led the Quakers with four goals. She had a goal and three assists in Penn’s opening-season 12-5 win over Delaware.
"She has great vision of the field," Cummings said. "She’s a great lefty. She’s a dodger, she’s a shooter. She makes our attack whole. She adds a huge lefty component to our attack."
Penn’s second win was much tighter than its victory against Delaware. Penn had to make plays to rally late and pull out the win over Hopkins.
Penn trailed, 11-10, with under three minutes to go after back-to-back Hopkins goals. Erin Barry created a turnover to get Penn the ball and Cummings an opportunity. Penn was 1-for-5 on free-position shots when Cummings snuck in a free-position goal despite Hopkins goalie Haley Crosson getting a piece of it.
Hopkins won the draw, but Katy Junior forced a turnover to give Penn possession with 1:17 left. Cummings found Belodeau cutting through the middle from the right side and the left-handed freshman fired her fourth goal of the game back high into the right corner to snap the seventh tie of the game.
Zoe Belodeau with the game-winner in the final minute, her 4th of game, as @PennWomensLax beats @HopkinsLacrosse 12-11 in a thriller. Nicole DeMase scored 5g for Hopkins. pic.twitter.com/Jtmp9ODuKs
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 24, 2018
"Zoe doesn’t play like a freshman," said Penn head coach Karin Corbett. "We put her on the draw and said you can take the game-winner. She’s a legitimate player. She’s going to get better and better. She is a lefty feeder and finisher and she just makes our attack more fun."
Belodeau controlled the final draw to Abby Bosco. Penn almost turned it over in its offensive end under heavy Hopkins pressure before Cummings pulled it out of the air to preserve precious seconds of possession and helped close out the game without Hopkins getting another shot.
Barry and Gabby Rosenzweig each had three points on two goals and an assist apiece. Emily Rogers-Healion had a goal and assist and Alex Condon was relatively quiet with two goals. Penn is still rotating goalies and Maggie Smith made two saves in the first half while Mikaila Cheeseman had four saves in the second half in front of a defense that caused 11 of Hopkins’ 21 turnovers led by Junior’s three caused turnovers.
"I don’t know if you can count on causing turnovers," Corbett said. "We have to play good team defense which then creates some turnovers. We had some 3-second calls and some cards we shouldn’t have had, and I think that was because we were a little undisciplined so we have some work to do. I think Hopkins is a good team and they’re going to do well, so I was pleased to come out with a win."
Hopkins was led by Nicole DeMase who had five goals. Emily Kenul had three goals and Shannon Fitzgerald added two goals. Maggie Schneidereith had a goal and assist. Haley Crosson made eight saves, five in the second half.
The game was tight throughout with intermittent rain showers making conditions a little tougher. Neither team had more than a two-goal lead at any time. Hopkins held a 4-3 lead before three straight Penn goals helped the Quakers eventually build a 7-5 halftime lead. Both teams were sloppier with the ball than they would have liked with Hopkins turning it over 12 times to Penn’s two turnovers.
"I think their ride is really good and we handled it exceptionally well," Corbett said. "I was a little worried after last week. I don’t think we cleared the ball great and I don’t think our spacing was good against Delaware, and we worked on it because we know (Hopkins) is real fast and they’re good at that. I was pleased with our clearing. We stuck with it. We had lulls and we were able to come up with some huge stops at the end. I was pleased with that."
Johns Hopkins’ DeMase and Fitzgerald scored the first two goals of the second half to force a 7-7 tie with 20 minutes left.
Belodeau’s third goal of the game came with an athletic finish in which she jumped, caught and fired from the left side of the goal before anyone could react. Barry skipped one under Crosson for a 9-7 lead for the Quakers.
Hopkins responded with back-to-back goals from Maggie Schneidereith on a free position goal and DeMase depositing her fourth goal of the game.
Cheeseman came up with her biggest save of the half with 7:03 left on a shot from DeMase. Forty seconds later, Condon gave Penn a 10-9 lead, but DeMase was quick to answer back with a rocket of a free-position goal to tie the game again, 10-10, with 5:20 left.
Hopkins took the lead after they missed a free position shot when Schneidereith hit Kenul for her third goal of the game and an 11-10 advantage with 4:05 to go. Barry caused a turnover for Penn and from there it was Cummings’ turn to make some noise.
"It’s great having her back," Corbett said. "She is almost where she was. In her mind, she wants to be where she left off and she still has some work to do."
As Penn proved, though, she doesn’t have to dominate games to contribute in a big way. When it was the biggest moment, she delivered.
"She was in the right space mentally and got that huge goal and huge interception at the end," Corbett said. "I think she’ll get better every game and she’s such a big player and tough player, we’re excited to get her back."
Both teams were to make donations for each goal to the One Love Foundation. At game end, they had raised $1,555 of their $3,000 goal.
Cavaliers Knock Off Princeton to Stay Unbeaten
No. 14 Virginia continued its impressive start to the 2018 season with a 14-10 road victory at No. 10 Princeton. The Cavaliers are 3-0 for the first time since 2012.
Leading by just one goal at halftime, Virginia scored seven of the first eight goals of the second half, including a five-goal spurt in a span of just over five minutes to stretch its lead to 14-8. Virginia forced two shot clock violations in the second half.
"It was a great team effort from start to finish," said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. "I was really excited the girls made some adjustments at halftime and came out even stronger after starting well in the first half. There was great team-focus and execution all the way around. It was a big win for us today."
Avery Shoemaker had four first-half goals for Virginia and Kasey Behr and Ana Hagerup each had hat tricks in the game. Princeton (1-1) got three goals from Kathryn Hallett.
Hokies Down Duke Again
Virginia Tech started the season with back-to-back losses to a pair of Top 10 teams in USC and James Madison, but the Hokies help kick start their postseason hopes with a 17-14 win over Duke. It was the second straight that Virginia Tech, which has now won three straight, has beaten Duke.
Virginia Tech was dominant in the first half, scoring six straight goals after an early 1-1 tie, and led 10-3 at the break.
Duke scored four of the first five goals in the second half to get within four goals, but back-to-back goals by Tristan McGinley just 28 seconds apart slowed the Blue Devils momentum. Duke never got closer four in the second half.
McGinley had six goals on just seven shots to lead the Hokies, and added five draw controls. Paige Petty had four goals for Virginia Tech and Meagh Graham made 10 saves.
Grace Fallon led Duke with seven points (2g, 5a) and the Blue Devils also had big games from Charlotte North (3g, 2a) and Maddie Crutchfield (4g). Olivia Jenner had two goals and a game-high 12 draw controls.
Other Games of Note
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Marie McCool scored the game-winning goal as North Carolina upset No. 1 Maryland 16-15 in overtime. Read more about that game here.
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No. 4 Boston College led Brown by just one at the half, but exploded for 15 goals in the second half to post a 22-12 win and improve to 5-0. Kaileen Hart had 10 points (5g, 5a) to go over 100 points for her career. Sam Apuzzo, who had a school record 11 draw controls, and Dempsey Arsenault each had five goals as well.
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No. 5 James Madison improved to 4-0, but had to work for it, beating High Point 13-11. The Dukes trailed 7-6 late in the first half before scoring five straight goals to take the lead. Elena Romesburg had her third five-goal game of the season.
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Senior Katie O'Donnell had a career-high six goals to lead No. 18 Penn State past No. 17 Cornell 17-11. It was the Nittany Lions third straight victory since opening the season with a loss to Towson. Tomasina Leska scored the first three goals of the game to help Cornell jump out to a 4-0 lead, but Penn State scored the game's next four goals and took the lead for good with another four-goal run that bridged the two halves. Back-to-back Cornell goals pulled the Big Red to within 12-11 with 10:48 to play, but O'Donnell started a four-goal run to close the game for Penn State.
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Fairfield's Breanna Connolly scored on a free position shot in overtime to give the Stags a 13-12 win over Hofstra, the Pride's first loss of the season. Connolly and Jillian Winwood each had four goals for Fairfield and Alyssa Parrella led Hofstra with six.
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Freshman Caroline Blalock had four goals and two assists as Louisville improved to 4-1 with a 16-7 win over Coastal Carolina. It was the third four-goal game of the season for Blalock, who is tied for the team lead in scoring with Canisius transfer Tessa Chad with 13 goals.
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Samantha Budd scored the first three goals of the game, and finished with a team-high five points (4g, 1a) as Rutgers won its third straight game, beating Delaware 14-10.
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Sara Moeller had a school record 12 points on six goals and six assists as UMBC beat Virginia Commonwealth 21-9 to improve to 3-0, the school's best start since 1995.
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Julia Blaze, Emily Mathewson and Kayla Peterson each had three goals as Vanderbilt ran its record to 3-0 with a 19-7 victory over Furman.
— Brian Logue
Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 11 North Carolina 16, No. 1 Maryland 15 (OT)
No. 4 Boston College 22, Brown 12
No. 5 James Madison 13, High Point 11
No. 14 Virginia 14, No. 10 Princeton 10
Virginia Tech 18, No. 12 Duke 14
No. 13 Penn 12, Johns Hopkins 11
No. 18 Penn State 16, No. 17 Cornell 11
Yale 14, No. 19 Massachusetts 9
Other Scores
Arizona State 18, Manhattan 8
Bryant 16, Albany 6
Campbell 17, East Carolina 8
Fairfield 13, Hofstra 12 (OT)
George Mason 22, Longwood 5
Georgetown 16, Drexel 8
Hartford 20, Delaware State 4
Iona 11, Holy Cross 4
Lehigh 13, Columbia 12
Louisville 16, Coastal Carolina 7
Marist 15, Vermont 6
Monmouth 14, George Washington 8
Mount St. Mary's 14, Army West Point 10
New Hampshire 13, Central Connecticut State 4
Presbyterian 14, Wofford 12
Quinnipiac 15, St. Francis (Pa.) 8
Rutgers 14, Delaware 10
UMBC 21, VCU 9
Vanderbilt 19, Furman 7
Wagner 15, Bucknell 2
W&L Upsets No. 4 Franklin & Marshall
After opening the season with a pair of one-goal losses to Mary Washington and St. Mary's, Washington and Lee upset No. 4 Franklin & Marshall 8-4 on Saturday.
Junior midfielder Cordelia Peters led the Generals with three goals and Hannah Wiltshire made 13 saves to earn the victory. F&M outshot W&L 25-17 and forced the Generals into 21 turnovers, but could not solve Wiltshire.