BALTIMORE – The No. 18 Georgetown University women's lacrosse squad (3-1) fell 12-11 to the No. 16 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (3-1) on Wednesday at Homewood Field.  The teams battled over 60 minutes, but a goal in the final 10 seconds was too much to overcome for the Blue & Gray.
 
"We saw that we are capable of playing at a really high level, but there were a number of plays that changed the momentum of the game," said Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried.  "Instead of dwelling on that, we can focus on what we need to improve on.  If we minimize our mistakes, then we put ourselves in a really good position to win.  Today against a really quality opponent, they made the most of their opportunities and we need to execute on both ends of the field a little bit better."
 
Senior attacker Morgan Ryan (Maplewood, N.J. / Oak Knoll School) led the way with a hat trick, while junior attacker Michaela Bruno (Garden City, N.Y. / Garden City) added two goals and an assist.  Also notching multiple scores were junior midfielder Liza Liotta (Baltimore, Md. / St. Paul's School for Girls) and classmate Emily Ehle (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / Christian Brothers Academy).
 
The Hoyas outshot the Blue Jays 36-25 and pulled in 14 draw controls to JHU's 11.  GU was 3 for 7 on free position shots while limiting Hopkins to a 1 of 6 performance.  Additionally, the defense forced 16 turnovers, eight caused, as GU committed just 14 in the contest.  In goal, senior Haelle Chomo (Naples, Fla. / Barron Collier) managed seven saves.
 
The Hoyas opened the scoring in the first minute of action as junior Natalia Lynch (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown West ) scored on a pass from Bruno to make it 1-0.  The Blue Jays would answer with a pair of scores, but GU tied the game as Ehle notched a score and Bruno added one more at the 25:46 mark in the first half.  Senior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst (Baltimore, Md. / Roland Park Country School) assisted on both scores.
 
Johns Hopkins came right back with a three-goal run but, following a GU timeout, Bruno found the back of the cage again on the pass from Lynch to pull the Blue & Gray within one 5-4.  It was Ryan on the free position score to tie the game at five as the defense stood strong to slow the Blue Jay attack.
 
With 6:41 remaining in the first, a yellow card gave Hopkins a free position shot which was buried to retake the lead. JHU followed it up with one more, but with just 20 seconds remaining in the half Ehle took it herself from behind the cage to make it 7-6 in favor of the Blue Jays which would be the score at the break.
 
It would take just nine seconds to tie the game as Whitehurst pulled in the draw and took it down the field eventually finding senior Taylor Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) to make it 7-7.  Minutes later, it was Georgetown again as the defense came up with stops and Liotta converted a free position attempt to put the Blue & Gray on top for the first time since the opening minute of play.
 
Following the goal, it turned to the defense as Chomo came up with a number of big saves to cling to the one-goal advantage.  It took until 18:26 for Hopkins to reciprocate as the Blue Jays tied the game at eight on a goal in the run of play.  Georgetown would answer back as Ryan nailed a free position goal and the game began to get physical with GU leading 9-8.
 
The game changed at the under seven mark when Hopkins scored a pair of goals just 22 seconds apart to take the lead 10-9.  The momentum wouldn't last, however, as Liotta weaved her way through the JHU defense to score at unassisted tally at 5:57 and tie it up at 10.
 
Following a free position, the Blue Jays called timeout as the shot clock wound down.  Out of the break, Hopkins set up a play and would score.  Georgetown didn't back down as the Hoyas called a timeout of their own and set up a play for the final seconds of regulation.  It would work perfectly as Ryan curled around the back of the net and scored an unassisted goal to tie the game at 11.
 
On the ensuing draw control, Hopkins pulled it in and went straight to goal scoring with just eight seconds remaining.  GU would have a chance on the final draw, but it fell to the Blue Jays as JHU held on to the 12-11 final.
 
The Hoyas will be back in action on Saturday as the squad travels to the University of Delaware for a 1 p.m. matchup at Delaware Stadium.  Live stats and a webcast will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.