In the preceding four matches versus Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt has emerged victorious on three occasions.
Nonetheless, several days prior Saturday's home date with the Blue Jays, sophomore defenseman Claire Leonard commented on the rivalry, saying. "There's bad blood. They're having a down year, but it's always a tough game."
For the 11th-ranked Commodores, it did not seem that way.
The Commodores opened on a 7-0 run in the first 10 minutes, two courtesy of sophomore attacker Katherine Denkler, en route to an 18-8 victory.
Despite being outscored by the visiting Hopkins 3-2 to close out the half, Vanderbilt still held a comfortable 9-3 advantage at intermission. Freshman midfielder Ally Carey added two goals towards the end of the first period.
The Blue Jays were the first to strike in the second half, as freshman Alyssa Kildare cut the Commodore lead to five.
However, five was the closest the visitors would come.
Over the subsequent fifteen minutes, junior Sarah Downing connected for three goals, to help extend the lead to nine.
Johns Hopkins continued to trade scores with the Commodores, before junior Carter Foote notched her second and third goals of the contest, with nine and five minutes in regulation, respectively.
Foote lengthened the Vanderbilt lead to 18-7, before Hopkins junior Angela Hughes added the final score.
With the victory over the American Lacrosse Conference counterpart, the Commodores increased their conference record to 2-1, as well as overall to 7-3.
The triumph over Hopkins is the fifth consecutive victory for the Commodores, following a defeat at Duke on March 11th. Moreover, four margins of victory in the streak have been by at least ten.
On Wednesday, the squad begins a two-game road stretch, traveling to the University of New Hampshire. Next Sunday, Vanderbilt pays a visit to Ohio State University in Columbus.
