Ashley Mackin's 'Indescribable Progression' Fueling Hopkins' Rise

During her freshman year in 2022, Ashley Mackin made just five appearances for Johns Hopkins as she bided her time on the scout team.

While she was frustrated with her lack of in-game opportunities, her gradual progression in the Blue Jays lineup was potentially “the best thing that ever happened” in her lacrosse career.

“If I were lucky enough to be on the field, I wouldn’t have developed the way that I did,” Mackin said. “[It] probably would have stunted my growth, my work ethic. I’m really fortunate that I just stayed the course. The biggest thing was just continuing to show up.”

Now, the senior plays a pivotal role on a No. 10 Johns Hopkins attack that has fueled five consecutive victories. Mackin has 34 goals and 13 assists in seven starts, ranking second in the nation with 4.86 goals per game.

But Mackin is quick to deflect credit. She said her offseason focus was building as much chemistry as possible with her teammates, both old and new.

“You’re seeing every single girl step up — it’s not just one person,” Mackin said. “[At] Syracuse, MK Lescault just stepped up and finished the game for us. Incredible. If you have different girls doing different things every single game, it makes [us] hard to defend.”

Blue Jays coach Tim McCormack, who took the Hopkins job ahead of Mackin’s sophomore season, said his senior captain demonstrated multifaceted leadership qualities the moment he met her.

She is both a vocal leader and a lead-by-example type.

“I remember her calling me in the middle of the summer after that first year,” McCormack said. “She’s a rising junior at that point, saying to me, ‘Hey, I read this leadership book. I’m thinking we need to do this or that for the team.’ The normal student-athlete doesn’t look at things 24/7 like she has over the past couple of years.”

McCormack said Mackin’s progression is almost indescribable. It’s a byproduct of attacking every day.

“She has been great throughout her time here, [and] I don’t want to short anything,” McCormack said, “but the way she’s playing right now is as good as anybody I’ve ever seen or coached.”

Five of the Blue Jays’ six non-conference games have pitted the Baltimore-based program against ranked opponents. Five such matchups were decided by one goal, with Johns Hopkins nabbing four one-score victories — including three overtime wins.

Mackin said the strength of her team’s early season slate took her by surprise, but it’s exactly what the Blue Jays need ahead of conference play.

“Nothing beats real gameplay, especially those really tight moments in overtime or being down by five,” Mackin said. “Going into Big Ten play, we feel prepared for any moment, as compared to some other teams who just have the easier schedules, where it’s just a breeze to get through these games. We’ve already pushed ourselves, and we’re ready to continue to push ourselves.”

With Johns Hopkins’ 2024 season culminating in a pair of close-run defeats in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, Mackin said she and her fellow returners possess more confidence than she has ever seen during her time with the program.

She added that there’s an innate flair to the team’s preparation, with a plethora of behind-the-back, back handed and between-the-legs shots fired at every Homewood Field training session.

“I want to win championships this year,” Mackin said. “In past years, it has always been day-to-day. This year it’s like, ‘How can we take day-to-day to take us to the Big Ten championship, national championship, final four. The belief is at the next level that it just becomes an expectation for us.”

BEHAR’S NEW DYNAMIC

Arizona State attacker Jordyn Behar saw her sophomore season end after just nine games in 2024. Behar spent a large chunk of the summer in Tempe, returning to playing condition after an injury-derailed campaign.

“Watching my team [from the sidelines] just made me want to come back even stronger,” Behar said. “I stayed in Arizona to make sure I was back for fall ball, and it was hard to grind like that. But it paid off for me and my team.”

As she entered her junior season, Behar had accumulated 10 points in her first two years of college lacrosse. With key attackers graduating last summer, Behar possessed a prime opportunity to shine in a marquee role for the Sun Devils.

The Mineola, New York, native made her mark from the season’s first whistle, scoring two goals and nabbing six assists in Arizona State’s 2025 opener at Niagara.

Through nine games, Behar has tallied a national-high 36 assists along with 18 goals.

“She’s not only dishing the ball out to teammates, but she’s finding ways to put the ball in the back of the net herself,” Arizona State coach Taryn VanThof Puls said. “This summer, she wanted to stay and really invest in her game, and it has worked wonders for her. She committed to getting better and has brought a whole new dynamic to our offense.”

Under first-year assistant coach and offensive coordinator Danielle Pavinelli, Behar has quickly established herself as a high-end facilitator. Behar said there hasn’t been a secret formula to her historic start in 2025. She’s just having a blast in a free-flowing attack.

The junior is seven assists away from breaking the Sun Devils’ single-season record, and if she can continue her torrid run, Behar is in position to shatter the program’s single-season points record, too.

“I’ve always been a feeder, and it’s happier for me to get the assist than the goal,” Behar said. “I’m playing with my best friends, Lydia [Oldknow] and Teagan [Ng]. We’re just building off our chemistry and trust.”

As Arizona State approaches the inaugural season of Big 12 women’s lacrosse, Behar and her teammates are off to a 7-2 start, winning all five contests in Tempe. After dropping a 16-14 game to USC on Feb. 24, the Sun Devils have won four consecutive games.

For VanThof Puls, the team’s first year in a new conference presents the chance to forge new ground. Thanks to her junior attacker, VanThof Puls and Arizona State might need to make some new entries into its record books sooner rather than later.

“She has just developed as an elite athlete, but she also has an elite IQ,” VanThof said. “She sees plays develop and happen before most could. I’m excited to see her continue to play against top opponents and still find that success.”

BY THE NUMBERS

3 • Undefeated teams remain, with No. 1 Boston College, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 17 Ohio State still perfect as conference play hits.

5 • Goals from Aliya Polisky that helped No. 4 Stanford hand No. 6 Yale its first loss of the season in Palo Alto.

8 • Assists from Ashley Humphrey in UNC’s 18-5 win over Clemson, tying a program single-game record.

10 • Third-quarter goals from No. 12 Virginia to fuel a 16-11 comeback win over No. 13 Duke on Saturday.

15 • Goalies who have played in at least seven games  and have accumulated a .500 save percentage or better. Boston College’s Shea Dolce and UNC’s Betty Nelson are tied with a national-high .571 save percentage.