There was a feeling of inevitability. Saturday was going to be the day.

A day of firsts for Loyola.

How could a team coming off a loss to a bitter rival feel good about its prospects against a top-five opponent it has never beaten?

“To be honest, as the game started, I felt an air of confidence about our team,” Loyola coach Jen Adams said. “We really came out fearless. We weren’t down on ourselves from [the loss to] Hopkins. I saw it in warmups. [The players] had such a good vibe and felt very confident coming out of the locker room.” 

The Greyhounds welcomed a Florida squad that they had never defeated. Although, last year, they took the Gators to overtime. By the end of Saturday, belief turned into reality. Loyola won, 15-12.

The tough lessons learned from last week’s disappointment against Johns Hopkins refocused the Greyhounds. Another sloppy performance (19 turnovers vs. Hopkins) would surely mean an 0-2 start to the season. Introspection was needed.

“Against Hopkins, we didn’t see our squad that we saw in preseason,” Adams said. “To open up play like that was a real wake up call. The girls learned that every moment is going to be meaningful and that they have to take matters into their own hands and play a more consistent game. We learned a lot about ourselves and the girls were disappointed with it. They made corrections.”

The first item: turnovers. 

Loyola committed just 11 turnovers all game against Florida, as opposed to the 11 second-half turnovers against the Blue Jays.

Second: ground balls.

On Saturday, Loyola won the ground ball battle, 16-9, whereas it gave up a 21-15 advantage to its opponents the week before.

HOUNDS WIN!!! No. 16 Loyola knocks off No. 5 Florida 15-12 for their first win over a top-5 team since 2015 and their first-ever win over the Gators. #NCAAWLAX
(via @LoyolaWLax)pic.twitter.com/ghXKWYgWUu

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 23, 2019

The determination and commitment to detail was fueled in large part by a senior class that led by example.

On defense, senior Lindsey Ehrhardt was tasked with marking All-American Sydney Pirreca and did so admirably. She held Pirreca to a single goal, while scooping up four ground balls and forcing four turnovers. 

“Lindsey is such a hustle player,” Adams noted. “She got a charge at a certain part in the game and it swung the momentum back in our favor when we lost it on offense. She’s a clutch teammate. She played tough on Sydney Pirreca. If you can keep her to as few as one goal, that helps our defense grow in confidence.”

Backing up Ehrhardt and the defensive corps was fellow fourth-year player Kady Glynn who made 11 saves. Her final stop came with 2:42 remaining in a two-goal game, stopping UF’s Grace Haus from halving the deficit. 

“I’ve coached them through the ups and downs in their careers,” Adams said. “It’s just giving them the reins at this point to let them play and take charge a little bit. Kady’s wasn’t a unique performance. I wasn’t very surprised about how she played. Hopefully, we can string some more consistent games together for her. That’ll be absolutely pivotal for us.”

Offensively, the Greyhounds clicked. Loyola peppered the Florida net with 24 shots on its 27 attempts. In the end, four different ‘Hounds notched hat tricks or better, led by sophomore Livy Rosenzweig, who shook off a disappointing one-goal season opener with four goals and an assist. Crucially, she also nabbed five draw controls, which impressed Adams, considering Rosenzweig was frustrated by a Hopkins defense that faceguarded her.

“She had shifted her mindset to a really good place,” Adams said. “When a player who has that much skill and firepower gets their focus and mind right, good stuff is going to happen. She was going into the game ready for anything, to figure out ways to make herself useful.”

Along with Rosenzweig’s four, it was Ellie Kluegel, Emily Cooper and Sam Fiedler who grabbed the hat tricks, while attacker Hannah Powers was held scoreless until the game’s final seconds. Nevertheless, her contributions came from distribution (three assists) and organizing the offense against an aggressive Florida squad.

“She had Florida’s toughest defender on her,” Adams added. “Her presence and poise wasn’t reflected in the stat sheet. But her leadership against Florida, for me, and her ability to captain the offense, was incredible.”

A repeat effort from the Greyhounds will be needed on a quick turnaround as they travel north to face a reinvigorated Syracuse team that took down Northwestern over the weekend.

“Syracuse is such a tough side,” Adams said. “I think Florida is a great pre-game for that being that they’re so deep in their roster that you have to figure out how to match up on them. For us, we have to do better in certain areas, supporting some of the scrappy areas, connecting through our clears. We need to tidy up and clean it up. In particular, shooting. We are about to face a phenomenal goalkeeper and we’re going to have to earn our shots and goals.”

Denver Downs Stony Brook

The defense Denver employed in an 11-7 win over Stony Brook is not an aberration, but a key ingredient of Liza Kelly’s plan for success. The Pioneers have allowed five goals per game this season and held the Seawolves to their lowest scoring output since the 2016 NCAA tournament at Syracuse (a 7-6 loss). In Sunday’s win, the Pios registered 16 caused turnovers, a season-high, while Carson Gregg saved 11 shots. Denver is holding its opponents to 18.5 shots per game and limiting their scoring percentage to 27 percent. This lockdown defense is necessary when the Pioneers are losing the draw control on average (94th nationally at 41 percent). Next up is hosting a hungry Michigan team on Tuesday. Speaking of which…

The Wolverines Are 5-0

Michigan notched its second win over a ranked team on Sunday by downing Colorado, 8-6. Mira Shane starred with 17 saves to earn Brine USL Player of the Week honors. In the second half, Michigan’s offense sputtered and Colorado dominated with a 23-9 shot advantage and forcing 10 Wolverine turnovers. Nevertheless, the Buffaloes only gathered three goals. Credit Hannah Nielsen and her staff for guiding the team through two tough long-distance road trips (first to the Bay Area, now Colorado) and seeing it pay dividends. Michigan will need another outstanding defensive performance if it wants to turn its second upset in as many games against Denver. 

Taylor Tremendous for the Terps

As was covered in the Weekend Watch, how Megan Taylor played would be evident how the Terrapins fared against North Carolina. Maryland won this epic tussle as Taylor turned aside 14 Tar Heel chances. The edges across the field were slight and Taylor’s play helped Maryland overcome a 21-7 disadvantage in the draw circle. 

Steady Virginia Tackles Princeton

For the second straight season, the Cavaliers are 4-0 after a hard-fought 14-9 win over visiting Princeton. Virginia ended the game on a 5-0 run over the final nine minutes as Sammy Mueller scored a career high-matching six goals on the day. Virginia’s defense was stifling, causing 16 of Princeton’s 27 turnovers. After a Tuesday clash with William & Mary, the ACC opener with Syracuse looms this weekend. 

Syracuse Stymies Northwestern

Holding an opponent to 14 goals isn’t usually cause for celebration, but when that total is seven goals fewer than the season average, you applaud. The Orange earned a tough 15-14 overtime win over Northwestern at the Carrier Dome by scoring the game’s final three goals, including the game-tying goal with only 25 seconds left. Syracuse kept Selena Lasota to a pair of goals, while Emily Hawryschuk poured in four, including the game-winner for the Orange. 

Mids Earn Another One-Goal Win as Towson Tumbles

A week after a one-goal escape against Saint Joseph’s, Navy navigated its way by Towson, 14-13. Kelly Larkin dropped seven points on four goals and three assists in the win. Towson is 0-3 for the first time since 2011. It doesn’t get any easier with home games upcoming against Stony Brook and Loyola. 

Brown’s Mosenthal Pours in the Goals

The Bears are only three games into the season, but sophomore Risa Mosenthal is the early national leader in goals per game (5.33). Mosenthal carved up Quinnipiac for eight and Ohio State for six in the early going before being held to just a pair against Iona. Saturday’s Ivy opener is against a Dartmouth team she scored four times against last year.