CASSVILLE, W.Va. — Freshman Andrew Lee and sophomore Alec Baker combined for seven goals to lead Division III No. 9-ranked Johns Hopkins University to a 16-7 win over Mercyhurst University at The Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park on the first day of the 2024 Salem Invitational hosted by Salem University.
The Blue Jays improve to 3-2 overall, while the Lakers fall to 0-4.
Lee and freshman Phillip Long scored back-to-back goals to give Hopkins an early lead in the first quarter. Petar Vujovic answered for Mercyhurst, but a six-on-five goal from sophomore Max Blecher and a strike from Lee gave the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead after eight minutes.
Owen Hardner opened the second-quarter scoring to pull the Lakers within two. Baker answered just 17 seconds later to spark a five-goal Blue Jay run that bridged halftime and saw the Jays go up 9-2. Junior Dado Soares capped the run with back-to-back goals. Hardner and Ben Gavran then sandwiched scores around a Baker goal and it was 10-4 Hopkins with 6:01 to play in the third quarter.
Senior Ian Raley scored on a five-meter shot to spark a 4-1 Blue Jay run as they pushed out to a 14-5 lead after three quarters. The teams traded scores in the fourth quarter and Hopkins earned the 16-7 win.
Lee finished with the game-high four goals while Baker totaled five points (three goals, two assists) and drew two ejections. Sophomore Owen Bartlett handed out three assists and scored one goal and junior Daniel Palfi posted three assists as well. Long led the defense with three blocks and two steals, while also drawing three ejections and notching three points (one goal, two assists).
Sophomore Chris Poisler played three quarters in goal and made eight saves. Senior Kyle Pearson played the fourth and tallied three saves.
Release courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
