Although the campuses are separated by little more than a mile, Loyola and Johns Hopkins needed 30 years to renew their neighborhood rivalry in women's lacrosse.
When the teams finally met again Wednesday night at Homewood Field, lightning delayed the game for another hour and 19 minutes.
After play resumed, the No. 13 Greyhounds continued their domination in the series with a 11-7 victory. Loyola is now 11-0 all time against No. 18 Johns Hopkins, including a 31-3 victory in the most previous meeting in 1982.
"I have so much respect for Hopkins because they're one of those teams that are going to come out to play every day," Loyola coach Jen Adams said. "For us to get a win against them is huge. Being in Baltimore, hopefully we can start a nice rivalry for the two programs. We haven't played in 30 years, so to get a chance to get out on the field and see Loyola-Hopkins is something special.
"It was a physical, tough game played by two great teams," Adams said. "My hat's off to Hopkins. I consider us to be a very athletic team, and they ran us hard.
The Greyhounds (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss to No. 10 Virginia. The Blue Jays (3-1), meanwhile, lost for the first time after three consecutive victories to start the season.
Freshman Hannah Schmitt and Annie Thomas (John Carroll) had three goals apiece for Loyola, and Cass Cursaro added two goals. Kerry Stoothoff came up with several big stops for the Greyhounds, including several from point-blank range.
Candace Rossi and Taylor D'Amore each scored two goals for Johns Hopkins.
"Hopkins has a great offensive unit," Stoothoff said. "Our defense really stepped up and came up with some huge turnovers. There was great communication with slides.This is a great rivalry, and we want to own this."
After the Blue Jays had trailed for most of the game, a goal by D'Amore pulled them to within 9-7 with 6:45 left in the second half. Loyola then controlled possession, allowing Cursaro to cut across the field and fire the ball into the top of the goal for a three-goal cushion. Johns Hopkins continued to pressure but simply could not find any holes in Loyola's defense. Thomas' third goal with less than a minute remaining sealed the game for Loyola.
The Greyhounds started the game fast and appeared poised to control the game. Thomas scored twice as Loyola opened a 5-1 lead midway through the first half. After Schmitt's second goal gave the Greyhounds a 6-2 lead, Rossi scored twice in less than two minutes to pull the Blue Jays within two. However, Cursaro answered, and the Greyhounds led 7-4 at the half.
"I'm a freshman, so I am just trying to work hard out there," Schmitt said. "We have a great team and we're all working really hard together. We have an awesome coaching staff. This was the good battle of Charles Street."
Johns Hopkins controlled 17 of 20 draws. The Greyhounds won the ground-ball battle 27-17 and forced 20 turnovers.