The Battle of Charles Street is a well-known tradition that is present within Baltimore’s collegiate community. In a rivalry between Loyola Maryland and Johns Hopkins University lacrosse teams, students seemed infected with a sense of pride that can only be relinquished with a victory.

This year’s battle commenced at Ridley Athletic Complex, the home turf for the Greyhounds, where there were plenty of Loyola students cheering as the Women’s Lacrosse team proved they are capable of defending our field. The women’s team had a couple of close calls as Hopkins took the lead for the first half of the game. 

It was not until the third quarter when Meg Hillman ‘23 tied the score, which leveled out the playing field. As the game came to a close in the fourth quarter, the final shot was made by Sydni Black ‘24, securing their three-point lead and their victory as well. 

Sydni Black, an attacker on the team explains the pressure of partaking in an event such as the Battle of Charles Street.

“The Battle of Charles Street, I mean, it’s historic between the two schools, but there’s something about them being so close down the road in that rivalry – I think the crowd was amazing,” Black said. “That might have been one of the biggest crowds that we’ve had at one of our games in the past couple of seasons since [Covid-19], and it was just exciting to get a win over them. The first one of the seasons for us, our home opener meant a lot to us.”

Though some of our biggest rivals are within reach here in Baltimore, she says being a part of the Patriot League requires skills in order to surpass other university teams such as the Navy or Bucknell. 

When asked about participation, Black said “It’s really cool to be in the Patriot League. I think for us we kind of thrive here. Obviously, we have the NCAA record for most consecutive wins in conference games [but there’s] the excitement of knowing we have that win-streak going and wanting to continue that for the past players, present players, and future players of the program.”

The start of this lacrosse season has been promising, but there are still a variety of games left for the women’s team to play, which hold potential challenges moving forward as we continue to determine our ranking within the league.

“I think any team we go up against this year is going to be a big challenge for us as we continue to find our footing throughout the season,” Black said. “It’s still very early in the season so I think we look at every game as a new opportunity to grow.”

The win at Ridley sent a shockwave of school pride as they returned to campus with a triumphant glow. Some of the student body had certain reactions regarding the success of the day. 

Grace Ponterio ‘24 said “I think it was amazing they were able to beat our rivals – they had a great season last year and I think they should have more representation”

The next home game is against Penn on Wednesday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex. Be sure to attend and cheer on the Hounds!

Featured Image Courtesy of Larry French.