SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 8 Salisbury University field hockey team held off No. 12 Johns Hopkins University 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon before a crowd of 140 at Sea Gull Stadium to earn a critical in-region victory.

Sophomores Beverly Beladino and Lauren Correll led the Sea Gulls on offense as the two forwards scored first half goals for SU.

Beladino deflected a pass sent in from senior Danielle Twilley to beat Johns Hopkins goalie Sophia Tieu (one save) three minutes into the game.

The Blue Jays (3-1) pressured the SU defense and goalie Maria Ramoundos (10 saves) for the majority of the first half as Hopkins made 12 first half shots and seven corners.

SU (5-1) added to its lead when Correll scored her fourth goal of the season off an assist from senior Ashley Twigg at the 32nd minute.

Salisbury was set to take a 2-0 lead into halftime but the Gulls committed a defensive foul in the waning seconds inside the circle to set-up a penalty corner. JHU capitalized off the opportunity as Leah Dudley set up junior Adair Landy for the score as she beat Ramoundos in the right corner with no time left. SU led 2-1 at the break.

In the second half, the game turned into a defensive struggle as the two teams battled for possession. There were only four combined shots in the second half (JHU 3, SU 1) and eight corner opportunities (SU 6, JHU 2) as neither team found the back of the cage. The two teams combined for 128 fouls (SU 74, JHU 54) in the tightly contested contest against two highly ranked teams. SU has now won eight straight against the Blue Jays and hold a 17-5 series lead.

Salisbury will return to action on Saturday afternoon as the Sea Gulls welcome Frostburg State University, another Maryland school, to Sea Gull Stadium for a non-conference showdown that begins at Noon.