Maryland Seniors Get Win Over Hopkins
by Clare Lochary | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
BALTIMORE - After three years of disappointment
in one of lacrosse??'s oldest rivalries, Maryland??s veteran
seniors finally walked away with a win. The Terps rallied from an
early three-goal deficit and held off a late Johns Hopkins rally to
emerge with 10-9 victory at the Smartlink Day of Rivals at M&T
Bank Stadium before an announced crowd of 20,911. Junior attackers
Grant Catalino and Travis Reed led Maryland with two goals
each.
"??We were out-ground-balled in the first half and we
out-ground-balled them in the second half,"?? said Maryland head
coach Dave Cottle. "??It'??s a simple game. You get more ground
balls and you out-hustle them and you win.??"
The Terps did just that, snapping up 31 ground balls to Hopkins??
21. Their man-down unit performed brilliantly, holding the Blue
Jays to 1-of-7, and senior midfielder Bryn Holmes won 13 of 22
face-offs.
"??That [Holmes] is the toughest son of a booger I??'ve ever been around in my coaching career,??" said Cottle. "??It'??s very easy to be the coach of ateam that works this hard.??"
Despite leaping to an early 3-0 lead, Johns Hopkins proved
susceptible to the mistakes of a youthful team that played 10
freshmen, including goalie Pierce Bassett (8 saves). Senior Steven
Boyle led the Blue Jays with three goals, but Hopkins struggled to
score after the first period, allowing Maryland to go on an 8-1 run
that put the game out of reach.
"??They earned that win in two places - in extra-man and in ground
balls,?? said Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala. ??"[Man-up]
has been a frustration for us since the first quarter of the
season. It comes from guys feeling like they have to make
plays.??"
Eight different Terps contributed to the score, including four who
came off the bench. In the fourth quarter from freshman longpole
Jesse Bernhardt got a fast-break goal seconds after Hopkins closed
the gap to 9-7, icing a potential hot streak for the Blue Jays.
"??Jesse went from the outhouse to the penthouse with that goal
because he had some fouls,??" said Cottle. ??"The kid is fearless.
He??'s going to be a special player.??"
Freshmen aside, it was a night for the Maryland seniors.
"??We tried not to think about it too much during the week, but it
feels really good to beat Hopkins,??" said goalie Brian Phipps (8
saves), one of seven seniors on the team.
Conversely, losing to Maryland was a bad break with tradition for the Hopkins seniors. The loss drops the Blue Jays to a 5-6 record and cast a shadow over their postseason hopes. The Hopkins program has gone to the NCAA tournament for the past 38 years, currently the longest-running streak in any sport.
The Blue Jays had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds, when longpole defender Sam DeVore had possession and couldn??'t find an open teammate for a feed.
With just three regular season games left to play and only one
of them against a ranked team (Loyola), Hopkins will have to win
out to keep their postseason streak alive.
"We'??re going to make a run at this. We'??re going to do
everything we can to make a run at it. This is not over yet,??"
said Pietramala.
Cottle seemed pleased with his team'??s performance, especially
at M&T Bank Stadium which has been a home away from home for
the Terps this year and will be the site of the NCAA championship
weekend. The Hopkins victory was their second one-goal win at the
venue, after knocking off Duke, 11-10, in overtime on March 6. But
with the ACC tournament on the
horizon, he was careful not to overplay the significance of the
classic rivalry.
"??We'??re fortunate to get another win. I??'m more happy for the
seniors than I am for me,??" said Cottle, who is now 5-15 versus
Hopkins in his career. ??"We??'re going to enjoy this tonight and
then start preparing for North Carolina.??"
