Hopkins Surges in Second Half
from press release
TOWSON, Md. – Led by senior attackman
Kyle Wharton (Haverford School/Garnet Valley, Pa.), who scored
three goals, 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins (1-0) used a four-goal spurt
midway through the third quarter to snap a 4-4 tie and hand Towson
(0-1) a 10-6 loss in the season opener for both teams at Johnny
Unitas Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“I thought we played pretty well except for a four to five
minute stretch in the third quarter,” Towson coach Tony
Seaman said. “We were right in that game. Each quarter was
pretty equal except for that third quarter, but we didn’t get
it done.”
Wharton, who recorded the 10th hat trick of his career, scored two
of his goals during a 4:47 period of the third quarter when the
Blue Jays took an 8-4 lead.
Wharton’s goal with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter
broke the 4-4 tie and was the Blue Jays’ first goal in more
than 16 minutes.
After the teams played to a 4-4 tie through the first half, the
Blue Jays dominated the second half, outscoring Towson by a 6-2
margin and out-shooting the Tigers by 18-17 after halftime.
With the victory, Johns Hopkins became the first college lacrosse
program to win 900 games. In its 124th season, Johns Hopkins has an
all-time record of 900-291-15.
The Blue Jays jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead as they converted
their first two shots of the game. Just 25 seconds into the game,
Wharton drilled a shot past goalkeeper Travis Love (Winters Mill
H.S./Westminster, Md.) for a 1-0 advantage. With 10:45 remaining,
sophomore Zach Palmer (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) upped the lead to
2-0 with an unassisted goal.
After the Tigers’ Matt Thomas (Urbana H.S./Monrovia, Md.)
won the ensuing face-off, he fed the ball to senior attackman Tim
Stratton (Seneca Valley H.S./Germantown, Md.). Stratton gave the
ball right back to Thomas, who scored the Tigers’ first goal
of the game only seven seconds after the Hopkins goal.
Freshman Eric Ruhl (Dublin Jerome H.S./Powell, Ohio) extended the
Blue Jays’ lead to 3-1 when he scored his first career goal
off a terrific feed from senior attackman Chris Boland (Boys’
Latin School/Columbia, Md.) with 7:27 remaining in the first
quarter.
An acrobatic goal by sophomore attackman Matt Hughes (Central
Bucks East H.S./Doylestown, Pa.) coming from behind the cage cut
the Tigers’ deficit to 3-2 with 5:23 left in the opening
period. An unassisted goal from junior attackman Matt Lamon (St.
Mary’s H.S./Annapolis, Md.) with 4:01 remaining in the first
quarter tied the game at 3-3.
With 10:30 left in the first half, junior midfielder Carl Iacona
(Massapequa H.S./Massapequa, N.Y.) gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead when
he scored his first goal of the game. For Iacona, it marked the
eighth straight game in which he scored a goal.
Just 1:27 later, sophomore midfielder Lee Coopersmith (Saint
Andrew’s H.S./Boca Raton, Fla.) scored for the Blue Jays to
tie the game at 4-4.
The game remained tied until midway through the third quarter when
the Blue Jays’ offense came to life. With 7:56 left, Wharton
scored on a 15-yard shot off a pass from sophomore midfielder John
Greeley (Lafayette H.S./Lafayette, N.Y.) to put the Blue Jays
ahead, 5-4.
A slashing penalty on the ensuing face-off on Towson’s Alec
Jernstedt (Wilsonville H.S./Wilsonville, Ore.) gave the Blue Jays a
golden opportunity to increase their lead.
Just 16 seconds into the extra man opportunity, Palmer scored his
second goal of the game off a pass from freshman attackman Brandon
Benn (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), giving Hopkins a 6-4 lead.
The Tigers missed out on a great opportunity to cut into the
deficit with 6:05 left in the quarter when it appeared that Hughes
had scored his second goal of the game. However, the goal was
disallowed when it was ruled that Hughes had stepped into the
crease.
With 3:35 left in the period, Wharton’s third goal of the
game increased the advantage to 7-4. When Boland scored on a fast
break just 26 seconds later, the Blue Jays owned an 8-4 lead.
After scoring four goals in 4:47, the Blue Jays relied on their
defense to protect the lead. The Tigers, who were shut out for the
final 10:30 of the first half, could not score in the third quarter
as Hopkins owned a 10-7 advantage in shots in the period.
With 5:55 remaining in regulation, Boland extended the lead to 9-4
when he scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder John Ranagan
(Yorktown H.S./Yorktown, N.Y.).
The Tigers finally ended a nearly 36-minute scoring drought with
5:08 left in the game when senior midfielder Pat Britton (Seneca
Valley H.S./Germantown, Md.) scored on a ten-yard shot from the
right side.
With 4:35 left, Benn scored off a pass from Palmer to put the Blue
Jays ahead, 10-5, before Britton’s unassisted goal closed out
the scoring less than a minute later.
While Wharton led Hopkins with three goals, Palmer had a career
high five points as he scored two goals with three assists. Boland
added two goals and had an assist for the Blue Jays, who beat
Towson for the 16th consecutive game.
Sophomore goalkeeper Pierce Bassett (Brophy Prep/Scottsdale,
Ariz.) led the Blue Jays’ defense by making nine saves.
Britton led the Tigers with two goals while senior midfielder
Peter Mezzanotte (West Islip H.S./West Islip, N.Y.) had four ground
balls.
With victory, JHU Coach Dave Pietramala improved his record to
12-0 against Towson. He is 9-2 in season openers.
The Tigers return to action next Saturday afternoon when they host
Loyola University Maryland at Unitas Stadium at noon in a game that
will be televised on WMAR-TV in Baltimore and broadcast on
ESPN3.com.
