March 22, 2008
by Megan McDonald, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Defending national champion Johns Hopkins dropped its third straight game this afternoon as Virginia's Brian Carroll shot the game-winner in mid-air with just 7.7 seconds left in overtime to secure a 13-12 victory.
"If you can get the ball in Brian Carroll's hands at 12 yards you like your chances at the end of the day," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "We are fortunate that he cans that shot when he gets the ball. He's having a little bit of a magical season to date right now and hopefully he can keep that going."
With the goal, Carroll becomes the first player in Virginia history to score two overtime winners in the same season. His first of the year was against Syracuse, on a remarkably similar shot.
During the contest, Hopkins (3-3) learned first-hand why freshmen Shamel Bratton, Rhamel Bratton and Adam Ghitelman were three of the country's most sought-after recruits in the country last year. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, all chose to don the Virginia Cavalier uniform.
Prior to today's game, however, the highly-touted Bratton twins had yet to live up to the hype surrounding their arrival at Virginia. Forcing shots and shooting wide and high, the Bratton brothers scored only modestly and somewhat infrequently during the first half of the season. But with the Cavaliers' biggest game to date on the line, both Shamel and Rhamel established themselves as go-to guys.
"As a freshman still learning the game at this level, I've started to understand better what I need to do and what the coaches want from me," Shamel Bratton said. "This last week I told Dom that I didn't think I had been playing well and while of course he disagreed with me, he suggested that this game would be a good time to show how I want to play from here on out."
Rhamel Bratton scored twice on Hopkins goalkeeper Michael Gvozden while Shamel Bratton tallied three on the day. Perhaps Shamel's greatest contribution to the win, however, was his overtime assist. Having demonstrated he was an offensive threat, Shamel forced the Blue Jay's defender to slide to him, thus leaving Carroll free to take the winning shot.
"I always thought that this is what they [the Brattons] were capable of," Starsia said. "Their scoring totals were a bit modest up to now but I have been very pleased with their effort the whole season. I think that they are starting to get confidence in themselves."
Another boon for Virginia was the play of Ghitelman in goal. Saving a critical shot while Hopkins' had a man-advantage early in the fourth, he prevented the Blue Jays from swinging the momentum in their favor. Ghitelman remained composed throughout the back-and-forth game and against an opponent he said he has been looking forward to facing since the day he signed on as a Cavalier.
With Duke's loss to Georgetown Saturday, the 9-0 Cavaliers, the only undefeated team amongst the top 20, will most likely receive the top nod in this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll. With overtime victories against Syracuse and Hopkins and a close call with Stony Brook, they have proven that they are a team that finds a way to win when time is short and the game is on the line.
Indeed, many questioned how the rather inexperienced group would fair against more veteran opponents, but as this afternoon's win suggests, its youth may be Virginia's greatest asset.
