May 24, 2008
LMO SIDEBAR: Fifth-Year Scrutiny Resurfaces
by Paul Ohanian, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Sometimes, history does repeat itself. Especially in lacrosse.
Last year, Duke blitzed Johns Hopkins in the regular season, only to see the Blue Jays exact revenge by handing the Blue Devils a 12-11 loss in the national championship game.
Earlier this year, Duke manhandled Johns Hopkins once again, as the explosive record-setting duo of Matt Danowski and Zack Greer combined for seven goals and seven assists in Duke's 11-goal victory.
True to the script Saturday, John Hopkins rebounded again.
Utilizing a defense that kept Danowski (2g, 1a) and Greer (1g, 3a) mostly under wraps, the Blue Jays earned a return trip to the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse championship game with a 10-9 upset Saturday before 48,224 at Gillette Stadium.
Johns Hopkins (11-5) will try to capture its third NCAA title in four years when it faces Syracuse in Monday's final.
"That was a great lacrosse game," said Blue Jays head coach Dave Pietramala. "I'm humbled at what our guys were able to do today. Duke is as good an offensive team as we've seen all season long. I thought our team showed a lot of poise when Duke went on its runs."
Utilizing a defensive scheme that mirrored the game plan in last year's national championship game - keyed by junior defenseman Michael Evans being "on an island" against repeat Tewaaraton favorite Danowski - the Blue Jays limited the nation's top-ranked offense to its second-lowest output of the season.
"The game plan all week was to focus on their transition," said Evans. "Matt's a great player. I tried to get on his hands as much as I could. He got some looks and Michael made some great saves."
Through a combination of solid goaltending and offensive possession, the Blue Jays held the Devils (18-2) scoreless for a period of 20:02 from late in the first quarter into the third quarter. During that time, Hopkins turned a 2-1 first quarter deficit into a 4-2 halftime lead.
"Obviously, your offense is your best defense, and faceoffs are your best defense," said Pietramala. "When you get goaltending and you clear the ball, you have possessions. That's your best defense."
Hopkins, which won 13 of 22 faceoffs, increased its margin to 5-2 early in the third quarter on Michael Doneger's goal off of Paul Rabil's assist before Duke finally awoke.
The Devils tallied three goals in a 45-second span, capped by Terrence Molinari's tally at 9:58 to pull the Blue Devils into a 5-5 tie. But as it did often Saturday, Hopkins had an answer.
Rabil scored on a left-handed runner to push the Jays back in front at the 7:27 mark, then Kevin Huntley (4g) tallied a momentum builder just before the end of the quarter. He emerged with a loose ball in front of the Duke goal and fired a 10-yarder past goalie Dan Loftus (11 saves) with 0.2 seconds left.
"The ball kind of popped my way," said Huntley. "When I scooped it up, I looked at the clock and it was running down. I threw it at the net. I guess I got lucky and it went in."
Duke was far from done, however.
The Devils made another charge, scoring three of the first four goals in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 8-8 with seven minutes left.
Long-stick middie Nick O'Hara actually scored the equalizer following a faceoff procedure call against Hopkins, but then committed a costly cross-check penalty on the ensuing faceoff. Hopkins took full advantage of its only extra-man opportunity of the game, converting on a Steven Boyle (2g, 1a) quick-hitter to forge back in front.
When Huntley added his fourth of the game a little more than two minutes later, the upset became a real possibility.
Hopkins goalie Michael Gvozden appeared to get stronger as the game progressed, registering key stops against Duke's shooters when they did have a chance to shake loose. The sophomore finished with 17 saves, including seven in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Midfielder Brad Ross brought the Devils back to within one with 28 seconds remaining, but Hopkins won the ensuing faceoff to burn more time off the clock.
A late turnover gave Duke one more opportunity, but Gvozden stopped Danowski's desperation shot with three seconds left, sparking a wild Blue Jay celebration at midfield.
"We got fabulous play in the goal," said Pietramala. "Gvozden grew up right in front of your eyes."
Danowski's one goal enabled him to become the first NCAA Division I player to register three 40-goal, 40-assist campaigns. The achievement offered little solace following the loss.
"[The only goal] was to win a national championship," said Danowski. "We just didn't play well offensively the whole game, six-on-six. We didn't shoot very well. They did a great job controlling the pace of the game."
Notes: Johns Hopkins will be making its 18th championship game appearance in the 38-year history of the NCAA tournament...The Blue Jays improved to 12-4 all-time against Duke, including a 3-1 mark in the NCAA tournament...Monday's championship game is a rematch of the March 15 regular season game, which Syracuse won 14-13 in overtime...JHU and Syracuse will be meeting in the championship for the fifth time and first since the 1989 season...The attendance of 48,224 was the third largest ever for an NCAA semifinal game.
