It was the rematch many Maryland fans wanted. A win on Saturday by the Terps over the Blue Jays would probably mean more than winning the first Trophy game. The prize to the victor would be a trip to the NCAA Championship game and a chance to face the Denver Pioneers who upset the top seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-10 in overtime in the first semifinal. The second game was nearly as thrilling with the Terps holding on for a 12-11 win.
First quarter – Terps grab lead on sharp passes and Raffa’s play
Maryland goalie Kyle Bernlohr needed barely 15 seconds to pick up his first save in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament semifinal game between the Terrapins and the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. Hopkins senior Drew Kennedy won the opening faceoff and took the ball straight down the middle of the field but Berhnlohr stoned him.
Johns Hopkins goalie Eric Schneider returned the favor on Maryland on the Terps’ initial possession stifling a shot by Jay Carlson. Maryland’s defense forced a turnover and, after Maryalnd’s second shot went high, Joe LoCascio spotted Henry West and the junior took two steps to his left to create more space and scored on a top shelf shot from six yards.
After Maryland forced another JHU turnover, the Terps had a long possession on which both LoCasico and Matt Rambo hit the pipe with shots. They failed to cover the second as it careened over the sideline. That small lapse led to Hopkins picking up the equalizer on a swim move from the left side by Joel Tinney that got him inside his defender and into point blank range.
The Terrapins needed just seven seconds to recapture the lead. The goal came courtesy of Charlie Raffa – the senior’s first of the season. Raffa won the faceoff and repeated Kennedy’s attempt but finished successfully with a low bouncer past Schneider.
A Blue Jays turnover led to a Maryland fast break that the Terps executed to perfection. In hockey, the play would have resulted in more than one assist. In lacrosse, only the ultimate pass gets that credit so the assist went to Carlson who made his pass across the crease from his left to right and the goal went to Rambo who finished cleanly.
With Raffa dominating the faceoffs, Maryland extended the lead to 4-1 with just over a minute to play in the first quarter. The Blue Jays defense slid slowly to cover a LoCascio dodge and Henry West slid into the open space. LoCascio spotted his teammate and Maryland had the lead they would carry into the second quarter.
Second quarter – A slight edge to the Blue Jays
The second quarter didn’t start as effectively for the Terps. The Blue Jays won the opening faceoff and, after a foolish slashing penalty by Bernlohr, scored past Dan Morris on the extra man opportunity (EMO). Hopkins won the next faceoff but the Terrapins defense forced a turnover. However, the Hopkins defense did the same.
While having several opportunities to pick up graound balls on saved shots or cover some wild JHU shots, Maryland couldn’t do so. The extended possession of nearly four minutes eventually led to Hopkins’ third of the game. It came when Wells Stanwick ran Matt Dunn into a bone jarring pick and he was able to finish the unassisted goal.
Maryland stopped the run after a Hopkins faceoff violation. When the Terps picked up a relatively quick shot clock warning, Colin Heacock settled the matter with equal alacrity. He circled around the goal to Schneider’s left and whipped home a sidewinder that opened the Terps lead back to two at 5-3.
The Terrapins’ defense continued their solid work forcing a third Blue Jays’ turnover. They also continued working effectively on the offensive end picking up a sixth goal a a fourth assist. The combination came from Rambo to Carlson with 3:04 to play.
Hunter Moreland replaced Kennedy at the faceoff dot and had a bit more success in the second period than Hopkins had in the first when Maryland won five of six faceoffs. He would split three and three. The third contributed to a second goal by Wells Stanwick and a second assist by Brown. The Terps held the last possession but Schneider saved Rambo’s question mark attempt with a second to play.
At the intermission, the Terps held the lead in ground balls 13-9, faceoffs, 8-4 and shots 22-17. More importantly they led 6-4 on the scoreboard.
Third quarter – A slight edge to the Terps
Johns Hopkins won the opening faceoff and an EMO to open the second half. Wells Stanwick had an apparent goal wiped off for a crease violation. Schneider, who had seven first half saves continued his superlative play to open the third picking up his eighth save on a shot by Henry West.
That save came after Cole, perhaps a bit envious of the capacity the women’s team displayed in hitting the pipe six times in their semifinal Friday night did the same for the third time for the men on Saturday. What Schneider failed to do on West’s shot was control the rebound and Jay Carlson, who would repeat the feat five minutes later on a rebound off a shot by LoCascio, netted the rebound that put the Terps up 7-4.
John Crawley scored an unassisted goal to draw the Blue Jays back within two and, in perhaps the key moment of the game, Bernlohr picked up a save when Hopkins had an EMO because Casey Ikeda was whistled for a dead ball foul on Crawley’s score.
The Terps not only killed the penalty but strung together three goals in quick succession. The first came when Rambo started a dodge down the middle but passed to West on the left wing. On Maryland’s next possession Rambo started the same move but chose to roll dodge and fired home a rocket from 10 yards straight on. The run culminated with Carlson’s second rebound goal.
Just when it looked as though Maryland had seized control, Hopkins responded. After a turnover by Heacock, sophomore midfielder John Crawley put back to back goals together just 40 seconds apart. The Terrapins’ lead was down to three at 10-7 when the teams exchanged several possessions in the last two and a half minutes but the closest either squad came to scoring was an apparent goal by Rambo waved off for a crease violation.
Fourth quarter –
In the regular season meeting, Maryland held a slight 10-9 edge entering the fourth quarter. In a game in which Maryland coach John Tillman said he thought his defense tire and the Blue Jays outscore the Terps 6-2 to win 15-12, Maryland fans memories were tinged with nightmares when Hopkins won the opening two faceoffs and Joel TInney and Crawley scored twice just 2:06 into the period pulling the Blue Jays within one.
The nightmare scenario continued when the Blue Jays went three for three and Ryan Brown scored his first of the game at 11:45. The game was tied at 10 all. The bleak start continued when Tim Muller failed to secure the ground ball on the faceoff and followed it with pushing foul that gave Hopkins another EMO.
The situation pivoted when Mike McCarney forced a turnover and Patrick Fraser was whistled for unnecessary roughness giving the Terps their first EMO of the game. Rambo capitalized with a roll dodge completing his hat trick and stopping a run of five straight Blue Jays scores. The Terps had recaptured the lead 11-10 with just under 10 minutes to play.
On the next faceoff, Raffa was Raffa and controlled it himself. On the possession, Rambo was Rambo. He took a pass from Cole and ripped home a laser from seven yards tying his career high with four goals in the game. Coupled with the two assists, it also equaled his career high in points in a game with six.
Raffa won another faceoff and the Terps worked the ball for an excellent open look for LoCascio but Schneider was up to the task for the 13th time. A monstrous save by Bernlohr on a point blank shot by Wells Stanwick, gave the Terps possession with just under four minutes to play when Matt Dun scooped up the ground ball.
A quick shot clock warning after a Hopkins timeout led to a Maryland turnover and Rambo drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on the clear giving the Blue Jays a one minute EMO. Shack Stanwick capitalized with 1:13 to play and the Blue Jays were within 11-10.
Hopkins won the crucial faceoff and called timeout with 1:04 to play. The furious last minute started with a shot by Shack Stanwick that hit the side of the net. Maryland turned the ball over on a long pass on the attempted clear that sailed over the far baseline. Hopkins made a charge and Bernlohr justified his Kelly Waard as Goalie of the Year on a point blank shot by Tinney. The Terps had held on 12-11 and packed Johns Hopkins on the bus back to Baltimore.
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