Just last week, the men's lacrosse team was at one of its lowest points in the past few years, after a crushing season-opening loss to then-unranked Albany. In the span of just four days, however, Hopkins erased most doubts created by the upset loss, defeating Princeton on Saturday afternoon and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) on Tuesday night.
The victory over the UMBC Retrievers by a score of 15-6 was the Blue Jays' first game of the season in which the end result was not in doubt, as Hopkins was able to control the pace of the game throughout.
Jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, Hopkins' attackers took control of the game from the onset -- something that they had not done so well in the team's first two games -- and established the team's dominance early. With four more goals in the second quarter, the team continued to apply the right mix of offense with stability on the defensive half of the field in order to keep the Retrievers no closer than barking distance of the lead.
Freshman midfielder Michael Kimmel was perfect, scoring three times on only three shots. Senior co-captain attacker Jake Byrne and junior midfielder Stephen Peyser also chipped in with two goals each.
Senior goalie Jesse Schwartzman led the team on the defensive side of things, making 13 saves. Facing the same number of shots (37) as his UMBC counterpart, he let in only about one-third as many goals in a game that was, for all intents and purposes, decided at the end of the first half, with the Blue Jays leading 9-2.
Still, Hopkins' game of the week was, without a doubt, its match-up with lacrosse superpower Princeton on Saturday afternoon in a Final Four-like doubleheader at the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium. Much more than was the case with the UMBC win, the Blue Jays' thrilling 7-6 double overtime victory over the then-top-ranked Tigers put Hopkins back into the conversation as potential national champions.
Given the team's sluggish start the previous week against Albany, a top priority for the Jays was to start strong and get on the scoreboard early. Nonetheless, those goals were not realized. The team failed to get any shots past the Tigers' goalkeeper Alex Hewitt, described by many as one of the top net-minders in college lacrosse. Along with a solid defensive core, Hewitt proved to be tough to get past, particularly early on in the game.
"[Early in] the game, you could tell that it wasn't going to be a high-scoring game," Byrne said. "Hewitt is one of the best goalies I have played against, and their defense has always been one of the best in the country."
The second and third quarters were a different story, however, as Hopkins outscored Princeton 4-2, to knot the game up at 5-5. Of those five goals, three were scored by freshman attacker Steven Boyle, for whom the Tigers' defense just did not seem to have a solution.
In the fourth quarter, only two goals were scored, and, for the last seven minutes of the quarter, the game remained tied at 6-6, leading to overtime. In front of the largest regular season crowd (20,180) in college lacrosse history, both Hopkins and Princeton put on a show in regulation. But it was the encore -- the pair of sudden-death over-times -- that provided even greater excitement.
In the first overtime, Princeton won the face-off and immediately tried to end the game. But even in the face of the Tigers' powerful offensive push, an equally strong effort by Schwartzman and the defense met the challenge. Princeton could not get the game-winner.
"They controlled possession for the whole first OT but Jesse played great," Byrne said. "The whole team had confidence in both him and our defense that they would get us the ball back."
After winning the face-off in the second overtime, the Blue Jays made an effort to end the game as soon as they could. After a close miss by Byrne, the ball rebounded into Peyser's stick. Peyser made the perfect pass to fellow junior midfielder Paul Rabil in prime position. Rabil then unloaded for his second goal of the game. Hopkins 7, Princeton 6.
"Stephen made the best play [of the sequence]," associate head coach Bill Dwan said. "It was chaotic, but he was able to make the pass. It was a scramble situation that went our way."
It was a big play in a big game, enough to give the Blue Jays a strong boost coming off the disappointing Albany loss.
"The energy was there," Kimmel said. "It was a huge win to rebuild our confidence and get back on the right track."
With the past week's two wins, especially the one against Princeton, that track seems quite ready for a long ride, one that may end up back at M&T Bank Stadium in late May for the NCAA Championships.
Hopkins next suits up at home against a Hofstra squad led by former assistant head coach Seth Tierney this Saturday at 12 p.m.
