M. lax suffers third OT loss in a row

The men's lacrosse team saw flashbacks of last season's three-game slump as Virginia's Brian Carroll netted the final goal in the last seven seconds of Saturday's overtime game.

The loss marked the third straight overtime loss for the Blue Jays, who had fallen to Hofstra and Syracuse in the previous two weeks.

The Hopkins lacrosse team was on a mission. With two losses behind them, the team sought to beat the Cavaliers on their home field, a feat that hadn't been accomplished by the Jays since 1998. However, it was to be a long, gritty battle for the fourth-ranked Hopkins squad.

Virginia drew first blood as senior attack Ben Rubeor sliced in an opening goal a mere two and a half minutes into the game. Hopkins quickly responded with a goal from senior attack Michael Doneger.

From there, the game became a back-and-forth exchange of quick plays, fast breaks, and hard-earned scores.

In the closing minutes of the first quarter, Virginia's freshman midfielder Rhamel Bratton ended a long stalemate, scoring Virginia's second goal of the game, quickly followed by two scores from senior attack Kevin Huntley.

The second quarter, however, belonged to Virginia. Despite sophomore goalie Mike Gvozden's strong presence between the pipes, the Cavs managed to net four goals to Hopkins' two, including the closing shot by Carroll from the top of the restraining box in the final five seconds of the half. The Blue Jays headed to the locker room down 6-5, but the fight had only begun.

Senior midfielder Stephen Peyser started the second half strong for the Blue Jays, scoring off of a Rabil-trademark swim move past a Virginia defender, netting a leftie laser shot to the top of the net just over two minutes into the half. Peyser would finish the game with two goals against his former high school teammate, freshman goalie Adam Ghitelman, with whom Peyser regularly practices in the off-season.

Late in the third quarter, freshman FOGO ("face-off, get off") Matt Dolente took over at the face-off X, handily winning the face-off and taking the ball downfield to score the tying goal at eight. Virginia, however, ended the third quarter as they did the second, pulling ahead by one with freshman midfielder Shamel

Bratton's diving shot from behind the goal line extended, making the score 9-8 in Virginia's favor.

Hopkins tied it back up at the start of the fourth quarter as junior midfielder Mark Brian scored his first goal of the game. From there, the fourth quarter became a shooting frenzy. Shamel Bratton scored Virginia's 10th goal of the game at with 7:38 on the clock, followed by second-string midfielder Brian Christopher's first goal of the season from the edge of the restraining box to tie the score at 10. In the final four minutes of the game, the Jays and the Cavs alternated scores with Rabil and Shamel Bratton scoring their third of the game, followed by Hopkins's 12th and final goal by junior attack Tom Duerr off another Delente face-off fast break with 3:08 remaining in the game.

Hopkins managed to maintain the lead for most of the remainder of the game, but Virginia pulled through with 56 seconds remaining on the clock as Rubeor punched in the tying goal for the Cavs. Virginia won the following face-off and in a battle of desperation on both sides, the Hopkins defense, combined with a shoestring save by Gvozden, pushed the game into overtime with the score tied at 12.

Peyser smoothly won the opening face-off in overtime, sending the Blue Jay offense down the field. Both defenses held strong and the two teams traded possessions throughout the first minutes of overtime. In what would be Hopkins's last definitive possession, Peyser shot a wild ball over the pipes toward the end line, creating a race for possession. With a questionable call by the referee, possession was awarded to the Cavs.

It was short-lived, however, as the Hopkins defense briefly secured the ball once more, only to relinquish it once again to an offsides call in the closing seconds of the game. With 0:07:7 on the clock, Virginia's Carroll scored the game-winning goal to end the battle at 13-12.

"The whole game was back and forth," sophomore midfielder Michael Kimmel said. "We made a couple big plays. I wouldn't say there was really a turning point. I just think that in the end they made one more play than we did."

"We just haven't been able to finish a game right now," Rabil said. "We have three overtime losses. We've been playing pretty hard. It's just a matter of finishing the game."

The season is far from over for the Blue Jays. Hopkins has seen slumps like this before and rallied forward to great success. One thing is clear: These next few games will be crucial to the team's future success.

"We have a sense of urgency that we need to win this next game," Rabil said. "It's still March and the season stretches through May. It's better now than later and we're just going to keep working."

Referring to last year's slump, Kimmel said, "We have a veteran team. A lot of kids came back from last year, but at the same time, last year was last year and this year is a new year. We can't think that last year we got out of a three-game skid and then won nine straight and then won the championship. We go through each year differently. I think right now that no one's given up yet on the team even though some people are writing us off."

Virginia's victory pulled them to a number-one ranking in the national poll, a spot that once belonged to the Blue Jays. However, Hopkins's last few games have proven that the difference between these rankings can be a matter of seconds. The Blue Jays face off against fifth-ranked University of North Carolina this Saturday at Homewood Field, seeking to end the slump and continue in the pattern of last year's season.