Second-ranked Blue Jays off to solid start

The quest for a 10th
Division I men's lacrosse
National Championship
began in earnest on Friday
night, Feb. 17th, as the
second-ranked Blue Jays
dominated the outmatched
Towson Tigers on their
way to a 12-6 win at the
Nest. The win marked the
150th career victory for legendary
Head coach Dave
Pietramala.
Hopkins then faced off
with Delaware on Tuesday,
earning a hard-fought 8-6
win over the Blue Hens.
Against the Tigers, the
Jays fielded an imposing
defense for much of the
game, holding Towson's offense
to just three goals and
12 shots total until partway
through the fourth quarter.
At one point, Hopkins kept
the Tigers off the scoreboard
for over half an hour
of game time.
The opening quarter
was a back-and-forth slugfest,
with Towson taking a
one-goal advantage three
times, leading 3-2 after
18:30 had passed. Senior attackman
Chris Boland responded
to Towson's Robby
Zoppo's goal in just 15
seconds, as the Jays tied it
up and never looked back.
Hopkins went on an impressive
9-0 run in which
the Tigers were held scoreless
for 31 minutes.
The Boland strike came
off an assist from junior attackman
Zach Palmer, who
scored a hat trick in both
the goals and assists department
in total. Boland
also cataloged a stellar
performance, scoring four
times in the rout.
Palmer scored again,
as did classmate and midfielder
Lee Coppersmith,
in the remaining 11 minutes
of the half to extend
the Jays' lead to 5-3 going
into the break. Boland
registered two more
scores, one on extra-man
strength on another assist
from Zach Palmer just 21
seconds into the half, to
widen the gap to 7-3 in the
third quarter.
Another Coppersmith
goal - his second of two
on the day - gave Hopkins
a five-goal edge midway
through the third, at which
point the Tigers offense
had been held in check for
close to 18 minutes.
A third assist from
Palmer set up a goal by
sophomore attackman
Brandon Benn with just
under four and a half
minutes remaining in the
third quarter. Benn tallied
another goal as the fourth
quarter got underway to
put the game out of reach
and launch the Jays into
double-digits in their first
regular season match.
The Blue Jays' starting
attack of Palmer, Boland
and Benn did their job as
they combined for nine
goals and three assists total.
The Jays continued their
torrid pace, as senior Marshall
Burkhart found the
back of the net from 35-feet
out just nine seconds after
Benn's second goal, making
the Hopkins lead 11-3 to the
delight of the home side.
The Tigers' scoring
drought remained dry for
another three minutes before
Towson's Sean Maguire
snuck one past Hopkins
junior goalie Pierce Bassett.
Nine seconds later, Towson's
Matt Hughes recorded
a quick score after a face-off.
These late scores were
meaningless, however. The
two teams traded goals in
the remaining 10 minutes,
with Palmer completing the
fourth hat trick of his career.
The 12-6 victory gave
the Blue Jays an auspicious
start to a season filled with
championship aspirations.
Hopkins imposed their
will on the Tigers in almost
every meaningful category.
Its starting defense of
juniors Tucker Durkin and
Chris Lightner and senior
Gavin Crisafulli holding
Towson to just 18 shots total
whereas the Jays got 42
shots off.
Hopkins also recovered
30 ground balls to Towson's
21, and freshman Drew
Kennedy had a strong
showing at midfield, finishing
9-for-14 on face-offs.
The Jays also played
penalty-free throughout
the entire game, and they
gained three extra man situations
off of three Towson
miscues, two of which led
to Hopkins scores.
While the win marks a
positive start to 2012, fans
should take the game with
a grain of salt. According
to InsideLacrosse's Quint
Kessenich, Boland suffered
a broken collar bone during
the game and will be
out for four to six weeks.
The loss is certainly a difficult
one considering the senior
also missed all of the
2010 season due to injury.
Despite losing their team
captain and scoring leader,
Hopkins was forced to
make a quick turnaround,
taking on Delaware Tuesday
afternoon at home. JHU
won their ninth straight
meeting with the Blue Hens,
8-6, improving to 2-0 while
UDel dropped to 2-2.
Even without Boland,
the Blue Jay offense still
performed well, building
a five goal lead midway
through the third quarter. At the forefront
of the Hopkins attack
was Benn, who knocked
home his first career hat
trick, while freshman attackman
Wells Stanwick
notched a goal of his own
and two assists in his first
career start.
Tied at two with just
over nine minutes to play
in the first half, the Jays
started to pull away off
goals from Benn, already
his second of the afternoon,
and sophomore midfielder
Rob Guida, his first
of the young season.
Hopkins received
three more goals in the
second half from sophomore
midfielder Greg
Edmonds, Benn and Coppersmith
to extend their
lead to 7-2. However, after
a nearly 30-minute
scoreless streak, Delaware
climbed back in the
game with four consecutive
goals in the third and
fourth quarters. With just
five minutes to play, the
Blue Jays clung to a one
goal advantage.
Despite two late possessions
for the Blue Hens,
Hopkins' defense once again
stepped up, staving off the
upset. Junior midfielder John
Ranagan added the game's
final goal with 30 seconds to
play for the 8-6 win.
The Blue Jays will take
on the Siena Saints this
Saturday at 3 PM on Homewood
Field in an attempt to
end their opening homestand
undefeated.