The third ranked Blue Jays suffered only their second hiccup of the season Saturday, and had their 12-game home-winning streak snapped, falling to Maryland, 9-6 in front of a sold-out throng of 8,500 at Homewood Field.
The ninth-ranked Terps began their torrid comeback at the nine minute mark in the third quarter, scoring the final six goals of the game, including a remarkable four scores by junior attackman Owen Blye. The victory ups the Terps’ record to 7-3, while the Blue Jays slip to 9-2 on the season.
Hopkins was plagued by a second-half drought that saw them score only one goal in the entire thirty minutes of the half. The lone score came from senior Chris Boland, off of an assist from junior John Greeley just 43 seconds into the third quarter.
The Jays got off to an auspicious start in the game, with sophomore Rob Guida scoring his 13th goal of the season at the 12:44 mark in the first quarter off of a dish from John Greeley. Lee Coppersmith then netted his twelfth of the season on an unassisted play just a minute later.
The score remained 2-0 for nearly the remainder of the first quarter, with the Hopkins defense holding tight until Kevin Cooper and Landon Carr of the Terps squeezed two goals past junior Pierce Bassett in a 62-second span to end the quarter with the score tied at two apiece.
Sophomore Greg Edmonds ignited a 3-0 Hopkins run that covered a seven-minute stretch in the second quarter leading into halftime. Edmonds, John Ranagan and Brandon Benn all got in on the action to turn the 2-2 stalemate into a 5-2 advantage for the Jays. However, a Billy Gribbin goal with 54 seconds remaining in the first half stymied much of the momentum Hopkins gained from these scores. The Jays went into halftime with a 5-3 lead.
After Boland’s score early in the second half, which gave the Jays a 6-3 lead, their second three-goal cushion of the game, the Terps began their comeback. Beginning with 9:04 left in the third quarter. Blye scored the first two goals of the six-score run, as the Terps would pull away in the final quarter to give them their second win over the Jays in three years.
After the game, junior defenseman Tucker Durkin talked about the loss, saying “we were prepared and had a great gameplan, but were not able to execute for 60 mins and that’s what you have to do to win against a great team like Maryland.”
Michael Shakespeare used space to step forward from 10 yards and rocket one past Bassett with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter. With the Maryland comeback complete at six goals each going into the fourth quarter, all momentum had shifted towards the Terps’ bench.
Kevin Cooper’s goal with just over two and half minutes left in the game virtually sealed the outcome and capped the scoring for the 108th match-up in this historic rivalry.
While the Red and Black faithful who made the quick trip to Homewood Field were treated to a thrilling upset victory, the home crowd left disappointed after the team’s second loss in just three games.
Hopkins won several significant statistical categories, outshooting Maryland 29-28, dominating the face-offs by winning 14 out of 19, and gaining two extra-man opportunities (none of which they cashed in on) to the Terps’ none. John Greeley had turned in a solid performance with a career-high three assists. Despite the performance on paper, the Jays just could not best Maryland in the most important statistical category.
Hopkins lacrosse will look to rebound from the loss next Saturday as they take on Navy in Annapolis, MD at 12 noon. You can watch the Navy game on CBS Sports network or follow along on ESPN Radio.
