A few months ago, when the Hopkins men’s lacrosse coaches received the 2013 schedule, they identified last Friday’s contest against No. 14 Princeton as their first real test of the season, “a measuring stick” game, so to speak.
After being outplayed on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball in a 11-8 loss, in front of an announced crowd of 2,352 anxious fans, No. 5 Hopkins lacrosse (3-1) now faces adversity for the first time in the 2013 season.
“We thought this was going to be a good measuring stick for us,” senior defenseman and co-captain Tucker Durkin said. “We’re going to see from the film what exactly we need to work on. It’s a long season. We’re not going to hang our heads right now. We’ve got another big one on Tuesday that we’re looking forward to. More than anything, I’m just going to remember this feeling and just kind of use it as motivation going forward.”
After dominating the shot clock during the first quarter of the game, 17-5, the frustrated Blue Jays found themselves tied 3-3. However, the game was definitively decided in the fourth quarter. Trailing 8-7 in the final frame, Hopkins clenched their sticks and nervously committed six turnovers. Princeton took advantage, scoring three goals and allowing one in the final quarter to win 11-8.
“We were getting anxious," Brandon Benn said when detailing the final quarter. "We saw the score. We were only down by two with 9 minutes left and then they got one with 8. We seemed to get tight. We were just playing out the score too much, not realizing how much time we had. We just played tight, and it didn't work to our advantage."
Benn, the leading scorer for the Jays, committed a key turnover late in the game as he dropped a pass from Lee Coppersmith inside the box. Princeton scooped up the ground ball and drove down the middle of the field. Princeton midfielder Chris White gathered a pass from defenseman Derick Raabe and bounced a shot in from 12 yards out with 5:40 remaining, all but sealing the game for the Tigers.
Fortunately for Hopkins, the team has a relatively easy schedule before facing No. 19 Syracuse in three weeks.
“Quite frankly, we need to get back on the horse,” head coach Dave Pietramala said. “We need to put this feeling away. I think we’re all disappointed. Who’s happy when you lose? None of us are. So it’s the disappointment and what you are as a man, you figure out through your disappointments. We’ll handle it the right way.”
Just four days later, Hopkins got the chance to distance themselves from the disappointment of the Princeton game — and they did just that — crushing Mount St. Mary’s 19-9 and improving their record to 4-1.
Sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick put up career highs of five goals and four assists en-route to a team effort that witnessed 13 second-half goals.
Hopkins backup goalie, redshirt sophomore Eric Schneider, made his first career start in goal and made four saves against the Mountaineers. Starting senior goaltender Pierce Basset was suspended for the game after violating an unspecified team rule.
On Tuesday there was never a doubt about the outcome of the game — the Mountaineers were noticeably outmatched against a far more athletic Hopkins squad.
Nonetheless, real drama unfolded in the post-game press conference. Coach Pietramala shockingly announced an open competition to take place between the two goaltenders, Schneider and Basset, to see which goaltender would snatch the starting job. The declaration is especially stunning considering Schneider has been the starter in goal since taking over for Mike Gvozden on March 27, 2010.
“There is an open competition,” Pietramala said. “Nothing happens because of one game. A guy doesn’t earn a starting position because of one game and a guy doesn’t lose a starting position because of one game. It’s something that’s over practice and over time and Eric’s been doing a very good job in practice. Obviously, we have the utmost confidence in Pierce. I think at this point, it’s in our best interest that we need to create a little more competition. I think we’ve gotten a little comfortable there, and I think this will help us moving forward.”
Basset has impressive numbers throughout his Hopkins career, posting a 7.61 goals-against average and a .594 save percentage in 2013. Before this Tuesday, he had made 27 consecutive starts.
“Pierce has been a starter, and Pierce has been a wonderful player for us,” Pietramala said. “Make no mistake, I don’t feel like we’ve lost any confidence in him. I think Eric has done a good job in practice, and you’ve got to always look to improve your team, whatever way that may be. I think right now, we’ve been inconsistent in the goal, and I think we’ve got to challenge our personnel there to be better each and every day.”
