s season, the Hopkins men’s lacrosse team went into overtime. In the previous two, the Blue Jays lost to Princeton University and the University of Virginia. This time the outcome would be different as the Jays scored with seven seconds left in second overtime to defeat Penn State University 11-10.
The Jays had the upper hand for most of the first half, at one point holding a 6-2 lead. However, in a 12-minute span late in the second quarter, Penn State went on a 5-0 run with senior Pat Manley scoring his four goals of the game, giving the Nittany Lions a 7-6 lead.
The game remained close for a while with Hopkins trailing by one goal until junior Ryan Brown and senior Wells Stanwick scored their fifth and second goals, respectively, regaining the lead for the Jays with a score of 10-9 and 87 seconds left on the clock. In just 54 seconds, however, Penn State was able to tie the game.
Neither team was able to score in the 33 seconds left in regulation, forcing the game into overtime.
Hopkins junior goalie Will Ryan, making his first career start, executed a huge save in the second overtime to give the Jays possession with less than a minute remaining. Stanwick fed the ball to freshman Joel Tinney, who completed his hat trick and won the game from about 10 yards out.
Hopkins outshot Penn State 21-12 in the opening 30 minutes and had leads of 5-1 and 6-2. Stanwick scored two goals and totaled five assists. Brown added five goals while Tinney scored three, plus two assists. Goalie Ryan saved nine, and freshman Hunter Moreland won seven out of 12 faceoffs.
Penn State’s Manley led his team with four goals. Sophomore Mike Sutton added another three goals, and sophomore Nick Aponte scored once and totaled three assists for the Nittany Lions. However, Penn State’s best performance arguably came from rs sophomore goalie Connor Darcey who had 13 saves, including four in the two overtime periods.
While Hopkins was able to secure the victory, it was a bit appalling to some that the game was so close. The crowd of almost 3,000 people was “on their feet throughout the game,” as one fan, sophomore Caroline Corcoran, put it.
Spectator Arthur Evanson had some strong opinions of the game.
“[Hopkins] played poorly. They should be wiping the floor with a team like Penn State,” Evanson said. “People were very angry that the game even reached overtime, let alone double overtime.”
Other fans had mixed reactions to the game.
“Yeah, the Jays should not have let Penn State back into the game. However, they didn’t give up and fought hard,” Corcoran said. “They rallied behind one another and showed their true team strength as a whole. The final play shows the overall united dynamic of the team as senior Wells passes to freshman Joel for the game winner. It was truly exciting and had the entire stadium on their feet.”
“It’s always good to get a win,” former Hopkins varsity athlete Dan Keller said. “Lacrosse has been struggling this year, so any time we can secure the win it’s a good sign for Hopkins athletics.”
Although the fans may disagree on how the Jays got the win, this doesn’t change the statistics. Hopkins is now 5-6 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Penn State is 3-8 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten.
The Jays will play again at Homewood Field against the University of Michigan in their Homecoming game on Saturday, April 18. A win against the Wolverines will secure a spot in the Big Ten tournament for Hopkins.
