The matchup between Hopkins and the University of Maryland Terrapins, known as “The Rivalry,” is the biggest rivalry in all of college lacrosse. Facing off for the first time in 1895, the 115-game series is skewed in favor of the Jays, who hold a 71-43-1 record after this weekend’s loss.
More often than not, the matchup has big playoff implications: Either one or both of the schools has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 28 of the 46 years the Championship has existed. Twice, the matchup decided which team would represent the United States at the Olympics, and in both instances, Hopkins beat out Maryland in a postseason tournament to represent the red, white and blue in the Olympic games.
In the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, lacrosse was a demonstration sport, played to give the sport more international exposure and hopefully gain wider popularity. The intention was that one day the game would be played for a medal.
One of the best stories of the rivalry does not involve the game itself but the bronze statue of a diamondback terrapin on the University of Maryland campus nicknamed “Testudo.” In 1934, just one year after Testudo was installed, a group of Hopkins students took the statue and wrote the letters “J.H.U.” on it. The statue was later found and returned, but that was not the end for Testudo.
In 1947, another group of Hopkins students had the same idea; They stole the statue days before the homecoming game and buried it on Homewood campus. When 200 Maryland students showed up at Homewood demanding the statue back, state police were required to break up the ensuing fight.
After the brawl, Hopkins Dean G. Wilson Shaffer made the students return the statue, which they did, but not before painting a big “H” on Testudo’s back.
This past weekend, excitement and anticipation rang through Homewood and College Park as both teams, ranked in the top-10, came together to celebrate the 122 year anniversary of “The Rivalry.” The Blue Jays had not lost at College Park since 2001, but unfortunately, this Saturday’s game started out poorly for the Jays and never got better.
It was not until after the first six minutes of play that either team scored, but once Maryland’s junior Connor Kelly found the back of the net, the floodgates were open. Kelly would add two more goals by the end of the quarter.
In just eight minutes, Maryland tallied six points, and their defense shut the Jays out in the first quarter, putting the Terrapins ahead 6-0 at the end of the first. Moving into the second quarter, Maryland kept up the momentum, as they scored two more points before the Blue Jays could make it on the board. The Jays went to the locker room at halftime down 9-1.
For the remainder of the game, the Hopkins defense was able to keep the Terrapins relatively within their control, but it was already too late. The Jays fell to the Terrapins 12-5.
Despite the blowout, the Blue Jays had a few bright moments, as junior faceoff specialist Hunter Moreland won 12 of 17 faceoffs, and graduate student goalie Gerald Logan had nine saves after entering the game in the second quarter. Furthermore, junior attack Shack Stanwick increased his point streak to 46 games with an assist in the third quarter.
This was the final regular season game for the Blue Jays, as they will enter the Big Ten Tournament this weekend seeded in third. The Jays will face host and number two seed, the Ohio State Buckeyes. The winner will take on the winner of the matchup between Maryland and Penn State, so there is a likely chance that the Blue Jays and the Terrapins will add another chapter to their historic rivalry before the season is over.
