Johns Hopkins pulls out win over upset-minded Midshipmen, 12-9
Navy men’s lacrosse did so many things right in its bid to upset Johns Hopkins.
The Midshipmen beat the Blue Jays soundly on faceoffs (16-9), won the ground ball battle (29-27) and forced the visitors into 20 turnovers. Meanwhile, the shot and save totals were basically even.
Navy played its best game of the season but it still wasn’t enough. When it came to crunch time, Hopkins showed the poise and firepower to put the game away.
Freshman midfielder Matt Collison sparked a strong finish to the fourth quarter as the ninth-ranked Blue Jays took control of a close contest and escaped Annapolis with a 12-9 victory.
Collison produced all three of his points during the decisive stretch as Hopkins (6-3) closed on a 4-1 run for its fourth win in the last five outings.
“I thought it was a hardfought game between two really competitive teams.
I’m just really impressed with the way they continue to come at you and really challenge you everywhere,” Hopkins coach Peter Milliman said. “It was a very difficult contest and I think we were very fortunate to come away with the win.
Junior attackman Russell Melendez scored two goals and assisted another for Hopkins, which avenged last season’s 11-10 upset loss to Navy. Graduate student attackman Garrett Degnon, along with junior midfielders Johnathan Peshko and Ryan Evans, scored two goals apiece for the Blue Jays, who have lost just three times to the Midshipmen since 1975.
Senior attackman Jacob Angelus dished off three assists, while senior goalie Tim Marcille made 13 saves for Hopkins. Milliman admitted Marcille was a difference-maker in a game that could have gone either way down the stretch.
“Timmy has been making great saves consistently and we’re starting to get used to it a little too much,” he said. “Timmy has been great and I thought he was awesome again tonight. I was really proud of him tonight. He played his butt off.”
Freshman attackman Mac Haley scored three goals and junior midfielder Max Hewitt totaled a goal and two assists to lead Navy, which suffered its fifth straight loss. Junior attackman Xavier Arline and sophomore midfielder Henry Tolker both contributed a goal and an assist, while senior goalie Pat Ryan matched Marcille by making 13 saves.
“I’m really proud of Navy lacrosse tonight. I thought that was our best effort. I thought it was a pretty solid performance against an excellent lacrosse team,” coach Joe Amplo said. “We didn’t play 60 minutes, but we got darn close. I just thought our kids battled and never flinched. Hopkins just made more very good lacrosse plays at the end of the game to separate.”
An announced crowd of 2,432 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium watched a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and four lead changes. Haley’s third goal forged the final tie at 8 at the 13:30 mark of the fourth quarter. The Midshipmen managed only one more goal the rest of the way.
Amplo was frustrated with several costly turnovers over the final eight-plus minutes. The Midshipmen threw the ball away while on the offensive end, while Arline had the ball drop out of his stick while cranking up to take a wide-open shot from about 10 yards away.
“Hopkins has some really slick lacrosse players who can make some good plays and they did that at the end,” Amplo said. “I thought they were a little more poised than us in the fourth quarter. They played a little calmer.”
While the game was decided in the fourth quarter, Amplo felt there was a key turning point in the third period. Senior midfielder Sam Dracobly made a great move to beat a long stick midfielder from behind the net, then turned the corner and scored an unassisted goal from the doorstep to give Navy a 7-6 lead.
A holding penalty on James Flannery gave Hopkins an extra man opportunity and Degnon finished a wicked lefty crank shot to tie the score. Junior midfielder Cameron Chauvette scored in the final minute and the Blue Jays took an 8-7 lead into the final frame.
“When they scored that man-up goal it was a little deflating because I thought we had some momentum,” Amplo said.
Afterward, Amplo was upbeat despite the loss because he saw significant progress from his struggling squad.
“That’s the team we thought we were going to get this season. Navy lacrosse was supposed to look like that in every game we played,” he said. “If we get that effort and close to that performance and clean up our execution, we’ve got something really good here.”