March 16, 2002
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Sophomore midfielder Kevin Boland (Jessup, MD/Gilman) scored a career-high three goals, including two in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, to lead second-ranked Johns Hopkins to a stunning 9-8 come-from-behind win over top-ranked Syracuse before 6,276 at Homewood Field. The win, the second for Hopkins over a number one ranked team in three games this season, improves the Blue Jays' record to 3-0, while Syracuse falls to 4-1.
Johns Hopkins is now in position to be ranked number one in the nation for the first time since the second week of the 1999 season.
Syracuse led 7-4 entering the fourth quarter after Steve Vallone (Corning, NY/Corning East) provided the only goal of the third quarter at the 4:24 mark off an assist from Brian Nee (Cockeysville, MD/Boys' Latin). All that did was set the stage for a wild fourth quarter which would see Hopkins outscore the Orangemen, 5-1.
Freshman Kyle Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Friends) and sophomore Conor Ford (Timonium, MD/St. Paul's) tallied back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart to trim the deficit to 7-6. Harrison's unassisted goal at the 7:28 mark made it 7-5, while Ford's tally at the 4:29 mark, his third of the game, came off an assist from Boland.
Syracuse pushed the lead back to two at 8-6 when Brian Solliday (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) scored his second goal of the game with just 3:46 remaining. Boland then proceeded to be the difference.
His second goal of the game with 2:31 remaining trimmed the Syracuse lead to 8-7 and he assisted on a Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) goal just 31 seconds later to tie the game at 8-8. After the Blue Jays won the ensuing faceoff, Boland tallied the game-winner with just 1:21 left on the clock with an unassisted goal. Syracuse won the final faceoff of the game and maintained possession in Hopkins' zone for the last minute. Their best chance to tie the game came when Nee cranked one off the pipe with 40 seconds remaining. After Syracuse called timeout with 30 seconds remaining, Hopkins was able to hold off the Orangemen before clearing the ball out of their zone in the waning seconds.
For most of the first three quarters, it didn't look like Hopkins would find the mark offensively. Syracuse limited the Blue Jays to just four goals through three quarters and had one three-goal lead (7-4) and five two-goal leads before Hopkins' late-game rally. Syracuse held the lead in the game for 52:03, while the game was tied for a total of 6:36. In all the Blue Jays led for only the final 1:21.
The Orangemen jumped to a quick two-goal lead as Spencer Wright (San Diego, CA/Junipero Serra) and Michael Springer (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) both scored unassisted goals in the first four minutes of the game. After Hopkins' Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) and Syracuse's Jarrett Park (Tully, NNY/Christian Brothers Academy) traded goals to make it 3-1 Syracuse, the Blue Jays got back-to-back goals from Ford and Boland in a span of just over three minutes early in the second quarter to draw even at 3-3.
Syracuse would outscore Hopkins, 3-1 over the final five minutes of the second quarter to take a 6-4 lead at the half. Solliday, Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Lakeland-Panas) and Josh Coffman (Carthage, NY/Carthage) all scored during the spree for the Orangemen, while only Ford's second goal of the game kept the Blue Jays within two at 6-4. Vallone's third-quarter goal would give Syracuse its only three-goal lead of the game, but that merely set the stage for Boland's late-game heroics.
Boland's five points, which came on the three goals and two assists, were a career-high. In three games this season, Boland has eight points and all eight points have come in two games against teams ranked number one in the nation at the time of the game. Ford added three goals and one assist, while senior goalie Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) had a career-high 18 saves in goal for the Blue Jays.
Solliday led the way for Syracuse with his two goals, while Wright added a goal and an assist. No other Syracuse player had more than one point. Jay Pfeifer was tremendous in goal for Syracuse as he registered 15 saves.
#1 Syracuse (4-1) 2 4 1 1- 8
#2 Johns Hopkins (3-0) 1 3 0 5- 9
Goals: SU: Solliday-2, Wright, Springer, Park, Lindsay, Coffman, Vallone. JH: Boland-3, Ford-3, Doneger, Harrison, Benson. Assists: SU: Wright, Hardy, Powell, Nee, Hogan. JH: Boland-2, LeSueur, Ford, McDermott. Saves: SU: Pfeifer-15. JH: Murtha-18. Shots: SU-39. JH-37. EMO: SU: 1-for-4. JH: 2-for-5. Attendance: 6,276.
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