April 9, 2002
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The Game: Third-ranked Johns Hopkins (7-1) hosts sixth-ranked Maryland (7-2) in the annual renewal of one of the oldest rivalries in college lacrosse.
A Look Back: Johns Hopkins posted an 8-4 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Maryland posted a 13-3 record last season and also advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
A Look Forward: With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, both teams control their own destiny in the battle for one of the six at-large bids to the 2002 NCAA Tournament. The winner of this week's Johns Hopkins-Maryland game likely secures a spot in the tournament.
The Coaches: Dave Pietramala is in his second season as the head coach of the Blue Jays. He sports an overall record of 38-22, including a 15-5 record at Johns Hopkins.
Pietramala spent three years as the head coach at Cornell (1998-2000) before returning to his alma mater last season. He is the only person in the history of college lacrosse who has earned NCAA Division I National Player of the Year honors (1989) and NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year honors (2000).
Dave Cottle is in his first season as the head coach at Maryland after a successful 19-year stint at Loyola. Cottle sports an overall coaching record of 188-72, including this season's 7-2 record with the Terps.
National Rankings:
JHU Maryland
STX/USILA 3rd 6th
Inside Lacrosse 3rd 5th
Note: For purposes of pre-game rankings, the Johns Hopkins sports information office uses the STX/USILA rankings as each team's official ranking.
Hopkins Lacrosse on the Radio: Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse games can be heard on WJFK-AM 1300 in Baltimore. The Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Game of the Week presented by Copy World begins with a pre-game show 15 minutes prior to faceoff and includes a 15-minute post-game show. Larry Quinn and Mark Dixon will provide all the play-by-play and expert analysis. All regular-season games (except the games against Albany, North Carolina, Villanova, and Navy) and NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast.
Please note that beginning with the Syracuse game, all Johns Hopkins games that are broadcast on the radio can also be heard on the official web site of Johns Hopkins athletics (www.HopkinsSports.com).
Hopkins Lacrosse on Television: The Blue Jays are scheduled to hit the air waves eight times this season. Games against Princeton, Syracuse, North Carolina, Maryland, Towson and Loyola will air on WMAR in Baltimore, while the JHU-Virginia game was aired on Comcast SportsNet. This is in addition to the Hofstra game, which aired in New York on the Madison Square Garden Network. Since 1998, Johns Hopkins has had 31 of its games televised and has posted an 19-12 record in those 31 games.
Hopkins Lacrosse on the Web: The official web site for Johns Hopkins athletics is located at www.HopkinsSports.com.
Series Notes
* Johns Hopkins leads the all-time series against Maryland, 60-36-1. JHU and Maryland have met at least once every year since 1946. The Blue Jays have won seven of the last nine regular-season games between the two teams.
* Johns Hopkins' 60 all-time wins and 97 games against Maryland are its most against any opponent. JHU has only won more than 50 games against two other opponents (Army/Virginia).
* The Blue Jays won 13-3 in 1999 and 20-11 in 2000 over Maryland, marking the first time in series history that JHU won consecutive games over the Terps by nine or more goals.
About the Terps: Sixth-ranked Maryland enters this week's game at Johns Hopkins looking for a second straight win over the Blue Jays. Under the guidance of first-year coach Dave Cottle, the Terps are 7-2 overall and boast perhaps the best combination of offense and defense in the nation.
A balanced offensive unit features five different players with 10 or more goals and six players with 12 or more points. Sophomore Dan LaMonica and junior Mike Mollot are the top two threats offensively as LaMonica leads the team in scoring with 12 goals and a team-high 19 assists for 31 points, while Mollot has a team-high 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points.
Other players with 10 or more goals include Mike Morsell (10g, 8a), Nate Watkins (13g, 4a) and Mike LaMonica (13g, 2a).
While everyone is impressed with goal-scorers, Maryland feeds off its defense, which has held six of its nine opponents to six goals or less and leads the nation in scoring defense (6.3 goals/game).
Junior All-American Mike Howley spearheads the group, although sophomores Lee Zink and Chris Passavia have been equally impressive. It was Passavia's takeaway in the final seconds that preserved last week's 6-5 win over Navy.
Solid goalkeeping has long been the norm at Maryland, where the names may change but the low goals against average and high save percentage remain the same. Junior Dan McCormick boasts a stunning 5.98 goals against average and a sparkling .627 save percentage in his first season as the starter.
These Are The Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Maryland with an all-time record of 801-258-15 (.753) in 114 seasons of play. The Blue Jays own seven NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles, and 6 ILA titles for a total of 42 national championships.
What 800 Means: With the 10-7 win over Villanova, Johns Hopkins became the first collegiate lacrosse program to amass 800 wins.
Captain My Captain: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), senior midfielder Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva), senior goalie Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) and junior midfielder Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) have been selected as team captains for Johns Hopkins this season.
All In the Family: For the second consecutive season, the Johns Hopkins coaching staff consists entirely of Johns Hopkins' graduates. Head coach Dave Pietramala and assistant coaches Seth Tierney (class of 1991), Bill Dwan (1991), and Howard Offit (1981) all earned their degree at JHU. Prior to last season when Pietramala, Tierney, Dwan and Offit also comprised the Blue Jay coaching staff, the last time the entire coaching staff was made up of JHU graduates was 1984, when the Blue Jays were coached by Don Zimmerman (1976), who was assisted by Jerry Pfeiffer (1966), Joe Devlin (1978), Fred Smith (1950), Joe Cowan (1969), and Dennis Townsend (1966).
Brother Act: Sophomore Corey Harned is the younger brother of Chris Harned, who played attack for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000. Freshman Peter LeSueur is the younger brother of Paul LeSueur, who played midfield for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000 and served as a team captain as a senior.
Tough: Johns Hopkins' season-opening game against Princeton was the latest for the Blue Jays against the defending national champion. Hopkins has now played the defending national champion every year since 1973 (the longest such streak in the nation). The Blue Jays have won six of their last nine and nine of their last 14 games against defending national champions, including wins over Princeton in 1995, 1999, 2002 and Syracuse in 1994, 1996 and 2001.
Tougher: The game earlier this season against top-ranked Syracuse was also the latest in a long line of games for the Blue Jays against the number one ranked team in the nation. Since 1994, JHU has played 15 games against teams which were ranked number one in the nation at the time of the game. Hopkins is 8-7 in those 15 games, including the season-opening win against Princeton. Currently, JHU has won three straight and five of its last seven against teams ranked number one.
The Toughest: Johns Hopkins will once again play the most difficult schedule in the nation, a fact that was cemented with release of the Faceoff Lacrosse 2002 Strength of Schedule Rankings (right).
The Blue Jays have a strength of schedule rating of 175 to easily outdistance the field in the battle for the toughest schedule in the nation. The Blue Jays will play the other five consensus top six teams in the nation (Princeton/Syracuse/Towson/Virginia/Maryland) and seven of the top 10. Hopkins plays three of last season's Final Four teams and three other teams which advanced to the national quarterfinals.
Getting Tougher: As if Hopkins doesn't already play the most difficult schedule in the nation, the Blue Jays will be adding Duke to their schedule beginning next season.
Home Sweet Home: The home white uniforms are always a welcome site for the Blue Jays. Currently, Johns Hopkins has won eight straight, 21 of its last 24 and 27 of its last 30 games at Homewood Field. JHU is 9-1 at home under head coach Dave Pietramala.
Anytime, Anywhere: Including last week's game at Ohio State, 18 of JHU's last 19 road games have been against team's ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game.
April Reign: With the win over Ohio State, Johns Hopkins is 30-1 (.968) in the month of April since the beginning of the 1997 season. The only loss during that time was a 10-9 loss at Maryland last April.
More April Reign: Since 1993, JHU is a sparkling 48-6 (.889) in games played in the month of April.
It's Great For Ratings: Three of Hopkins' eight games this season have been decided by just one goal. Dating back to last season, eight of JHU's last 20 games have been decided by just one goal. JHU is 6-2 in those eight one-goal games.
More Ratings: Since the beginning of the 2001 season, 14 of Hopkins' 20 games have been decided by three goals or less.
Youth: It's no secret the Blue Jays may have the youngest team in the nation this season. Of the 40 players on the roster, 16 are freshmen, nine are sophomores, eight are juniors, and seven are seniors.
More Youth: Entering the season, junior attackman Bobby Benson, junior midfielder Adam Doneger, and junior goalie Rob Scherr had combined to start 55 games. The 37 other players on the team had a combined 35 starts to their credit.
A Final Youth: In the first eight games of the season, 28 different players have seen playing time for the Blue Jays. Of the 28, 11 are freshmen and seven more are sophomores.
It Starts With Youth: Of the 10 players who have started for Hopkins in the first eight games of the season (JHU has used the same starting lineup in each of the first eight games), four are freshmen (Kyle Barrie, Peter LeSueur, Kyle Harrison, Chris Watson), one is a sophomore (Conor Ford), one is a junior with one career start entering the season (Mike Peyser) and another is a senior who had never started a game before this season (Nick Murtha).
Points of Youth: Of Hopkins' 76 goals scored in eight games 28 have been scored by juniors, 25 have been scored by freshmen, 22 have been scored by sophomores, and one has been scored by a senior.
More Points of Youth: All 68 goals scored by Johns Hopkins in the last seven games have been scored by players who will return next season.
Still More Points of Youth: All 112 points the Blue Jays have registered in the last seven games (68g, 44a) have been amassed by players who will return next season.
Final Point of Youth: 124 of the 125 (99.2%) points JHU has amassed in eight games belong to players who will return next season. 84 of the 125 (.672) belong to players with at least two years of eligibility remaining.
OK, This is the Last One: The last 73 goals the Blue Jays have scored have been scored by players who will return next season.
Give and Take: 37 of JHU's 49 (.755) assists this season belong to freshmen and sophomores.
Extra, Extra: Johns Hopkins is 15-for-31 (.484) with the extra man this season. The Johns Hopkins extra man unit is ranked third in the nation.
More Extra, Extra: Johns Hopkins was 5-for-7 with the extra man in the win over Ohio State. JHU converted on its first five EMO opportunities, before sitting on the ball in the final two minutes when they had two extra man opportunities.
The Final Extra, Extra: In the last three games, Johns Hopkins has converted 10-of-15 (.667) extra man opportunities.
And Then There Were Two: Through eight games, only Bobby Benson and Peter LeSueur have registered at least one point in every game.
USA, USA: Johns Hopkins junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) earned a spot on the United States National Team and will play in this summer's ILF World Championships in Australia.
Career-High: Bobby Benson tied his career high for goals (5) and points (7) in the win over Ohio State. He scored three extra-man goals and had three straight goals at one point during JHU's 7-0 game-opening run.
On a Roll: In the first five games of the season, Bobby Benson scored six goals and added one assist for seven points. In the last three games, Benson has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points.
Topping the Charts: Bobby Benson, Hopkins' only returning All-American after garnering Honorable Mention All-America honors last season, led the Blue Jays in goals (28), assists (14) and points (42) last season. With his five-goal, two-assist effort against Ohio State, he now has career totals of 71 goals and 26 assists for 97 points. He has a team-high 15 goals and eight assists this season for a team-best 23 points.
It's Safe to Say: With five goals against Ohio State, Bobby Benson has scored at least one goal in 31 of the 33 games he has played in during his career and has 21 multi-goal games to his credit. Currently, he has scored at least one goal in 20 straight games.
Double Your Pleasure: JHU is 17-4 (.810) in the 21 games Bobby Benson has scored two or more goals.
Seeing Red: Bobby Benson has six goals and one assist in two career games against Maryland.
A Change of Scenery: Junior Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) made the move from attack to midfield this season, where he is anchoring Hopkins' top midfield unit. Last season, Doneger finished second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points.
End of the Line: Adam Doneger scored one goal and added one assist against Villanova, pushing his season totals to a team-high 13 goals and three assists for 16 points. The effort extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 29. However, Doneger was held scorless in the win over Ohio State, marking the first time he didn't register a point since a 13-12 loss to Syracuse on March 17, 2000.
I Like it Warm: Adam Doneger entered this season with six career goals in nine games played in March. This season, he scored 12 goals in six games in March.
More Warm: Adam Doneger has 26 goals and eight assists in 13 games in the month of April.
Triple Play: Johns Hopkins is 9-0 over the last three years when Adam Doneger scores three or more goals and 10-1 when he tallies three or more points.
"X" Marks His Spot: One of the biggest holes the Blue Jays had to fill this season was at the faceoff "X", where now-graduated Eric Wedin took over 94% of the faceoffs for the Blue Jays last season and over 1,000 in his career. Freshman midfielder Kyle Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Friends) has handled most of the load this season for Hopkins. Harrison enjoyed an outstanding debut against Princeton as he won 11-of-15 (.733) faceoffs while also grabbing the ground ball on six of the 11 faceoffs he won. Harrison came back to win 5-of-9 against Hofstra and 9-of-15 against Syracuse. In the win over North Carolina, he won 14-of-20 (.700) and grabbed a career-high 12 ground balls. On the year, he has won 52-of-86 (.605) faceoffs and has a team-high 40 ground balls.
Jump-Start, Part I: Kyle Harrison opened the scoring for Johns Hopkins in the win over Princeton with his first career goal just 1:22 into the game.
Jump Start, Part II: Kyle Harrison ignited Hopkins' game-ending 5-1 run against Syracuse with an unassisted goal with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Prior to Harrison's goal, Hopkins had been held scoreless for 26:01.
Jump Start, Part III: Kyle Harrison opened the scoring in the 12-9 win over Ohio State with an unassisted goal just 2:05 into the game. The goal ignited a 7-0 run for JHU. Harrison now has four goals and one assist this season.
More "X": Freshman Lou Braun (Upper Arlington, OH/Upper Arlington) won a career-high 11-of-15 faceoffs in the game against Virginia and grabbed a career-high six ground balls as well. He won 8-of-12 against Villanova and he is now 38-for-76 (.500) on the year.
More Scenery Changes: Sophomore Conor Ford (Timonium, MD/St. Paul's) started most of last season on attack and, like junior Adam Doneger, is starting on Hopkins' first midfield unit this season. He currently ranks second on the team in scoring with nine goals and a team-high 11 assists for 20 points.
Streaking: Conor Ford has registered two or more points in 11 of his last 12 games dating back to last season.
Mister Assister: Conor Ford's three assists against Hofstra were one better than his previous career-high of two against Loyola last season. He assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals against Hofstra. He tied that with a three-assist performance against UNC. He currently leads the team with 11 assists, which is five more than he had all of last season.
More Assister: 15 of Conor Ford's 17 career assists have come in the last 10 games dating back to last season.
Ford Tough: In his last 12 games dating back to last season, Conor Ford has 23 goals and 15 assists for 38 points. During the same period, only Bobby Benson (37 points) also has more than 30 points for the Blue Jays.
Scherr-ing the Load: The Blue Jays boast two proven goalies as junior Rob Scherr (Reisterstown, MD/McDonogh) returns after starting all 12 games last season. Scherr posted an 8.52 GAA and a .587 save percentage last season.
Hail Hanna: Senior Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva) scored Hopkins' third goal of the game early in the third quarter in the win over Princeton. In his 20 games at Johns Hopkins (he transferred to JHU from Loyola prior to last season), he has nine goals and one assist. Three of his nine goals have come against Princeton.
McDermott the Middie: One year after playing most of the season on attack, sophomore Joe McDermott (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) makes the permanent move back to midfield, his natural position. Last season, McDermott finished sixth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.
Not Your Average Joe: Joe McDermott registered his first two points of the season with a goal and an assist in the win over Hofstra. His goal late in the second quarter capped a three-goal run for JHU, while he later assisted on Bobby Benson's goal that gave JHU a 6-5 lead.
More Joe: Against Syracuse, Joe McDermott assisted on Kevin Boland's second goal of the game, which drew Hopkins within 8-7 with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.
A Final Joe: Joe McDermott helped jump-start the JHU offense against North Carolina with a rebound goal just 2:18 into the game that gave JHU a 2-0 lead. He also scored Hopkins' second goal in the 12-9 win over Ohio State.
One Career-High...: Kevin Boland's (Jessup, MD/Gilman) three points (1g, 2a) against Princeton tied his career high for points in a game. He previously had three assists in a 13-11 win over Navy last season.
...Deserves Another Career-High: Kevin Boland's career-high three-point effort against Princeton didn't remain his career-high for very long as he tallied three goals and added two assists to lead Hopkins to the 9-8 win over Syracuse.
I'm Honored: Kevin Boland was named the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse.com and AllLacrosse America.com National Player of the Week for his effort in the win over Syracuse.
Go Figure: Kevin Boland's three goals against Syracuse were one more than he had scored in his previous 14 career games combined.
More Figure: With two goals and one assist in the win over Villanova and two more assists in the win over Ohio State, Kevin Boland is third on the team in scoring with 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points. Last season, he had one goal and six assists for seven points in 12 games.
For Comparison's Sake: Kevin Boland has not started a game yet this season and already has 19 points in eight games. His 19 points in eight games this season are already more than any non-starter had throughout the entire 2001 season.
Something About Number One: In three career games against teams ranked number one in the nation, Kevin Boland has four goals and five assists for nine points.
Muir of a Good Thing: One of the most athletic and versatile players on the team, junior Tim Muir (Collingdale, PA/Episcopal) tallied seven goals and three assists in 10 games last season. This season, Muir is anchoring Hopkins' defensive midfield unit. He currently has 21 ground balls to his credit and is helping Hopkins hold the opposition to 8.00 goals per game. He had a career-high five ground balls against Ohio State.
Shawn, Brandon, and Brendan Who: Last season, seniors Shawn Nadelen, Brandon Testa, and Brendan Shook started on close defense and anchored a unit which allowed an average of exactly nine goals per game. Despite losing the three, who all earned All-America honors as least once in their career, the Blue Jays have allowed an average of just 8.00 goals per game through eight games.
One Good Switch Deserves Another: Sophomore Corey Harned (Holbrook, NY/Sachem) was a standout attackman in high school, played short-stick defensive middie last season, and is listed as Hopkins' top long stick defensive middie this season. He picked up a career-high seven ground balls in the win over Villanova and currently ranks second on the team with 29 ground balls through eight games.
Long in the Tooth: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) entered the season having played in 32 games with four starts to his credit. The next four players listed as close defenders (Michael Peyser, Dan DiPietro, Chris Watson, Tom Garvey) entered the season having played in a total of 26 games with one start.
Holding Them Down: P.J. DiConza held Princeton sophomore attackman Ryan Boyle to just one goal in the win over the Tigers, and that came with less than a minute to play in regulation.
More Holding: P.J. DiConza held Syracuse sophomore attackman Mike Powell to just one assist in the win over the Orangemen. Powell entered the game with 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in four games.
The Numbers Don't Lie: P.J. DiConza was enjoying a standout season as Hopkins' long stick middie before being lost for the season with a knee injury prior to the game against Maryland last year. Johns Hopkins had not allowed more than 10 goals and was allowing an average of just 7.3 goals per game before his injury. After he was lost for the year, the Blue Jays did not hold an opponent to less than 10 goals in any game and allowed an average of 11.4 goals per game in their final five games. Since the beginning of the 2001 season, Johns Hopkins has allowed more than 10 goals in a game that P.J. DiConza has played in just twice.
Coming Full Circle: Junior Mike Peyser (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor) arrived at Hopkins as a close defenseman and spent most of his freshman year playing there. He even earned a start against Maryland on close defense as a rookie. Last season, he played the first seven games of the season as a short stick defensive middie before playing the rope the final five games of the season after P.J. DiConza was lost for the year with an injury. This season, he's back as a starter on close defense and held Princeton's Sean Hartofilis to no goals on 11 shots in the win over the Tigers. He also held Syracuse attackman Josh Coffman to just one goal in the win over the Orangemen. Through eight games, he currently has 22 ground balls to his credit. He had 20 ground balls all of last season.
For Pete's Sake: Freshman Peter LeSueur (Garden City, NY/Garden City) posted the first multi-goal game of his career with two goals in the game against Virginia.
More Pete: Peter LeSueur picked up two more goals and added an assist in the win over Albany for his first career three-point game.
Another Pete: Peter LeSueur posted the first four-point game of his career with a two-goal, two-assist showing against Villanova and added one goal and one assist in the win over Ohio State. He now has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points.
A Final Pete: In the first four games of the season, Peter LeSueur scored three goals and added three assists and JHU averaged 8.00 goals per game. In the last four games, Peter LeSueur has six goals and four assists and JHU has averaged 11.0 goals per game.
Barrie Ball: After being held scoreless against Syracuse, freshman attackman Kyle Barrie (Narberth, PA/The Haverford School) bounced back with the first multi-point game of his career against Virginia as he registered one goal and one assist.
More Barrie Ball: Kyle Barrie posted the first three-point game of his career with a one-goal, two-assist effort in the win over Albany.
When 12 Equals 3: Johns Hopkins has scored a season-high 12 goals twice this season. In both instances (vs. North Carolina and Ohio State) Kyle Barrie has scored three goals. Against UNC, he scored three of Hopkins' first seven goals and assisted on another in the first 35 minutes of the game. The three goals and four points were both career highs. Against Ohio State, he scored twice during an opening 7-0 run and also scored the final goal of the game.
Notice a Trend: Through the first four games of the season, Kyle Barrie scored three goals and added one assist and JHU averaged 8.00 goals per game. In the last four games, Kyle Barrie has eight goals and five assists and JHU has averaged 11.0 goals per game.
Elementary My Dear Watson: Freshman Chris Watson (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown) has wasted little time establishing himself as the cornerstone of the JHU defense for the future. He has started all eight games and is helping lead a JHU defense that is allowing just 8.00 goals per game. He has 16 ground balls on the year, including a personal-best four in the win over UNC.
More Elementary: Chris Watson scored a 1590 on his SATs.
Putting Out the (Offensive) Fire: Freshman defenseman Tom Garvey (Garden City, NY/Garden City), who has served as a junior firefighter in his hometown of Garden City, NY, has been a key member of a Johns Hopkins defense that has kept opposing offenses to a mere smolder through eight games. Garvey, who is seeing extended playing time at the rope, has helped JHU hold teams to an average of just 8.00 goals per game and has eight ground balls on the year.
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