April 15, 2005

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- On a team that is led by a senior class that has tasted regular season defeat just three times, it was a trio of freshmen that led the way offensively in the 101st Hopkins-Maryland game, Kevin Huntley, Paul Rabil and Stephen Peyser combined for seven goals and two assists and sophomore goalie Jesse Schwartzman registered 17 saves as the Blue Jays knocked off the Terrapins, 11-6 before 10,117 at Byrd Stadium Friday night.

Hopkins (9-0) jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minuts of the game as seniors Kyle Harrison and Kyle Barrie sandwiched goals around a Peyser tally. Harrison's goal came just 37 seconds into the game, while Peyser's and Barrie's goals came less than two minutes apart late in the period. Barrie, who was making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury against Virginia on March 26, scored off an assist from Huntley just six seconds into a Blue Jay extra man opportunity.

Maryland fought back to tie the game with a three-goal run that took less than four minutes of playing time. Brendan Healy's 12th goal of the season trimmed the deficit to 3-1 with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter and Joe Walters and Xander Ritz scored back-to-back unassisted goals just 85 seconds apart early in the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3.

The Blue Jays took the lead for good on back-to-back goals by Jake Byrne and Huntley. Byrne's goal at the 11:26 mark of the second quarter came off a great individual effort by junior Greg Peyser, who forced a turnover in his defensive end, scooped up the ground ball and raced the length of the field before finding Byrne, who blew a shot past Maryland goalie Harry Alford. Huntley's goal just over two minutes later off an assist from Harrison completed a tic-tac-toe that started at the top of the box with Rabil feeding Harrison, who found Huntley. Huntley wasted little time beating a defenseless Alford to make it 5-3 at halftime.

The Terps pulled with one for the final time just 1:59 into the third quarter when Dave Matz fired home a rebound to make it 5-4. Schwartzman saved the original shot, but failed to control the rebound. Matz picked the rebound out of the air and shot all in one motion for his fourth goal of the season.

The freshman trio then took over as they accounted for the first three goals in a 6-1 Hopkins run that put the game away. Huntley dodged from behind the goal and beat Alford to jump-start the run at the 9:26 mark of the third quarter, while Rabil spun past a defender to the right of the goal and blistered a shot just under the cross bar five minutes later. Peyser added his second goal of the game off an assist from senior Matt Rewkowski with 2:55 remaining and Rabil threaded a pass through traffic to senior Peter LeSueur on the crease and LeSueur beat Alford on the doorstep to make it 9-4 at the end of the third quarter.

A Maryland goal by Maxwell Ritz just 28 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Terps life, but Rabil added his second goal five minutes later and Huntley pushed the lead to 11-5 with 5:30 remaining with his third goal. Maryland's Bill McGlone closed out the scoring with a late goal to account for the final scoring.

The three-goal effort is the third for Huntley in the last five games and push his season total to 14. Rabil's two goals push his team-leading total to 15, while his three points move him into second on the team in scoring with 20 points. Peyser's two goals are a career high and match his total entering the game.

Hopkins, which won its 17th straight game in the month of April and improves to 46-1 in April since 1997, held the opposition to seven goals or less for the seventh time in nine games this season. Schwartzman's 17 saves are the second-highest total of his career. Seven of his 17 saves came in the fourth quarter, when Maryland outshot the Blue Jays, 13-4. Seniors Chris Watson and Tom Garvey and junior Matt Pinto anchored the defense, which allowed just 22 shots through three quarters.

Maryland (5-5) got a goal and an assist from Walters, Matz and Xander Ritz, but struggled to produce quality scoring opportunities in the third quarter when the Blue Jays took control of the game.

Johns Hopkins will return to action next Saturday when the Blue Jays host Navy at 1:00 pm. Maryland will play at Fairfield in what amounts to a must-win game if the Terps want to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.