March 22, 2008

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Brian Carroll's second goal of the game with 7.7 seconds remaining in overtime lifted the second-ranked Virginia men's lacrosse team to a 13-12 win over sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins before a Klockner Stadium record crowd of 7,579 Saturday afternoon. Virginia, which will likely take over the top spot in the national rankings after Duke's 11-7 loss at Georgetown earlier today, improves to 9-0, while Johns Hopkins dropped its third straight game in overtime and slips to 3-3. This is the first time Johns Hopkins has ever played three straight overtime games.

Hopkins won the opening faceoff in overtime, but turned the ball over 90 seconds into the extra session. After the Blue Jays forced a turnover it was Virginia that backed up a Stephen Peyser shot and cleared with just over a minute remaining. Hopkins again forced a turnover, but an offsides on the clear gave the ball back to Virginia with 29 seconds remaining and Carroll fired home the game-winner 21 seconds later to give the Cavaliers their third straight win in the series.

The Blue Jays trailed 9-8 entering the fourth quarter, but rallied to take a 12-11 lead with just over three minutes remaining. A Mark Bryan goal just under minutes into the final period drew the Blue Jays even at 9-9, only to have Virginia's Shamel Bratton give the Cavaliers a 10-9 lead when he scored off an ally dodge with 7:38 on the clock. The Blue Jays answered with back-to-back goals by Brian Christopher and Paul Rabil to take an 11-10 lead with 4:02 remaining, but Garrett Billings fired one home 40 seconds later from an impossible angle along the goal line. Hopkins needed just 15 seconds to grab what would be its final lead of the game as Rabil grabbed the ground ball off the faceoff and found Tom Duerr cutting to the net from behind the goal. Duerr beat Virginia's Adam Ghitelman from the doorstep to make it 12-11.

Virginia's Ben Rubeor forced overtime when he surprised Blue Jay goalie Michael Gvozen with a sneaky shot through a partial screen from 12 yards out to the far post with 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Virginia had the final possession in regulation, but Gvozden came up with a save with 20 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers couldn't generate another shot before the horn sounded. That set the stage for an overtime that featured four turnovers and three shots, including Carroll's game-winner.

Virginia carried a 6-5 lead into the half as UVa got a goal from Carroll with just five seconds remaining in the second quarter to snap a 5-5 tie. The Blue Jays led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, only to have Virginia score three goals in the first 4:40 of the second period to take a 5-3 lead. Shamel Bratton jump-started the spree when he slipped inside a defender and scored from eight yards out at the 13:36 mark. An extra-man goal from Billings just over three minutes later and a Rubeor goal 10 seconds after that gave the Cavaliers the two-goal lead.

The Blue Jays answered with back-to-back goals from Rabil. He pulled the Blue Jays to within 5-4 as he beat Mike Timms with a swim move near the top of the box and beat Ghitelman upstairs and than added an extra-man goal off an assist from Steven Boyle three minutes later to tie the game with just over two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Carroll gave UVa the one-goal halftime lead just seconds before intermission when he took a pass at the top of the box from Glading and ripped one home from 12 yards.

Peyser knotted the game at 6-6 just over two minutes into the third quarter, but Steve Giannone and Rhamel Bratton scored in a four-minute span midway through the period to give the Cavaliers another two-goal lead. Peyser added his second goal of the game with 3:06 left in the quarter and Matt Dolente scored right off the faceoff six seconds later to tie the game. Shamel Bratton's unassisted goal with 1:15 remaining in the period gave the Cavaliers the 9-8 lead at the end of three and set the stage for a wild fourth quarter and overtime.