Nov. 10, 2010

JHU-GW Box Score in PDF Format

JHU-Princeton Box Score in PDF Format

JHU-Navy Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Johns Hopkins water polo team finished in the top four at the CWPA Southern Championship for the fifth consecutive season. The Blue Jays beat George Washington, 9-8, in the opening round before falling to #17 Princeton in the semifinals. Hopkins then faced host and 15th-ranked Navy in the third-place match.

In the opening round, Hopkins downed George Washington on a late goal from senior John Barrett. GW took an early one-goal lead, but the Blue Jays rattled off three unanswered goals and hung on late for a 9-8 triumph over the Colonials. After falling behind 3-1 after a quarter, the Colonials battled back to 5-4 at the half and 7-7 after three quarters, but the Blue Jays grabbed a 9-8 edge in the final stanza off Barrett's goal and ran off the final 45 seconds to hang on.

That set up a semifinal match-up with the Princeton Tigers. Princeton took a 2-0 lead after the first quarter, but Hopkins cut the deficit in half to start the second on a man-up goal from sophomore Alex Whittam. The teams then traded goals over the final six minutes and went into the half tied at 3-3. Coming out of the break, Hopkins took its only lead of the game on a goal from junior Mark Strickland. But it was answered by a pair from the Tigers in a 28-second span to take one-goal lead. Sophomore Ross Schofield tied the match again with is only goal of the game with 5:01 to play in the quarter. The score would remain deadlocked for more nearly six minutes until Princeton took a 6-5 lead on a man-up goal. The Blue Jays once again tied the game on a strike from sophomore Kielan Crow. But Princeton came back with three unanswered to take the 9-6 win and advance to the championship match.

Hopkins went onto face Navy in the third-place match, after the Midshipmen were upset in the semifinals by Bucknell. The match was back-and-forth over the opening quarter, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Navy scored three straight to open the second to push out to a 5-2 lead. The teams then traded goals and Navy led 6-4 with 7:30 to play in the third quarter. It was all Midshipmen from there as they closed the game on a seven-goal run.

Hopkins returns to action at the CWPA Eastern Championship, hosted by Bucknell, November 19-21. Hopkins is scheduled to face St. Francis (PA) in the first round.