The Game
• Johns Hopkins (2-0) welcomes North Carolina (1-0) to Homewood Field for the second of three games in a tough eight-day stretch for the Blue Jays. Faceoff is set for 5:02 pm on Tuesday, February 14. The game will air live on ESPNU.
When Last We Saw Them
• Johns Hopkins picked up perhaps its biggest win of the Peter Milliman era as the Blue Jays rallied past then third-ranked Georgetown, 13-12, last Saturday.
• North Carolina played its 2023 season opener on Friday, February 10 and the Tar Heels breezed past Mercer, 25-3.
The Facts
• This is the 136th season of Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse. JHU first fielded a team in 1883.
• Johns Hopkins enters this week's game with an all-time record of 1,006-364-15 (.732).
• Johns Hopkins is the only men's lacrosse program in the nation with 1,000 or more all-time victories. The Blue Jays picked up the program's 1,000th victory with an 11-10 win over Loyola on February 19, 2022.
• JHU owns 44 national championships with nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA crowns to its credit.
Randomly Speaking
• A win over UNC would give JHU its first 3-0 start since 2017, when the Blue Jays started 4-0.
• A win over UNC would give Hopkins three straight wins against teams ranked in the top 20 to open the season (#17 Jacksonville/#3 Georgetown/#19 North Carolina).
• The last time JHU won three straight games against teams ranked in the top 20 was in 2018, when JHU topped 15th-ranked Ohio State (6-5), second-ranked Maryland (13-10) and 12th-ranked Georgetown (10-9/OT).
Poll Position
• Johns Hopkins jumped to ninth in the USILA Coaches Poll and sixth in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll after opening the season with wins against then 17th-ranked Jacksonville and then third-ranked Georgetown.
• North Carolina is ranked 19th in the USILA Coaches Poll and 19th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll when referencing JHU's official ranking at the time of a game.
500th Top 20 Ranking
• After being listed as receiving votes in the USILA Preseason Poll, the Blue Jays made the jump to ninth in this week's poll.
• The number nine ranking marks the 500th time in school history that JHU has appeared in the top 20 of the USILA Poll (poll debuted in 1973 and this week's poll is the 519th issued).
For What it's Worth
• Johns Hopkins is the only team in the nation with two wins over top 20 teams thus far this season. The Blue Jays hold wins over Jacksonville (15th in USILA Poll / 15th in IL Media Poll) and Georgetown (8th in USILA Poll / 12th in IL Media Poll).
Series History
• Johns Hopkins and North Carolina are meeting for the 51st time in a series that dates to a 16-9 Johns Hopkins victory in the NCAA Quarterfinals on May 18, 1977.
• JHU leads the all-time series 26-24, although the Tar Heels have won two straight and eight of the last 10 matchups.
• A complete look at the series history can be found on page 13 of the PDF version of these notes.
Against the ACC
• This week's game against North Carolina will be the 232nd all-time for Johns Hopkins against a team currently in the ACC.
• Johns Hopkins is 134-95-2 (.584) all-time against current ACC members.
• Johns Hopkins has played 52 all-time NCAA Tournament games against current ACC teams. The Blue Jays are 28-24 all-time in the NCAAs against the five teams currently competing in the ACC.
The Win vs. #3 Georgetown
• Last Saturday's 13-12 win over third-ranked Georgetown marked the highest-ranked team Johns Hopkins has beaten since the Blue Jays topped then second-ranked Maryland, 16-11, on April 27, 2019.
• The win against the Hoyas was also Hopkins' first win over a top five team since May 2, 2019, when the Blue Jays topped then fifth-ranked Maryland, 12-7, in the B1G Semifinals.
• Prior to the win against the third-ranked Hoyas, Johns Hopkins' last win against a top 10 team came on May 6, 2021 when the Blue Jays topped then sixth-ranked Rutgers, 12-10, in the B1G Semifinals.
Against Number Three
• Since the USILA began issuing a weekly poll in 1973, Johns Hopkins has played 44 all-time games against teams ranked number three in the nation (including the win against Georgetown).
• The Blue Jays improved to 28-16 all-time against teams ranked third in the USILA poll with the win against the Hoyas.
Home Openers
• The Blue Jays improved to 2-1 in home openers under head coach Peter Milliman with the win against the Hoyas and are now 8-3 in their last 11 home openers.
• Taking it back farther, Johns Hopkins is 19-5 in home openers in this century (2000-2023).
On This Date
• This week's game against North Carolina will be just the second for Johns Hopkins on February 14. The Blue Jays won their only previous game played on February 14 early in the 2015 season when they topped Villanova, 13-10.
In February
• This week's game against North Carolina will be the 54th all-time for Johns Hopkins in the month of February.
• JHU is 35-18 (.660) all-time in games played in the month of February.
• Johns Hopkins played its first game in the month of February in 1998, didn't play again in February until 2004 and has now played at least one game in the opening month of the season every year since 2006.
Balanced Scoring
• Johns Hopkins got goals from nine different players and points from 11 different players in the 12-7 season-opening win at Jacksonville and then had six different goal-scorers and nine players notch at least one point in the win over Georgetown.
• The Blue Jays' balanced scoring sheet already includes seven players with two or more goals and six with four or more points.
• Leading the way for the Jays in the early season are Jacob Angelus (2g, 6a), Johnathan Peshko (4g, 1a), Russell Melendez (4g, 1a), Dylan Bauer (3g, 2a), Garrett Degnon (4g) and Brendan Grimes (2g, 2a).
First Strikes for Chauvette, Phillips, Deans and Collison
• Juniors Cameron Chauvette and Patrick Deans and sophomore Stuart Phillips all scored the first goals of their career in the win against Jacksonville, while freshman Matt Collison added his first career goal in the win over Georgetown.
• Chauvette, Deans and Phillips all scored during a game-ending 7-2 run that turned a 5-5 tie into the 12-7 victory at Jacksonville. Deans and Chauvette scored the first two of those seven goals and Phillips added the seventh goal of the run.
• Collison's first career goal came with 10:50 remaining in the fourth quarter of the win against Georgetown and ignited a five-goal run that turned an 11-8 deficit into a 13-11 lead.
Causing Trouble
• Johns Hopkins set a program single-season record in 2022 as the Blue Jays averaged 7.63 caused turnovers per game. This came one year after the Blue Jays had set a record by averaging 6.92 CTs per game in 2021.
• Among returning players, senior Beaudan Szuluk (21 CTs) and juniors Scott Smith (18) and Brett Martin (11) all totaled more than 10 caused turnovers last season, while graduate transfer Alex Mazzone had 20 CTs at Georgetown in 2022.
Strength of Schedule
• The Blue Jays' 15 regular season opponents combined to post a 160-82 (.661) record in 2022 with JHU's 10 non-conference opponents rolling up a 107-53 (.669) record. In addition, seven of the 15 qualified for the NCAA Tournament with two of those teams advancing to championship weekend.
Offensive Notes of Interest
• Since the start of the 2022 season, the Blue Jays are 8-1 when they score 11 or more goals.
• In eight quarters this season, the Blue Jays have scored two or more goals in six quarters and four or more in four quarters.
Defensive Notes of Interest
• JHU allowed just 12 extra-man goals (on 35 chances) in 2022. The 12 EMO goals allowed are the fewest by a Blue Jay team since 2016, when Hopkins allowed just 11 (of 33 chances).
• Johns Hopkins was 5-0 last season and is 10-0 under head coach Peter Milliman and defensive coordinator Jamison Koesterer when holding the opposition to 10 goals or less. This includes the season-opening 12-7 win at Jacksonville.
Addtional Information in PDF Version Above
