The Game
• The 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins (3-2) men's lacrosse team welcomes 13th-ranked Saint Joseph's (3-0) to Homewood Field for a key early-March game. Faceoff is set for 2:02 pm with a live broadcast on ESPN+.
When Last We Saw Them
• Johns Hopkins got back in the win column last Saturday (Feb. 25) as the Blue Jays topped Utah, 12-8, at Homewood Field.
• Saint Joseph's ran its season-opening winning streak to three games as the Hawks topped Providence, 19-6, at home last Saturday (Feb. 25).
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 1,007-366-15 (.731).
• 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.
Poll Position
• Johns Hopkins is ranked 15th in this week's USILA Coaches Poll and 15th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• Saint Joseph's is ranked 13th in this week's USILA Coaches Poll and 12th 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 after starting the season at 2-0.
• The number nine ranking marked the 500th time in school history that JHU has appeared in the top 20 of the USILA Poll.
• The USILA Poll debuted in 1973 and this week's poll is the 521st issued; JHU's #15 ranking this week means the Blue Jays have appeared in 502 of the 521 polls.
The Schedule - Just Sayin'
• This week's game against 13th-ranked Saint Joseph's will mark Johns Hopkins' fifth game (in six) against a team ranked in the top 20 in the nation at the time of the game.
• In all, 11 of JHU's 15 opponents on the 2023 schedule are ranked in the top 20 this week.
Series History
• Johns Hopkins and Saint Joseph's will be meeting for just the second time.
• In the previous meeting on April 21, 1999, the Blue Jays knocked off the Hawks, 31-7, at Homewood Field. The 31 goals Johns Hopkins scored that night are a program single-game record.
Against the A10
• Johns Hopkins has played just 10 games all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• The Blue Jays are 10-0 all-time against current A10 schools with five of those 10 wins coming against UMass and four against Hobart.
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 nine players with three or more goals and nine with four or more points.
• Leading the way for the Jays in the early season are Jacob Angelus (3g, 11a), Brendan Grimes (8g, 3a), Russell Melendez (5g, 3a), Matt Collison (8g), Garrett Degnon (7g), Dylan Bauer (4g, 3a) and Johnathan Peshko (5g, 1a).
Three With Hat Tricks Against Utah
• Johns Hopkins got three goals from three different players in the 12-8 win against Utah.
• Senior Ian Krampf, junior Brendan Grimes and freshman Matt Collison all scored three times against the Utes. This marked the first time Johns Hopkins has had three players with a hat trick in the same game since February 11, 2022, when Joey Epstein (6), Garrett Degnon (4) and Grimes (3) all had three+ goals at Towson.
I'm Honored
• Matt Collison was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after netting his first career hat trick in last week's 12-8 win over Utah.
• Collison now has eight goals on the year, including seven goals in the last three games. He is the first Blue Jay freshman middie to score two or more goals in three straight games since Connor DeSimone did it early in the 2018 season.
Versfeld Shines in Starting Debut
• Graduate student Gib Versfeld made the first start of his Blue Jay career in the 12-8 win over Utah and turned in a strong performance.
• Versfeld posted a career-high 15 saves, including eight in the third quarter and 12 in the second half, and added five ground balls to help fuel the victory.
• With his 15-save performance against Utah, Versfeld is just the second Johns Hopkins goalie in the last 25 years to post 15+ saves in his first career start. Prior to Versfeld, the last Blue Jay goalie with 15+ saves in his first start was Ryan Darby in 2019; prior to that, Brian Cacaterra (1997 vs. Princeton) had been the last JHU goalie to turn the trick.
Marcille With 15+ Saves in Three Straight
• Senior goalie Tim Marcille recorded his third consecutive game with 15+ saves in the 11-7 loss to 19th-ranked North Carolina as he posted 15 stops against the Tar Heels.
• The 15-save effort followed a 15-save performance in the season-opener against Jacksonville and a 16-save effort against third-ranked Georgetown.
• Marcille is the first Johns Hopkins goalie with three straight games of 15+ saves since Brian Carcaterra had 18 (Towson), 17 (Loyola) and 16 (Duke) in the final three games of the 1997 season. Marcille's streak of 15+ saves came to an end at Loyola, when he posted 13 stops in goal.
• Through games of February 26, Marcille currently ranks 11th in the nation in save percentage (.578) and 29th in goals against average (10.99).
Offensive Notes of Interest
• Since the start of the 2022 season, the Blue Jays are 9-1 when they score 11 or more goals.
• In 20 quarters this season, the Blue Jays have scored two or more goals in 13 quarters and four or more in eight 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 6-0 last season and is 11-0 under head coach Peter Milliman and defensive coordinator Jamison Koesterer when holding the opposition to 10 goals or less.
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.
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