TOWSON, MD – Third-seeded Johns Hopkins never trailed when the clock was moving in Sunday's NCAA Quarterfinal matchup against sixth-seeded Virginia.  Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, when the clock stopped for the final time in the middle of the second overtime, it was after the Cavaliers had struck for the deciding goal as Connor Shellenberger worked his left hand free on the wing and fired home the game-winning goal to propel Virginia into next week's NCAA Semifinals.
 
The Blue Jays, who led 4-0 early, had turned a 7-7 tie into a 10-7 lead with three goals in a three-minute span late in the third quarter.  Garrett Degnon scored the first and third of those three goals, the second on an extra-man, and Johnathan Peshko added the middle strike – all three of those goals were assisted by graduate student Jacob Angelus.
 
But the Cavaliers would force overtime by outscoring the Blue Jays 3-0 in the final period.  A Jack Boyden goal off a scramble at the 10:21 mark made it 10-8 and Payton Cormier struck in transition four minutes later to make it a one-goal game.  The one goal lead held until the 2:59 mark, when a McCabe Millon goal on the crease was upheld by video replay to force the second tie of the game.
 
The Blue Jays withstood a late man-down situation at the end of regulation to help force extra time and Virginia backup goalie Kyle Morris was equal to offerings from Matt Collison and Russell Melendez in the first overtime to force the second.
 
In the second extra period, the Blue Jays won the faceoff and had a shot by Peshko blocked before the Cavaliers forced a turnover and quickly cleared.  Out of a timeout, Shellenberger started with possession, drifted across the top of the box and drove the ally to the left of Blue Jay goalie Chayse Ierlan; when he reached the goal line, he rolled back and got just enough separation from his defender to bring an end to the sixth overtime game between the two teams since 2012.
 
Early on, the Blue Jays had jumped out quickly as they scored four times before the game was seven minutes old.  An extra-man strike from Melendez jump-started the opening spree and Degnon added one just 16 seconds later off a nice skip pass from Jacob Angelus.
 
The two-goal lead held for just under three minutes, then doubled in a 10-second span.  Melendez swept the top and beat Virginia starting goalie Matthew Nunes low from 14 yards out at the 8:34 mark and freshman Quintan Kilrain added his first career goal 10 ticks later in an unsettled situation off the ensuing faceoff.
 
Virginia answered with back-to-back goals of its own in a 46-second span as Boyden and Shellenberger got the Cavaliers on the board less than 90 seconds after the Kilrain strike.
 
The Cavaliers would pull within one (5-4) on back-to-back Millon goals that bridged the first and second quarters, but the Blue Jays answered with a transition goal from Angelus and another one from Melendez to grab a 7-4 lead midway through the second quarter.
 
A Boyden extra-man strike late in the first half jump-started a three-goal Cavalier run that pulled UVA even with just over nine minutes showing on the third quarter clock.  Five minutes later, Degnon ignited the three-goal spurt that gave the Blue Jays the 10-7 lead they would carry into the fourth quarter.
 
The Cavaliers had several great chances in the third and fourth quarter to score more than the five goals they managed in the second half, but Ierlan was spectacular.  He posted eight of his 15 saves in the second half and made several point-blank saves to keep the Blue Jays alive.
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Melendez scored a season and team-high four goals – it was his eighth hat trick as a Blue Jay.
• Degnon extended his school-record goal-scoring streak to 46 games with his three goals today.
• Angelus has one goal and five assists for a game-high six points.
• The Blue Jays were 3-for-4 on extra-man.
• Ierlan finished with the 15 saves for his fifth game of the season with 15+.
 
Inside the Box Score – Virginia
• Millon (3g, 3a), Shellenberger (3g, 1a) and Boyden (3g) combined for nine of Virginia's 11 goals on the day.
• Morris came on early in the first quarter and finished with eight saves, including the two overtime stops.
• Anthony Ghobriel was 12-of-20 at the X and Virginia was 16-of-26 on the day.
 
Notes of Interest
• Degnon's three goals marked his school-record 12^th hat trick of the season.  He had been tied for the record of 11 with Jack Thomas (1974) and Brian Piccola (1995).
• Degnon finishes his career ranked second in school history in goals (162) and 15^th in points (182).
• Angelus became the 12^th player in school history to reach the 200 career point mark as his six points today give him 201.  He finished 12^th on JHU career points list.
• Angelus' five assists five him 125 in his career, which is good for second on JHU's career list.
• Ierlan finishes the season with 199 saves, which is the sixth-best single-season total in school history.