UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The naysayers will look only at the final record.  For those in that camp, here it is:  6-8.
 
As I walked from the press box across the Panzer Stadium field at Penn State to the sideline, where the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coaching staff and players were scattered, I knew there was more, much more, to the 2025 Blue Jays than that record.
 
Like all seasons that come to an end short of the ultimate goal, there were tears – a lot of them.  There were hugs, especially for the seniors and graduate students who will never put on a Johns Hopkins uniform again. 
 
The finality of the last game.  That's when it becomes real. The ending is always sudden, and painful.  For those who won't return, there's no way to prepare for that feeling.
 
For those who don't camp out among the naysayers, Saturday's game, which ended with a disappointing 13-12 Penn State victory in the Big Ten Quarterfinals, should provide excitement.  The fourth quarter, where several games had gotten away from this group of Blue Jays several times this season, was different this time.  The belief, the effort, and, for the most part, the execution were all there.
 
The Blue Jays found themselves down 11-7 at the end of the third quarter after the Nittany Lions scored the final three goals of the period.  They would need a spark and they would need it quickly.
 
Freshman Liam Burke provided exactly what they Blue Jays needed early in the final period as he wrapped a pair of goals around a Kyle Lehman strike before the period was seven minutes old, only to have Penn State's Ethan Long answer his second tally to make it 13-9 with just under seven minutes on the clock.  Just under seven minutes remaining in the game.  Just under seven minutes left in the season, perhaps.
 
The aforementioned excitement comes from those final seven minutes, when the Blue Jays struck three times in a span of just over three minutes.  Senior faceoff specialist Logan Callahan wasn't going down without a fight as he won 7-of-8 fourth-quarter faceoffs, including the last seven, and sparked the run of make-it-take-it down the stretch when sophomore Jimmy Ayers, junior Matt Collison and sophomore Chuck Rawson all scored to make it a one-goal game.  Sophomore Erik Chick assisted on the Ayers strike and junior Brooks English assisted on the Collison and Rawson goals in a span of just under 90 seconds to make it a one-goal game.
 
In case you didn't realize, six Blue Jay names are in the paragraph you just finished reading; five of those six players will return next season.

Callahan won the faceoff after Rawson's goal to give the Jays a chance to pull even for the first time since it was 6-6 late in the second quarter, but Rawson lost his footing as he swept across the top of the box a short time later and the Nittany Lions were able to grab the loose ball and kill the final 96 seconds to book a trip to Michigan for the Big Ten Semifinals.

Q4 | 8:55
PSU-12, JHU-9

Liam Burke having a day in his first B1G Tournament (2g, 2a). #GoHop #WeWantMore pic.twitter.com/WKODBmmBrE

— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) April 26, 2025

 
Thoughts of a repeat of the low-scoring affair that many expected after these same two teams combined for just 14 goals two weeks ago on the same field were gone after a first quarter that ended with the Nittany Lions leading 5-4. Penn State led by scores of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2, but back-to-back goals from Chauvette (EMO) and Rawson drew the Blue Jays even before Matt Traynor scored in the final seconds to account for the one-goal Nittany Lion lead after 15 minutes.
 
The teams would trade two-goal runs in the second quarter, the Blue Jays netting the first two in the opening five minutes and the Lions the last two in the final two minutes.  In between, it was Johns Hopkins goalie Oran Gelinas building off a five-save first quarter with three more stops in the second as the pace and scoring slowed.
 
Neither team dented the scoring column in the first six minutes of the second half, but Liam Matthews got free in the slot for the Lions and Luke Walstrum found him to make it an 8-6 game, but Chuavette answered 36 seconds later to pull the Jays within one.

Q2
JHU-6 PSU-5

OG doing OG things again. 8 saves so far for 87, including this man-down stop. #GoHop #WeWantMore pic.twitter.com/Xb4vwIEuPw

— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) April 26, 2025

 
Penn State followed with the three-goal run that gave the Nittany Lions the four-goal cushion entering the final period.  A four-goal cushion that remained unchanged after the teams split the first four goals of the final quarter.
 
Four goals down with seven minutes remaining. 
 
For the naysayers, those seven minutes ended the 2025 season.  For the rest of us, they have us excitingly looking ahead to 2026.
 
Johns Hopkins Notes
• Collison scored twice and recorded the 100^th point of his career.  He now has 70 goals and 31 assists for 101 points.
• Rawson (2g, 3a) and Burke (2g, 2a) both punched up career highs for points.
• Nine of JHU's 12 goals were assisted with Rawson (3), English (2) and Burke (2) all posting multi-assist games.
• Gelinas posted 13 saves and added a career-high five ground balls.
• Callahan was 12-of-26 with five GBS.  He ends the season at 189-of-311 (.608) with106 GBs.
• Scott Smith capped his career with two GBs and two CTs.  He finishes his career ranked second in school history in career CTs (70).
 
Penn State Notes
• Kyle Lehman paced the Nittany Lions with four goals and one assist and Walstrum added four assists.
• Traynor, Ethan Long and Jack Aimone all scored twice.
• Jack Fracyon posted eight saves in goal and Colby Baldwin was 14-of-26 at the X with eight GBs.