A fourth-quarter melee provided the turning point for Johns Hopkins, which defeated Ohio State 6-5 in a defensive slugfest Thursday to advance to the Big Ten championship game in Ann Arbor, Mich. Alex Concannon scored the game-winning goal off a twice-deflected feed that fortuitously found his stick with 11 seconds remaining.
Trailing 5-4 with less than 10 minutes remaining, the Blue Jays got a big man-down save from goalie Brock Turnbaugh, who fled up the field with the ball. As Turnbaugh approached midfield near the substitution box, Buckeyes attackman Colin Chell pushed him from behind for a penalty. Turnbaugh hit the turf, and then tempers flared. Both benches cleared and two players — Ohio State’s Christian Feliziani and Johns Hopkins’ Daniel Jones — were ejected.
Tempers flare between @OhioState_MLAX and @jhumenslacrosse in the fourth quarter. Buckeyes lead 5-4 with under 9 minutes left. pic.twitter.com/4Wa8TScFRQ
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2018
This time, the Blue Jays went man-up and Buckeyes goalie Josh Kirson came up with the stop. But defensive midfielder Ryan Terefenko, serving the penalty for Chell, left the box early, an illegal procedure that gave Johns Hopkins another extra-man opportunity. Kyle Marr (three goals) converted, finishing off a Concannon feed to tie the game at 5 with 7:52 remaining.
The score stayed that way until the final minute. The Blue Jays drew a shot clock violation with 32 seconds left, but long-stick midfielder Robert Kuhn intercepted a clearing pass by Ohio State defenseman Erik Evans to give Johns Hopkins the last shot.
After a Blue Jays timeout, midfielder Joel Tinney tried to feed attackman Shack Stanwick on the crease. The pass was deflected in the air, then bounced off Marr’s stick and landed with Concannon about 10 yards out. Concannon grabbed the ball out of the air, cradled back and stuck a left-handed into the lower-right part of the goal to seal the game.
WHAT A SEQUENCE. After the ball pops in the air twice, Alex Concannon grabs it and fires home the game-winner to send @jhumenslacrosse to the @bigten final with a 6-5 win over @OhioState_MLAX pic.twitter.com/SYYjqIbRGQ
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2018
Ohio State won the ensuing faceoff and Jack Jasinski got off a long-range shot at the buzzer, but Turnbaugh corralled it for his 16th save to preserve the hard-fought win.
Johns Hopkins (10-4), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will meet No. 1 seed and two-time defending conference champion Maryland in the Big Ten final Saturday. The longtime rivals met just last week in a triple-overtime thriller won by the Terps.
“Anytime you get the Hopkins-Maryland rivalry twice in a season, it’s pretty lucky for lacrosse fans,” Turnbaugh said after Thursday’s game on the Big Ten Network.
Ohio State, which came alive in the second half of the season and had won three straight to close out the Big Ten regular season, is on the bubble for the NCAA tournament a year after advancing to the championship game. The Buckeyes (8-7) lost despite significant advantages in shots (37-17), faceoffs (11-3) and ground balls (28-15).
PHOTO BY RICHARD PATAIKIS
Maryland’s Connor Kelly comes off a screen to get free. Kelly scored two goals and added an assist in the Terps’ 12-9 win over Rutgers in the Big Ten semifinals at Michigan.
YOUNGSTERS PROPEL TERPS PAST RUTGERS
Top-seeded Maryland advanced to its third consecutive Big Ten championship game with a 12-9 victory over fourth-seeded Rutgers in Ann Arbor, Mich. Sophomore Jared Bernhardt, redshirt freshman Logan Wisnauskas and freshman Bubba Fairman did the bulk of the damage, combining for 12 points. Senior goalie Dan Morris made 12 saves.
The Terps (12-2) trailed 5-4 in the second quarter, but an extra-man goal by Louis Dubick sparked a three-goal run to close out the first half. Maryland never trailed again.
The Scarlet Knights (9-6) likely will find themselves on the outside looking in cwhen NCAA tournament selections are announced Sunday.