Over 10,000 Watch Hopkins Beat Rival Maryland

BALTIMORE — The way defenseman Beaudan Szuluk explained it early Saturday evening, Johns Hopkins has relied on a formula of its offense helping out when its defense needs assistance and vice versa.

The Blue Jays’ defense provided just about the maximum amount of assistance in Saturday’s 7-5 defeat of Maryland at Homewood Field to clinch an outright Big Ten regular season title.

Chayse Ierlan made 11 saves, Jacob Angelus had two goals and an assist and Garrett Degnon tacked on two goals as the Blue Jays smothered the Terrapins to complete a perfect run through the Big Ten.

“About as good a defensive effort as I can remember seeing,” Johns Hopkins coach Peter Milliman said.

The crowd of 10,458 was the largest in Division I this season and the largest at Homewood since 2004, when Hopkins won the 100th iteration of the rivalry.

Maryland closed within 6-5 with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter, and then went scoreless the rest of the way. As glaring as that was, the Terrapins (8-4, 3-2 Big Ten) managed just seven shots after their last goal.

“They slide fast and they rotate well,” said attackman Daniel Kelly, Maryland’s lone multi-goal scorer with two. “We prepared for it, so it’s on us. But you have to give them credit. They got us out of our comfort zone a little bit and they did a good job. And Ierlan, he’s a great goalie. He did his job today. We have to do better as a unit going forward. Five goals isn’t enough.”

It was Hopkins’ second consecutive regular season defeat of Maryland, ensuring the large wooden crab that serves as a traveling trophy for the series remains in Baltimore for another year.

“Nothing really trumps bringing the crab back to our facility, to our home, and I think that will probably stay as the most important takeaway of the game at the end of the day,” Milliman said. “I think there were a lot of other things on top of it, a lot of other things baked into that same day.”

Hopkins (10-3, 5-0), already assured a bye into the Big Ten semifinals entering the day, will be the top seed in the event in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jays also beat Maryland at home for the first time since 2014, snapping a five-game skid that included a meltdown in the final two minutes in 2021, the most lopsided loss in program history in 2022 and a Big Ten semifinal defeat last May.

However strong those memories were to a veteran-laden Hopkins roster, the chance to celebrate an unblemished run through the league — which came in response to consecutive one-goal losses to Syracuse and Navy — was something to savor.

“We had a step back right before we started conference play and I think it all came together after that,” Angelus said. “It was kind of a wakeup call, and we sling-shotted into conference play and we didn’t look back.”

The Blue Jays methodically built a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, with Angelus scoring twice after switches left a short stick guarding him. But Maryland caught its biggest break of the day when Degnon was called for a three-minute, full-time illegal body check penalty for making contact with Terp defenseman Colin Burlace’s head in the open field.

Maryland scored twice during the penalty, but never managed to do more than tie it when Kelly scored his second goal early in the second quarter.

“We weathered it,” Milliman said. “It had the potential to get very ugly, and to hold that group to two goals in a three-minute nonreleaseable was a good accomplishment. There were some faceoffs in there, some clears, a failed clear. A lot of things go into that. I’m glad it was early in the game and not late in the game because that might have given me a different level of anxiety.”

The Blue Jays responded with the best offensive stretch for either team on the day, cramming three goals into an 88-second stretch to take a 6-3 lead that held until halftime.

The Terps did manage a pair of even-strength goals in the third quarter, with Ryan Siracusa depositing an Eric Spanos feed to cap the opening possession of the half and George Stamos later pulling the Terps within a goal. But Hopkins offered little room to maneuver and helped make the Maryland offense look flat-footed for the rest of the game.

The Terps had scoring droughts of 12:29, 14:26 and 23:51.

“We have such a tight unit, and that’s what’s most important to us — playing tight and playing together and all as one,” Szuluk said.

Maryland’s sloppiness – some of it independent of the Hopkins defense — played a role in its demise. The Terps had a season-high 19 turnovers, including four consecutive possessions to start the fourth quarter.

“You only give up five goals, that’s pretty impressive in the shot clock era,” Maryland coach John Tillman said. “But giving up seven isn’t bad to a team as good as Hopkins. I think both teams struggled at that end and both goalies played really well. The rhythm of the game was odd in a lot of ways. Turnover-wise, I don’t think either team is going to be happy.”

While the Blue Jays could tidy up a little after 15 turnovers of their own, it didn’t really matter Saturday. That’s because their defense once again managed to stymie even the hint of an opportunity in the closing moments.

Hopkins allowed just seven goals in the fourth quarter and overtime in its five Big Ten games. Ierlan managed 14 stops in those late-game situations.

It’s a struggle picking out what’s more impressive: That Ierlan had a .667 save percentage after the third quarter in conference play, or that Hopkins allowed just 21 shots on goal in nearly 80 minutes of fourth quarter/overtime action in that span.

“We’ve tended to be better as the game progresses, just in general,” Milliman said. “Our fourth quarters are where we feel some confidence, and I don’t know if it’s a schematic difference or if you can start to feel the energy pick up or you can hear the voices from guys that we’re going to make a play when we need to or what not. I think there’s an extra focus there and an intensity that comes with it.”

And on Saturday, a conference championship — not to mention bragging rights and a big ol’ crustacean — were thrown in as part of the deal.

USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 Results

Top-ranked Notre Dame won its seventh straight game, shutting down North Carolina 14-6. The Tar Heels were playing without star freshman Owen Duffy and Liam Entenmann made 12 saves to anchor the Irish defense. Chris Kavanagh (3g, 2a) and Pat Kavanagh (2g, 4a) combined for 11 points and Devon McLane had a hat trick.

No. 6 Denver was held to a season-low seven goals, but for the third time this season won when being held to single digits, beating Providence 7-4. Malcolm Kleban made 10 saves and Alec Stathaskis won 11 of 14 faceoffs as Denver clinched the No. 1 seed for the Big East Tournament.

Graham Bundy Jr. had three goals and two assists as No. 9 Georgetown routed St. John’s 20-6. Bundy moved into third place on Georgetown’s all-time goals scored list with 146.

No. 10 Cornell finished the year unbeaten at home and clinched an Ivy League tournament berth with a 15-8 win over No. 19 Harvard. William Firth and C.J. Kirst each had two goals and three assists for Cornell and Wyatt Knust made 16 saves.

No. 18 Princeton upset rival No. 13 Penn behind a memorable game from goalie Michael Gianforcaro. Princeton’s goalie made 15 saves and put the icing on the cake with a back-handed goalie goal late in the game. Nate Kabiri led the Princeton offense with two goals and three assists.

FINISHING TOUCH

Goalie Michael Gianforcaro with the exclamation point in a 15-10 win for @TigerLacrosse over rival Penn.

Gianforcaro also made 15 saves in the win. pic.twitter.com/dEpiMAX0pH

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) April 20, 2024

No. 14 Richmond scored seven third-quarter goals to overcome a 7-5 halftime deficit and went on to beat UMass 14-12. The win improves the Spiders to 5-0 in the Atlantic 10, setting up a battle for the No. 1 seed when Richmond hosts Saint Joseph’s next Saturday. Dalton Young had two goals and four assists and Lance Madonna and Aidan O’Neil each scored three goals.

No. 15 Towson dominated Monmouth, 17-2, to post its sixth straight victory. Nick DeMaio (2g, 3a) and Mikey Weisshaar (2g, 3a) each had five points and Luke Downs made eight saves while allowing just one goal. Towson will play at Delaware on Friday night for the CAA regular season championship, but has already clinched hosting privileges for the league tournament. Delaware is leaving the CAA for the 2025-26 school year and ineligible to host conference tournaments.

Make it nine in a row for No. 16 Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks dominated St. Bonaventure 24-3, scoring the first 16 goals of the game and holding the Bonnies scoreless for over 36 minutes. Matt Bohmer led St. Joe’s with four goals and was one of 16 players with a goal.

Kevin Ellington, the nation’s save percentage leader, made 17 saves while allowing just six goals as No. 17 Delaware handled Drexel 13-6. JP Ward had three goals and four assists and Mike Robinson had four goals.

No. 20 Colgate made it a four-way tie for first place in the Patriot League with an 18-8 win over Holy Cross. Michael Minicus had a career-high nine points, scoring five goals with four assists, and Rory Connor had six scores and two helpers.

Notable

Lehigh rallied from five goals down in the third quarter to beat Boston University 13-12 in overtime to remain in a tie for first place in the Patriot League. Dakota Eierman scored the game-winner for Lehigh’s only lead of the day. Scott Cole led the Mountain Hawks, who have now won three straight games, with four goals.

Michigan held on to beat rival Ohio State 13-12 in Columbus to set up a rematch in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament. The Wolverines snapped a three-game losing streak and as the No. 4 seed will host No. 5 seed Ohio State next Saturday. Michigan led by six goals in the fourth quarter before the Buckeyes staged a furious rally, including three goals in a span of just 26 seconds with a little over a minute to play. Michgian goalie Hunter Taylor came out of the crease to pick up a loose ball to help the Wolverines run out the clock. Ryan Cohen and Isaac Aronson each scored three times for Michigan. 

Bryant picked up a key America East win with a 17-11 victory at Binghamton. Bryant, Binghamton, UMBC and Vermont are all 4-2 in the league, one-half game behind UAlbany which plays at Merrimack tomorrow. Only the top four teams make the league tourney. Aidan Goltz had six goals for Bryant and Scott Einarson made a career-high 17 saves.

Jacksonville moved into a tie for first place in the ASUN with a 10-9 overtime victory at Air Force. Jacksonville scored three goals in the final 5:15 of regulation to force overtime and Anthony Caputo scored the winner. Jacob Greiner had three goals and two assists for the Dolphins. Air Force’s Jake Marek made 19 saves.