Johns Hopkins has its swagger back.
The No. 8 Blue Jays stormed back from a seven-goal deficit to defeat No. 10 Virginia 15-13 at Klockner Stadium on Saturday, their fifth straight win since a loss to North Carolina dropped them to 1-2 on Feb. 23. Since then, Johns Hopkins has steamrolled rivals Princeton and Syracuse, handled UMBC and Delaware, and now demonstrated remarkable resolve in a comeback victory over the Cavaliers—the Blue Jays’ second straight in the series.
Johns Hopkins trailed 9-2 at halftime but owned the second half, starting the third quarter on a 6-0 run, cutting its deficit to one goal, 9-8, with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Dox Aitken appeared to give Virginia the breathing room it needed at the end of the third quarter, scoring back-to-back goals on helpers by Kraus to give the Cavaliers an 11-8 lead at the 1:24 mark. But Blue Jays specialist Hunter Moreland won the ensuing faceoff and immediately scored an unassisted goal to close out the third quarter and ignite a seven-goal run stretching into the fourth.
COMEBACK COMPLETE: @jhumenslacrosse rallies from down 8-1 to shock @UVAMensLax 15-13 at Klockner. Check out these #SCTop10 worthy goals down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/AnxbGppKgV
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 24, 2018
Joel Tinney’s goal with 3:53 left in the game capped the 7-0 run by the Blue Jays and gave Johns Hopkins a 15-11 lead. Two late Virginia goals made for the final margin.
It marked the biggest comeback in the Blue Jays long and illustrious history. Johns Hopkins previously erased six-goal deficits against Syracuse in 2005 and Virginia in 2017. The Blue Jays limited the Cavaliers to just 12 second-half shots after they peppered Johns Hopkins goalie Brock Turnbaugh with 27 shots in the first 30 minutes
Kyle Marr led Johns Hopkins with four goals and one assist. Tinney added two goals and three assists. Cole Williams, a sophomore enjoying a breakthrough season, and Connor DeSimone, a freshman, added three goals apiece. Shack Stanwick finished with a goal and an assist to extend his scoring streak to 56 games, tying Terry Riordan (1992-95) for the school record.
The Blue Jays offense is humming right now. They’ve scored at least 13 goals in five straight games, the first time that has happened since 2015.
“They certainly proved in that second half that they could light up the land,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 1 Albany 13, UMass-Lowell 6
No. 17 Syracuse 15, No. 2 Duke 14
No. 3 Maryland vs. No. 19 North Carolina – 10 p.m. ET
No. 5 Denver 11, Towson 10 (OT)
No. 6 Yale 16, Princeton 8
No. 20 Bucknell 12, No. 7 Loyola 8
No. 8 Johns Hopkins 15, No. 10 Virginia 13
No. 9 Villanova 13, Fairfield 12 (OT)
No. 11 Rutgers 15, Delaware 10
Cornell 20, No. 12 Penn 13
St. John’s 9, No. 13 Hofstra 8
Navy 10, No. 14 Lehigh 7
Colgate 8, No. 15 Army 6
Marquette 9, No. 16 Georgetown 8 (OT)
No. 18 Harvard 10, Dartmouth 8