4/19/2003 - Men's Lacrosse
Hopkins Dominates Early On To Rout Mids, 17-3
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The top-ranked Johns Hopkins lacrosse team (9-1) jumped out to a 7-1 first-quarter lead and never look back, as the Blue Jays tagged the unranked Midshipmen (5-7), 17-3, at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. Johns Hopkins, who has now won six-straight games this spring, has defeated Navy 29 consecutive times.
"I thought Johns Hopkins shot the ball exceptionally well early on," said Navy head coach Richie Meade. "This wasn't our best performance, but I thought it was because they dominated the game offensively early in the game. By the time we settled down, the deficit was too great. Johns Hopkins deserves credit. They are a very good team."
After Johns Hopkins' Kyle Harrison and Navy's Joe Bossi (Skaneateles, N.Y.) traded goals in the first-46 seconds of the game, the Blue Jays opened the flood gates, scoring seven-consecutive goals and 10 of the next 11. Sophomore attack Kyle Barrie, who produced five goals and four assists in the contest, sparked the Blue Jays when he scored an extra-man goal at the 13:16 mark in the first quarter. Back-to-back goals by junior middie Conor Ford just 39 seconds apart midway through the quarter stretched the Hopkins lead to 4-1. Barrie produced back-to-back goals just over a minute apart to boost the lead to 6-1.
Harrison's second goal of the game and a tally by senior attackman Bobby Benson made it 8-1 before Navy freshman Ian Dingman (Deferiet, N.Y.) finally stopped the run with a goal at the 9:44 mark of the second quarter off an assist from Greg Conklin (Syracuse, N.Y.). That would be as close as the Mids would get.
Barrie had a hand in back-to-back Blue Jay goals just 10 seconds a part midway through the second quarter to push his first-half scoring total to four goals and three assists. First, with the Blue Jays up a man, he fired a pass through the defense and found fellow sophomore attackman Peter LeSueur, who scored a below-the-waist, behind-the-back goal from the doorstep to make it 9-2. Hopkins won the ensuing faceoff and Ford found Barrie alone in transition to make it 10-2.
Ford and Bossi traded goals in the first three minutes of the second half before the Blue Jays ended the game with the final six goals. LeSueur and Barrie both scored once and Benson found the net twice late in the third quarter before the Blue Jays emptied the bench for the entire fourth quarter.
Barrie's five goals tied his career high, while his four assists and nine points were both personal bests. The nine points are the most for a Johns Hopkins player since Dan Denihan tied the Johns Hopkins school record with 11 points against Towson in 1999. Ford added three goals and two assists and Harrison and LeSueur chipped in with two goals and two assists each. Benson had three goals for the Blue Jays and moved into sixth place on the all-time goal-scoring list at JHU with 109.
The Johns Hopkins defense, which held its fourth-consecutive opponent to six goals or less, was led by senior goalie Rob Scherr, who registered seven saves before being lifted early in the fourth quarter. The 20 goals the Blue Jays have allowed in the last four games are the fewest over a four-game span since Hopkins held four consecutive opponents to 19 goals during the 1999 season.
Navy was led by Bossi's two goals, while Conklin chipped in with two assists. Sophomore Seth DiNola (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) made seven saves in goal for the Mids, who were outshot, 37-16. Freshman Matt Russell (Madison, Conn.) earned his first varsity action, playing the final-15 minutes of the game between the pipes. He posted a pair of saves and added three ground balls. The Blue Jays also won 14-of-24 faceoffs and won the ground ball war, 34-29. Navy had a strong performance by rookie Steve Looney (Silver Spring, Md.) who was 6-for-9 in the draw circle.
For their efforts, Barrie and Bossi were selected as the Chris Gardner Players of the Game. The award is presented at a selected Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse game each year in honor of Chris Gardner, who played lacrosse at Johns Hopkins in 1996-97 and passed away after a battle with cancer in the fall of 1997. Proceeds generated through ticket sales are also donated to the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Chris' name.
Navy plays its final regular-season game of the year next Saturday when the Mids play host to Army in the annual Star Game. Game time is slated for 12-noon and will be broadcast live by WMAR-TV Ch. 2 in Baltimore, along with the College Sports Television Network via DIRECTV on Ch. 610.
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Score by Periods
1 2 3 4 Final
Navy (5-7) 1 1 1 0 3
Johns Hopkins (9-1) 7 3 6 1 17
Individual Scoring
Goals - Navy: Joe Bossi (2), Ian Dingman. Johns Hopkins: Kyle Barrie (5), Conor Ford (3), Bobby Benson (3), Peter LeSueur (2), Kyle Harrison (2), Kyle Dowd, Scott Pratlen.
Assists - Navy: Greg Conklin (2), Jon Birsner. Johns Hopkins: Kyle Barrie (4), Conor Ford (2), Kyle Harrison (2), Peter LeSueur (2), Benson Erwin, Steve Gould, Joe McDermott.
Shots - Navy 16, Johns Hopkins 37
Saves - Navy 9 (Seth DiNola, 45:00, 16 GA, 7 Sv; Matt Russell, 15:00 1 GA, 2 Sv); Johns Hopkins 7 (Rob Scherr, 3 GA, 7 Sv)
Ground Balls - Navy 29, Johns Hopkins 34
Faceoffs - Navy 10-of-24, Johns Hopkins 14-of-24
Clears - Navy 12-of-18, Johns Hopkins 21-of-27
Extra-Man Opportunities - Navy 0-of-2, Johns Hopkins 2-of-2
Penalties - Navy 2-2:00, Johns Hopkins 2-1:00
Attendance - 3280
G-o N-a-v-y
