Sixty-six seconds. That?s how long it took Johns Hopkins to turn a downtrodden season into one filled with optimism.
In a little more than a minute, the 15th-ranked Blue Jays turned a one-goal lead early in the third quarter into a three-goal advantage when Stephen Peyser and Michael Doneger blasted shots past Maryland goalie Jason Carter.
Johns Hopkins? outburst was the decisive blow in its season-saving 10-4 victory over seventh-ranked Maryland in front of a crowd of 8,626 on a sun-swept afternoon at Homewood Field.
For Johns Hopkins, it transformed from a team that had sunk further than any team since the Blue Jays began flinging lacrosse balls 125 years ago to a squad very much alive to defend its national title.
The Blue Jays (4-5), who ended a five-game losing streak ? the longest in school history ? joined several area teams on the cusp of earning a spot in the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
» Loyola (6-4)
The Blue Jays had the week?s biggest win, but 19th-ranked Loyola?s 11-9 victory over fourth-ranked Georgetown was a close second. Loyola senior Shane Koppens scored five times and added two assists to move his team to within one league victory? either at Fairfield (3-7) on Saturday or at Hobart (5-5) on April 26 ? of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year by winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
“Last year we got the Syracuse win and we go and lose to Rutgers,” Koppens said. “The biggest game is the next game we play.”
» UMBC (8-3)
Eleventh-ranked UMBC also posted a huge victory on Saturday. The Retrievers? Ryan Smith scored a career-high five times and added three assists in a 14-10 victory over Albany in an America East game. It was the Retrievers? seventh straight victory, it?s second-longest streak since becoming a Division I team in 1999.
The win clinched the Retrievers a spot in the four-team conference tournament, but avictory over visiting Harford on Saturday would give UMBC home-field advantage throughout the tournament in which the victor earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
» Maryland (7-4)
Maryland still has a great chance to earn one of the nine at-large spots in the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins have victories over Georgetown (7-3), North Carolina (7-4) and Virginia (10-2) ? all of whom entered the weekend ranked in the top eight ? but must finish the season strong. Maryland hosts Penn (5-5) on Saturday before playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on April 25 and 27 in Charlottesville, Va. The Terrapins, who likely need to win two of their remaining games to secure a spot, close the regular season against Yale (3-7) at Byrd Stadium.
» Navy (9-3)
Navy, however, took a step back this weekend. The sixth-ranked Midshipmen ended a 13-game winning streak over 13th-ranked Army (8-3) dating to 1997 with a 9-6 loss to the Black Knights in West Point., N.Y. The Midshipmen squandered a golden opportunity to greatly improve their standing to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament and host the Patriot League Tournament.
Navy finishes its regular season by hosting Johns Hopkins ? a team it hasn?t defeated since 1974 ? on Saturday at noon before competing in the Patriot League Tournament.
“There?s a lot of lacrosse left for us and maybe it?ll be a lesson for us,” Navy coach Richie Meade told reporters on Saturday. “You have to come out and play each and every game.”
