Box Score May 26, 2003
Box Score
Johns Hopkins Final Four Central | Get Your Blue Jay Gear!
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Junior goalie Tillman Johnson registered 13 saves and senior midfielder A.J. Shannon scored four goals as second-seeded Virginia knocked off top-seeded Johns Hopkins, 9-7 in front of 37,944 at M&T Bank Stadium to claim the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. Johns Hopkins had its 11-game winning streak snapped and ends the season at 14-2, while Virginia claimed its third NCAA title and finishes the season 15-2.
The Cavaliers wasted little time jumping on the Blue Jays as Shannon scored three of his goals during a 5-0 UVa run to open the game. Chris Rotelli opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 13:46 mark of the first quarter and Shannon tallied just over two minutes later off an assist from sophomore John Christmas to push the lead to 2-0.
The scored remained 2-0 for the next eight minutes before Shannon's second goal, a blast from 12 yards in front of the goal, made it 3-0. A Billy Glading goal with just two seconds remaining in the first half and another Shannon tally just 1:59 into the second quarter extended the lead to 5-0.
"We put ourselves in a hole in the first quarter and you can't do that with a team of their caliber," Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala noted at the post-game press conference. "A lot of the credit goes to Virginia. I don't want to take anything away from them, I thought they played a great game. I thought we played much better in the final three quarters, but you're not going to beat a team at this level giving them a five goal lead."
The Blue Jays finally got on the board with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter when junior Joe McDermott scored an unassisted goal. Back-to-back goals pulled Hopkins within 5-3 as Bobby Benson's 41st goal of the season, off an assist from sophomore Kyle Barrie, and Corey Harned's second goal in as many games in a span of just nine seconds gave the Blue Jays life.
Virginia's Matt Ward and Hopkins' senior midfielder Adam Doneger traded goals in the final five minutes of the second quarter to make it 6-4 at the half. Hopkins had trailed entering the half against Syracuse in the NCAA Semifinals and Pietramala believed the Blue Jays could make another comeback.
"I believe in this group and when we went in at halftime we had he fortitude and character to win this game," Pietramala stated. "We've done it before and halftime today was no different. We talked about what we had to do, what we weren't doing and made some subtle adjustments."
The Blue Jays finally pulled to within one at 6-5 on freshman Greg Peyser's unassisted goal with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter, but Virginia would score twice before the end of the period to carry an 8-5 lead into the fourth quarter. Rotelli found Christmas alone on the doorstep and he beat a defenseless Rob Scherr to made it 7-5 and Shannon's fourth goal of the game, also off a feed from Rotelli, gave the Cavaliers what proved to be an insurmountable three-goal lead.
Both teams had chances in the fourth quarter and Johnson was at his best early in the period when he made three point-blank saves in a span of less than 10 seconds. Earlier, he had robbed Barrie from in close and he kept the Blue Jays guessing throughout the game. Still, Hopkins made one final push in its quest for its first NCAA Championship since 1987.
Barrie dodged in from the side with 2:52 remaining and beat Johnson to pull the Blue Jays within 8-6, but Christmas again scored, this time with 1:59 remaining, to push the lead back to three at 9-6. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Christmas for taunting after he scored the goal gave Hopkins a man-advantage, which the Blue Jays promptly cashed in on as Doneger's second goal of the game with 1:46 remaining made it 9-7. The penalty was non-releasable and the Blue Jays could have worked their extra-man unit again, but Virginia won the ensuing faceoff and the Blue Jays never had possession again inside the Virginia zone.
Hopkins was led by Doneger's two goals, while Barrie added one goal and one assist and Conor Ford had two assists. Scherr registered 12 saves, including nine in the second and third quarters combined, when the Blue Jays climbed back in the game.
Shannon's four goals led the way for Virginia, which also got two goals and one assist from Christmas and one goal and four assists from Rotelli. The Cavaliers won 12-of-19 faceoffs and held a 46-32 advantage in ground balls. Still, it was Johnson who stole the show with his momentum-grabbing saves.
Johns Hopkins had four players named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Harned, Benson, Barrie and sophomore defenseman Tom Garvey were all honored for their efforts. Johnson, who had limited Maryland to just four goals in the NCAA Semifinals, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Rotelli, Shannon, Matt Ward and Brett Hughes joined Johnson as Virginia representatives on the all-tournament team. Maryland's Matt Howley was the only player from a team other than Hopkins or Virginia to make the team.
#2 Virginia (15-2) 4-2-2-1/9#1 Johns Hopkins (14-2) 0-4-1-2/7
Goals:
V: Shannon-4, Christmas-2, Rotelli, Glading, Ward.
J:
Doneger-2, Barrie, Benson, McDermott, G. Peyser, Harned.
Assists:
V: Rotelli-4, Christmas, Glading.
J: Ford-2, Barrie.
Saves:
V: Johnson-13.
J: Scherr-12.
EMO:
V: 1-for-2.
J: 2-for-6.
Attendance:
37,944.