No. 2 Virginia Lacrosse Suffers First Loss to No. 8 Johns Hopkins 16-14
In the 20th edition of the Doyle Smith Cup and the 97th meeting between the two historic programs, it was the Blue Jays who prevailed for the first time since 2018, as No. 2 Virginia suffered its first loss of the season, falling to No. 8 Johns Hopkins 16-14 on Saturday at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville.
The story from the opening faceoff was the absence of Virginia faceoff specialist Anthony Ghobriel, who missed the game due to injury. In his first three games of the season, Ghobriel was 65.5% from the stripe, 6th best in the nation.
In his absence, the committee of Matthew DeSouza, Gable Braun, and Thomas Colucci went 14/34, awarding Johns Hopkins a significant possession advantage. Similarly, Virginia lost the ground ball battle for the first time this season 44-35.
Offensively, the Cavaliers committed a season-high 16 turnovers, another poignant reason for their first loss.
The game began with heavy transition, with goaltenders Matthew Nunes and Chayse Ierlan making big saves in the opening stages. Hopkins opened the scoring before Virginia fired back with a three-goal run with goals from Jack Boyden, Payton Cormier, and Connor Shellenberger.
With momentum at the faceoff stripe, Hopkins responded with four goals of their own, with three coming from possessions off of faceoff wins to make it 5-3.
In search of an answer, Shellenberger scored before a yard sale check by defenseman Ben Wayer, on the ride, set up a transition goal by Cormier to tie the game at five at the end of the first quarter. Offensively, Virginia was sloppy, committing four turnovers in the first quarter despite the lead.
Opening the second quarter, Virginia came alive offensively with two goals by Griffin Schutz, powered by the Cavaliers scooping up the first four ground balls of the quarter before Hopkins fired back with two goals in six seconds to tie the game at seven.
The Blue Jays scoring goals in quick succession happened multiple times, highlighting their advantage at the faceoff x and how stinging the absence of Ghobriel was for the Cavaliers.
Virginia continued to lean on Schutz as he added a goal and assist to a 3-1 run to close the first half for the Cavaliers to make it 10-8 entering the locker room. Cole Kastner added a full-field transition goal during that run, his first of the season.
With Johns Hopkins winning the faceoff battle 12-8 at the half, every possession needed to be valued.
On the defensive side, the Cavaliers made up for the faceoff struggles, forcing five turnovers in the second quarter while holding the Blue Jays scoreless in the final nine minutes of the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Johns Hopkins outscored Virginia 3-2 as Ierlan found rhythm in net for the Blue Jays with five saves as the Cavaliers struggled to get into a groove offensively.
In the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays scored three quick goals as the Cavaliers lost the first three faceoffs, allowing Johns Hopkins to get a 14-12 lead. In response, Shellenberger picked up a ground ball and drew a penalty before burying the biscuit in the basket to cut the lead to one, firing up the crowd at Klöckner Stadium.
Then, on the ensuing man-up, the Blue Jays won the faceoff. The Cavaliers pressed out in an attempt to get the ball back, but that plan backfired as they allowed Jacob Angelus to score a shorthanded goal, an absolute dagger for Virginia.
Despite this, Shellenberger refused to give up, scoring off the ensuing faceoff to cut the lead back to one, but his effort would not be enough.
As the clock ticked down, Virginia had failed to find the back of the net as Ierlan, who finished with a career-high 16 saves, denied the Cavaliers any opportunity to climb back into the game.
With under two minutes to go, Matt Collison scored his fourth goal of the day, giving the Blue Jays a two-goal lead. With less than a minute to go Virginia was unable to score, falling 16-14 to Johns Hopkins.
In the loss, Connor Shellenberger led the way for the Cavaliers with four goals and two assists, followed by Schutz and Cormier, who each had four points.
Defensively, Matthew Nunes registered a .407 save percentage, his lowest of the season. Ben Wayer shined as a bright spot in the loss, leading the team with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
After suffering their first loss of the season, Virginia (3-1) will look to bounce back with a quick turnaround against Robert Morris on Tuesday, March 5th at 4 pm at Klockner Stadium.
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