Hopkins upsets Syracuse 16-15 in lacrosse tournament

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Wells Stanwick and Shack Stanwick combined for 12 points to lift Johns Hopkins to a 16-15 upset of second-seeded Syracuse in the NCAA quarterfinals Sunday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Both Stanwick brothers finished with four goals and two assists and Hopkins halted a four-game losing streak in the quarterfinal round. Wells Stanwick is a senior attackman and Shack Stanwick is a freshman attackman.

Goalie Eric Schneider made 15 saves for the Blue Jays (11-6), who advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2008 and the 29th time in school history.

Attackman Ryan Brown had two goals and two assists for Hopkins, which will race No. 6 Maryland next Saturday in the Final Four in Philadelphia. Maryland beat North Carolina 14-7 in the second quarterfinal.

''What a great game for the sport of lacrosse. It felt like old times - Hopkins and Syracuse. This used to be the last game of the year and it played like one of those games,'' Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala said. ''I'm thrilled for our men. I'm not sure words can describe how proud I am of them for getting back to the Final Four.''

Attackman Kevin Rice scored three goals and had four assists to lead Syracuse (13-3), which was seeking a 28th semifinal appearance.

Attackman Dylan Donohue had three goals and two assists for the Orange, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Midfielder Nicky Galasso and attackman Randy Staats both had a hat trick.

Trailing 7-6 at halftime, Hopkins took over the game with a 4-0 run over a five-minute stretch of the third quarter. Shack Stanwick scored off a pass from Wells Stanwick to start the decisive stretch and the younger brother returned the favor a few minutes later.

Wells Stanwick closed the period with a spectacular individual move - driving from behind the net, diving to the crease and flipping a shot past Syracuse keeper Bobby Wardwell (14 saves) to give the Blue Jays an 11-8 lead.

''You hope your seniors are going to be the ones that set the standard in this kind of game and Wells certainly did that at the offensive end,'' Pietramala said. ''In my opinion, he's been the most under-appreciated player in the country this year.''

Rice scored 43 seconds into the fourth period to cut the Syracuse deficit to two, but Hopkins responded with four consecutive goals to equal its largest lead of the game at 14-10 with 5:34 remaining. The Blue Jays led by four with 1:46 to go, but the Orange scored three times in the final minute.

Rice scored an extra-man goal with 23 seconds left to make it a one-goal game, but freshman Hunter Moreland won the ensuing faceoff for Johns Hopkins, which was able to finish off the remaining time.

''My hat is off to the Blue Jays. I thought they played an excellent game today,'' Syracuse coach John Desko said. ''I'm proud of my players for coming back the way they did. A lot of teams would have looked up at the scoreboard and said the game was over. With 30 seconds to go, we still had a shot to tie it up.''

Hopkins, which has averaged 15.1 goals during its seven-game winning streak, got even for a 13-10 regular-season loss to Syracuse.