Men’s Lacrosse: No. 7 Johns Hopkins hangs on to upset No. 2 Virginia, 16-14

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 7 Johns Hopkins outscored No. 2 Virginia 8-4 in the second half en route to a 16-14 victory over the Cavaliers Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. With the win, the Blue Jays laid claim to the Doyle Smith Cup for the first time since winning the regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2018.

Hopkins outmaneuvered the Cavaliers at the faceoff X, 20-14.

Virginia attackman Connor Shellenberger led all players with six points on four goals and two assists. Midfielder Griffin Schutz also had a solid outing for the Hoos as he nabbed his fourth career hat trick with three goals and an assist.

JHU’s Chayse Ierlan (5-1) recorded a game-high 16 saves in the win. UVA’s Matthew Nunes (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Nunes finished with 11 saves in 60 minutes of action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams were tied 5-5 after the end of the first, which featured two lead changes. The Blue Jays (5-1) collected 13 ground balls, while UVA only managed seven in the opening period, and the Cavaliers (3-1) recorded five turnovers.

The Blue Jays tied the game twice in the second, but could not gain a lead. Schutz’s third goal of the game came less than 2:30 into quarter No. 2. McCabe Millon’s lone goal of the game – a man-up score – capped the first-half scoring as the Hoos led 10-8 at the half.

Both teams traded two goals apiece to start the third, but Hopkins took the lead after the registering four straight scores, including the first three of the fourth quarter. After that, UVA never regained the lead.

Shellenberger ripped the Cavaliers’ only two goals of the fourth. The Blue Jays were assessed a penalty on the same sequence of Shellenberger’s first fourth-quarter goal. On the ensuing faceoff, JHU collected the ground ball and scored a minute later when the UVA defense was attempting to pressure the shorthanded Blue Jays. Six seconds later, Thomas Colucci won the draw at the center X and found Shellenberger for his fourth goal of the game, which also trimmed the Hopkins lead to 15-14. The Blue Jays found the back of the net on an unassisted goal with 1:25 to play, and a save by Ierlan along with two Cavalier turnovers hindered UVA’s ability to mount a last-minute comeback.

LARS TIFFANY ON HOPKINS’ TRANSITION GAME…
“These are tough games you love to play. You know Hopkins is pushing their transition and getting the ball up and down the field and playing aggressive. We survived a lot of their transition. We scored in quite a bit of transition. We’ve got the sun here at Klöckner, the crowd, great stuff. Let’s not take that away. The result? Feels awful. Of course it does.”

TIFFANY ON FACEOFFS AND GOALTENDING…
“It was one of those days where their faceoff game was feeling it, especially in that fourth quarter when they got those three or four in a row. Make it or take it, they’re scoring. And then the goalie play: Ierlan made a bunch of saves. To be minus six at the faceoff and minus five in the saves and then combine that with our ride.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Connor Shellenberger (4g, 2a) recorded a game-high six points. It also marked his 28th-career hat trick and first of the year.
• Griffin Schutz (3g, 1a) nabbed his fourth career hat trick.
• With the win, Johns Hopkins improved to 62-34-1 in the all-time series, including 23-17 in Charlottesville.
• For the first time this season, UVA lost the faceoff margin.
• First year McCabe Millon extended his goal streak to four games.
• Hopkins also took possession of the Doyle Smith Cup (est. 2006), which is awarded to the regular-season winner between the two teams. UVA had won the previous three meetings (2019, 2022, 2023).

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return to Klöckner Stadium on Tuesday to host Robert Morris. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. on ACCNX.