March 12, 2009

Johns Hopkins-Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Notes in PDF Format
Additional Information Available in This Format

NCAA.com: Game Preview With Dave Pietramala

The Game: Sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins (3-1) hits the road for a matchup with second-ranked Syracuse (3-1) in the Carrier Dome.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins made it two straight in the win column with a 12-7 victory against Hofstra last Saturday at Homewood Field. The Orange rebounded from their first loss of the season with an 8-5 win at Georgetown last weekend.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Syracuse with an all-time record of 885-279-15 (.757). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

That's 606 Games Over .500: Including the win against Hofstra, the Blue Jays' all-time record is now 885-279-15 (.757) ... that's 606 games over .500. To put this in perspective: JHU has played an average of just over 15 games per season under head coach Dave Pietramala. Using a 15-game season as a reference, if the Blue Jays posted a 5-10 record for 120 straight seasons, they would still be six games over .500.

Marching Orders: Depsite a March schedule that has included the likes of Syracuse, Princeton, Virginia and North Carolina to name a few, the Blue Jays are 32-16 (.667) under head coach Dave Pietramala in the month of March.

A Brutal Stretch: This week's game against second-ranked Syracuse is the fourth of six straight for the Blue Jays against teams currently ranked in the top 12 in the nation. Using this week's USILA Coaches Poll as a reference, the Blue Jays played third-ranked Princeton, ninth-ranked UMBC and 12th-ranked Hofstra in their last three games. All three of those teams were ranked in the top nine in the nation at the time of the game.
After this week's game against Syracuse, the Blue Jays will host Virginia (currently ranked number one) and North Carolina (8th). It's not inconceivable to think that JHU could play six games against top 10 teams before the calendar flips to April.

Taking on the Champs: This week's game against Syracuse will be the 28th regular season game for Johns Hopkins against the team that won the previous year's NCAA Championship (since the NCAA began sponsoring the men's lacrosse championship in 1971). Only twice (1972 and 1984) have the Blue Jays not played the defending national champion during the regular season. Johns Hopkins is 12-15 all-time against the defending national champion, including 3-3 under head coach Dave Pietramala. This will be the ninth time JHU has played Syracuse the year after the Orange won the NCAA Championship - JHU is 6-2 in the previous eight such meetings.

Closing on 100: JHU head coach Dave Pietramala continues to close in on his 100th career victory at Johns Hopkins. The win over Hofstra improved JHU's record to 99-26 (.792) on his watch (he's 122-43 (.739) overall) and he needs just one win to become the third coach in school history to win 100 games (Bob Scott-158, Henry Ciccarone-105).

Pietramala's 125th: Last week's game against Hofstra was the 125th for Dave Pietramala as the head coach at Johns Hopkins. Only Bob Scott (214 / 1955-74), has coached more games at Homewood.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Syracuse ranked 6th in the USILA Coaches Poll. The Blue Jays are also ranked 8th in the Inside Lacrosse/Nike Media Poll. Syracuse is ranked 2nd in the Coaches Poll and 2nd in the Media Poll.

More Poll Position: Records indicate that the USILA began sponsoring a weekly coaches poll during the 1973 season. Since then there have been 349 weekly polls. Amazingly, Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 20 in all 349 of those polls and has been in the top 10 in 338 of the 349. Below is a breakdown of the Blue Jays' in the USILA Coaches Poll since its inception on March 19, 1973:

Total Weeks: 349

Total Weeks at #1: 102
Weeks in top 5: 276
Weeks in top 10: 338
Weeks in top 20: 349

Most Consecutive at #1: 14: 4/12/04-5/9/05
Most Consecutive in top 5: 130: 3/19/73-3/23/87
Most Consecutive in top 10: 158: 3/19/73-3/25/90
Most Consecutive in top 20: 349: 3/19/73-present

Poll Notes: In some years a preseason poll was not conducted • In some years a preseason poll was conducted, but the second poll of that season may have been held until after several weeks of the season passed • In some years a poll was conducted after the NCAA Tournament.

Lucky Number Nine: Years ending with the number nine have been kind to the Blue Jays since the program's inception in 1883. Johns Hopkins has played 13 seasons in years ending in nine (inculding 2009) and has compiled a 92-20-2 record with seven national championships in those 13 years. The Blue Jays also played in the 1989 national championship game and advanced to the final four in 1999.

Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 76-17 in its last 93 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and is 91-22 overall since the start of the 2002 season.

Attack Emerges: With the loss of standouts Paul Rabil and Stephen Peyser at midfield, it was no secret that the Blue Jay offense was likely to become more attack oriented. While the group was held in check in the loss to Princeton, it has more than held its own thus far. Starters Steven Boyle, Kyle Wharton and Chris Boland combined for seven goals and five assists against UMBC and seven goals and two assists against Hofstra.
Wharton exploded for a career-high five goals in last week's win over Hofstra and leads the team in goals (11) and points (14). Boyle (9g, 4a) and Boland (4g, 4a) are not far behind - Boland's eight points have all come in the last three games.

Young Guns: A year ago the Blue Jay offense was a senior-laden group that was led by Paul Rabil, Kevin Huntley, Stephen Peyser and Michael Doneger, who combined for 108 goals and 34 assists. Fast forward to this season and the experience has been replaced by youth. Through four games, 39 of the Blue Jays' 45 goals (86.7%) have been scored by players who will return next season, while 20 of the team's 25 assists (80%) have been accumulated by players with at least one year of eligibility remaining.

Defensive Notes of Interest:
• Johns Hopkins held Hofstra scoreless for stretches of 16:49, 11:56 and 11:21 in last week's 12-7 victory against the Pride. The Pride scored consecutive goals just once (late in the first quarter) against the Blue Jays.
• Princeton scored 14 goals against the Blue Jays - the most JHU has allowed since Duke scored 17 in a 17-6 win over JHU last season.
• Johns Hopkins held Siena to just three goals in the season-opener. That's the fewest JHU has allowed in a season-opener since 1982.
• The Blue Jays held Siena scoreless for the final 45:50 and limited the Saints to just six shots in the second half, including none in the third quarter.
• Since the start of the 2007 season the Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for a streak of 14 minutes or longer 41 times.
• The Blue Jays have held 19 of their last 27 opponents - including 13 of 17 last season - scoreless for a stretch of at least 18 minutes.
• Hopkins has held the opposition scoreless for 25 minutes or longer 14 times since the start of the 2007 season, including seven times last season.

Offensive Notes of Interest:
While the focus of any Dave Pietramala-coached team will always be defense, the Blue Jay offense has also been effective. Consider:
• The 14 goals the Blue Jays scored against sixth-ranked UMBC are the most for Hopkins against a team ranked in the top six since netting 14 in a 14-6 win against fourth-ranked Georgetown in the 2007 NCAA Quarterfinals.
• The Blue Jays have scored 45 goals on 143 shots this season for a shooting percentage of .315. As a team the Blue Jays scored on 31.2% of their shots last season (179-of-573). JHU connected on 28.8% of its shots en route to winning the national championship in 2007. The Blue Jays' highest shooting percentage in the Pietramala era came in 2003, when they connected on 31.7% (224-of-706) of their shots.
• JHU has scored in double figures 21 times in its last 27 games and is averaging 10.96 goals per game during that time (296 goals in 27 games).
• Johns Hopkins has scored at least one goal in 59 straight quarters dating back to the first quarter of last season's game against North Carolina.

One-Goal Turnarounds: With a 10-9 win over Duke in the NCAA Semifinals last season, Johns Hopkins is now 31-9 in one-goal games since Dave Pietramala took over in 2001. The Blue Jays have won 18 of their last 23 and 22 of their last 28 one-goal games. In the five seasons prior to Pietramala arriving (1996-2000) the Blue Jays were 5-8 in one-goal games.

More One-Goal Notes: The Blue Jays have come from behind to win 15 times during their last 18 one-goal wins. In 10 of those 15 come-from-behind one-goal wins the Blue Jays came back from a deficit of two goals or more. The latest of these come-from-behind one-goal wins came against Duke in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when the Blue Jays erased a 2-1 second-quarter deficit.

Extra, Extra: JHU is 13-5 all-time in overtime under head coach Dave Pietramala's guidance, including an impressive 6-3 on the road.

Evans, Drenan Named to Tewaaraton Watch List: Senior defenders Michael Evans and Matt Drenan were recently named to the 2009 Tewaaraton Watch List. The players on the list were nominaed by coaches across the country. Johns Hopkins produced the 2005 Tewaaraton Award winner (Kyle Harrison) and Paul Rabil was a finalist for the award in 2007 and 2008. The award is presented annually to the top male and famale lacrosse players in the country.

Player Notes of Interest Included in PDF Version