History will be renewed Saturday afternoon as Maryland men's lacrosse looks to end their season on an eleven game win streak against Johns Hopkins. The Terps have played the Blue Jays a total of 104 times since becoming a varsity program, dating all the way back to 1924. Johns Hopkins leads the nine-decade series at 62-41-1, with last year's defeat in the NCAA Semifinals being its first loss since 2012. Alas, the Terps narrowly edged their state rival on a national stage 12-11 on their way to the national title game against Denver.
In what's considered the best rivalry in college lacrosse, there will be just as much excitement on storylines alone as any other year. After the home win against Ohio State, Maryland moved up to the No. 3 ranking while garnering a first-place vote as well, and still command the nation's top RPI ranking.
Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins can still clinch a share of the Big Ten title and will be hungry to hand Maryland its first loss in Big Ten play.
Game Info
How to Watch:
ESPNU, 570 am (DC) and 1300 fm (Baltimore)
When and where:
Homewood Field, Johns Hopkins University at 2 p.m
Head Coach
Dave Pietramala
Viewed as a hero of sorts to the program, Pietramala is the winningest coach ever in Johns Hopkins history with a record of 169-62. A former defenseman for the Blue Jays, Pietramala took over the program in 2000 when it had failed to reach the NCAA Finals in over 11 years. Since his return, he's led the program to two national titles and four total championship appearances.
Players to Know
Shack Stanwick and Ryan Brown- Attack
No beating around the bush, these guys are borderline unreal. Stanwick is third in the country at assists per game, and has 50 points on the season behind 32 assists and 18 goals. Brown has a staggering 33 goals, and the two have combined for 95 points this season.
Craig Madarasz- Faceoff
The senior missed all of last year to a preseason injury, but is more than making up for it during his curtain call. He won a career-high 17 face-offs last week against Michigan, earning him the Big Ten specialist. With Maryland's Henningsen still out from injury, he will be a tough test for the committee of Andrew Walsh and Will Bonaparte.
Strengths
Making scoring look easy
Stanwick and Brown aren't the only scorers for Hopkins, with a supporting cast of five other players in double-digit goals totals. Scoring over 13 goals a game, the offense is ranked ninth in the country and the best in the Big Ten.
Man-Up opportunities
Maryland was able to contain Ohio State on their lone man-up opportunity in the home finale, which is a great building block. Johns Hopkins is significantly better though (both in general and with an extra man), scoring nearly two goals a contest in these situations.
Weaknesses
Controlling the turnover game
This probably plays extremely well into Maryland's scrappy defense. The Blue Jays possess a poor turnover margin at minus-22, and are similarly mediocre in causing turnovers with a minus-19 margin.
Big Ten defense
Johns Hopkins is just not a stellar defensive team, but they seem to have particular trouble with Big Ten competition. It has yet to keep a team in the Big Ten under double-digit goals, including a 16-9 blowout loss to Rutgers.