The 'Baby Jays' have just grown up

It has been 16 years and running since Hopkins last won a
national championship. As a member of that 1987 Championship team, head
coach Dave Pietramala knows what it takes to win. Over the past three
seasons Pietramala has helped maintain the excellence expected from a
Johns Hopkins Lacrosse team. We have had some strong teams since
Pietramala took over, but this year's team is really something special.

A strong defense has been a Johns Hopkins trademark under Pietramala,
but it seems as though the offense has finally caught up. The team has
already scored 16 points or more five times this season. Last season
the Blue Jays highest scoring output was 14 goals against Towson and
they only managed to score 10 or more points five times during the 2002
season.

Last year's team finished the regular season ranked No. 1 overall.
However, the Jays struggled in the playoffs. But, last year's team was
also one of the youngest teams in the nation. The team consisted mainly
of sophomores and freshman. Most of their wins last year were extremely
close, but this year Hopkins has been blowing out its opponents. This
could in part be explained by the mere fact that last year's "Baby
Jays" have grown up.

Finally all of the pieces are in place. Hopkins doesn't depend on one or
two stars to score goals. Instead the team has a balanced attack led by
Bobby Benson, Kyle Barrie and Peter LeSueur. All three are liable to
score at anytime. The development of Barrie and LeSueur has made the
attack a dangerous combination.

The team's midfield unit is probably the best in the in the nation. Adam
Doneger has one of the best shots in college lacrosse and has starred
on the team for the past four years. Kyle Harrison has phenomenal
athleticism which enables him to score and win a majority of the
faceoffs he takes. Conor Ford, like Doneger, began his career on attack
and can be a dangerous scorer and passer. Super-sub Kevin Boland can
have monstrous games, as evidenced by his four-goal performance
recently against Towson.

The defense has been strong over the past few years. This season, Corey
Harned has really come into his own as a long-stick midfielder. Harned
chases down every loose ball and has developed into a potent defensive
player. Senior Rob Scherr has been phenomenal after losing his job to
Nick Murtha last year. The Jay's defense consisting of players such as
Michael Peyser, Tom Garvey and Chris Watson has been a model of
consistency.

Point being, this is the best Hopkins team we have had in a while. If
there is ever a chance to win a national championship in the near
future, it is this year. With seniors such as Doneger, Benson, Peyser
and Scherr in their prime and sophomores like Barrie, Harrison and
LeSueur coming into their own, this team has loads of potential to work
with. Coach Pietramala needs to harness this talent to its fullest this
postseason. This is our chance to take the title.

After two and a half years of running this section, this is my final
issue as sports editor of the paper. Next year I will leave the
confines of the Gatehouse basement and begin my reign as one of the
Editors in Chief. I only hope that I will be able to do as good a job
with the entire paper as I've done with this section. Eric and I are
leaving Sports in the hands of Jon Zimmer and Claire Koehler who we
hope will do an even better job than we have. Both of our successors
play varsity sports and we hope that their experiences will lead to new
insights for our section. I would like to thank Marisa Baldwin, Andy
Lee, Melissa O'Berg and Jamie Spangler for sticking it out until the
end as writers. I would also like to recognize Cara Gitlin and David
Pollack for taking a chance on an inexperienced freshman and would like
to give a big shout out to David Gonen and Eric Ridge for their work as
my co-editors.

A strong defense has been a Johns Hopkins trademark under Pietramala,
but it seems as though the offense has finally caught up.