The third-ranked Hopkins Men’s Lacrosse team traveled up to the New Meadowlands Stadium last Sunday to play in the Big City Classic, beating eighth-ranked N.C. in exciting fashion, 10-9.
Sophomore midfielder John Ranagan, the Konica-Minolta Player of the game, lead the Blue Jays with three goals and an assist. A goal by fellow sophomore midfielder Lee Coppersmith with 1:52 remaining in the game gave the Jays the lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the game.
With the win, the Jays improve to 7-2 overall, including a 2-1 record the past three weeks, completing the most difficult portion of their schedule. The Tar Heels fall to 7-3 with the loss.
The Jays came out of the gates with much more drive and intensity than the Tar Heels, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first 5:11 of the game. Senior attackman Kyle Wharton scored his first goal less than a minute into the game, collecting a nice pass from sophomore attackman Zach Palmer and burying the ball into the back of the net.
Less than a minute later, junior midfielder Marshall Burkhart found senior midfielder Mark Goodrich open in the slot seven yards out and ripped another shot past UNC goalie Steven Rastivo.
With 10:17 to play in the first period, Palmer fed Ranagan from behind the net to the point and fired a laser past Rastivo. After another face-off win by senior Matt Dolente, who has been dominant at the “X” all season long, Burkhart found Wharton open on the right side. A poor error by the Heels to give Wharton so much space, he wound up and ripped the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the day. Down 4-0 to the Jays, the Tar Heels then decided to wake up.
N.C. began to vary its defenses, switching in and out of zone schemes and getting the ball to their go-to goal scorer, senior Billy Bitter. He had a natural hat trick, scoring back-to-back-to-back goals in spectacular fashion, splitting double teams and spinning off defenders to end the first quarter.
Not to be outdone by Bitter, Wharton completed his hat trick at the start of the second quarter to give the Jays a 5-3 lead, scoring his 100th career point in the process.
The next seven minutes were filled with turnovers and back-and-forth play as neither team was able to score. With 7:44 to play in the half, UNC midfielder Jimmy Dunster managed to beat sophomore goalie Pierce Bassett from 10 yards out to close the gap by one. After more back-and-forth turnover-laden play, N.C. tied the game up at 5-5 with 2:20 to play in the half.
After allowing the Tar Heels back into the game, the Jays reignited the fire. The Jays only needed 12 seconds to take the lead back, as Ranagan beat his defender with a strong left-hand alley dodge and beat Rastivo for his second of the day.
21 seconds later, Ranagan beat his defender yet again and found Palmer open on the opposite side of the net, who buried the ball into the back of the net before Rastivo could slide. Just another 18 seconds later, senior attackman Chris Boland scored his 17th goal of the season.
In less than one minute, the Jays had taken a three goal lead, which they took into halftime.
“We effectively used the offensive schemes that we worked on in practice,” said freshman midfielder Rob Guida. “We had success finding the wrinkles in the various defenses that they showed.”
Both teams settled into patient offensive schemes in the second half, each possession holding the ball for long periods of time.
The Tar Heels cut the lead to two on an extra-man goal by Marcus Holman with 7:09 to play in the quarter. No other goals were scored in the third period, aided by the strong Jays defensive unit.
“We varied our defenses as well,” said sophomore defender Tucker Durkin. “We frequently mixed it up, attempting to make it uncomfortable for their offense.”
Dolente owned the final period, going 5-for-6 at the face-off “X.” Ranagan completed his hat trick 38 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Hopkins a 9-6 lead. The next three goals would be scored by N.C., including Bitter’s game-leading fourth goal of the game.
After midfielder Duncan Hutchins beat Basset near-side with 2:41 to play, the game entered its final stretch all-square.
Enter Lee Coppersmith, hero of last week’s upset of Va. The sophomore midfielder came up huge yet again, receiving the ball up top, dodging his defender and ripping a shot past Rastivo for the game-winning goal.
The Tar Heels desperately tried to tie the game up, but Bassett made the necessary saves to ensure victory. He finished with seven saves on the day, as he continued to look like one of the best goalies in lacrosse.
Dolente, who won every face-off in the second quarter and all but two in the second half, finished with a career-high 16 face-off wins in 22 attempts.
The Jays take on the University of Albany under the lights of Homewood field on Friday night. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
