Men’s Lax bests UMBC to remain unbeaten

In a game that saw the Jays score nearly as many fourth quarter goals as they have all season, third-ranked Hopkins nearly blew a 7-1 lead.

Facing off against unranked UMBC, the Jays got to work right away with sophomore attackman Ryan Brown scoring the first goal of the game. Under a minute later, senior attackman Brandon Benn extended the lead to two. The goal marked Benn’s 21st consecutive game with a score.

Brown was not done, as he scored his second goal in six minutes, picking up right where he left off during the last game against Michigan, in which he tallied five goals.

After allowing UMBC to score for the first time, sophomore midfielder Connor Reed sparked a scoring run with his goal. 30 seconds later, junior attackman Wells Stanwick secured his first goal of the day. Another 30 seconds passed before Benn scored on an assist from senior captain James Malm. It would be another three and a half minutes before Brown punched in his third goal of the day to give Hopkins a 7-1 lead.

A goal from UMBC sophomore midfielder Pat Young with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter cut the lead to 7-2 and was a sign of things to come. Young opened the second quarter on a scoring spree, hitting his team’s next two goals. After another Retriever finally put one on the board, Young came back with his fourth and final goal of the day to cut the lead to 7-6. The Retrievers has reset the tone of the game as the two teams headed into their respective locker rooms.

The Blue Jays were held scoreless in a non-overtime quarter for the first time this entire season as they watched their 7-1 lead nearly evaporate.

Benn opened the scoring just nine seconds into the second half, giving the Jays a little breathing room until senior captain Rob Guida scored his first of the day just one minute later. The 9-6 lead would nearly disappear, however, as UMBC sophomore midfielder Jack Gannon answered with two goals of his own to end all third quarter scoring and bring the score to 9-8 in favor of Hopkins.

The Blue Jays, ranked third overall in the entire nation, would enter the final quarter protecting a 9-8 lead against an unranked opponent. Entering the game, the most goals they have scored in the fourth quarter this season was three, in the team’s most recent game against Princeton.

15 minutes later, that mark would change.

Three and a half minutes would pass in the fourth quarter before Guida tallied his second goal of the day to give Hopkins a two-goal lead. Just a minute later, Benn scored his fourth goal of the game on an assist from Stanwick. His third of the day, the assist was Stanwick’s team-leading 18th of the season, giving him 10 more than the next closest teammate (Brown).

The momentum did not cease, as only one more minute passed before Stanwick and Benn switched roles with Stanwick scoring his second of the day on an assist from Benn. The The 3-0 scoring run put Hopkins up 12-8 with nine minutes to go, but the Jays were just starting to heat up.

Sophomore midfielder Holden Cattoni reignited the offense near the six-minute mark and was followed by Stanwick soon after. The goal completed Stanwick’s hat trick and gave him three goals and three assists for a six-point day.

Just 10 seconds later, Benn scored again on an assist from Cattoni, capping his five-goal, six-point game (both career bests). The assist from Cattoni was his fourth of the game; he had three in his Hopkins career entering play.

Benn’s goal with five minutes remaining would be the game’s last goal, as the Jays held the Retrievers scoreless for over 18 minutes, the sixth time this season they were able to deny an opponent a goal for at least 15 minutes.

Senior goalie Eric Schnieder would finish the day with eight saves and his fifth win in as many games as Hopkins improves to 5-0. Brown’s three goals raise his total up to 15, just two shy of his total from last season. His four points put him second on the team in the category with 23, behind only Stanwick who has notched 27.

The team’s 11 turnovers on the day represented a season-best, as Hopkins won the turnover battle for just the second time in five games. With the win, the Blue Jays remain unbeaten and will host 11th ranked Syracuse this Saturday when they return to Homewood Field.