“No better place to play than Ridley,” said Charley Toomey, Loyola men’s lacrosse head coach. With that being said, and a packed house of 4,868 Loyola supporters behind them, the then #8 Loyola men’s lacrosse team beat #7 Johns Hopkins 9-8 on Saturday afternoon. The Hounds have since moved up to number 6 in the standings as of Feb. 22, with Hopkins dropping down to eighth place.
Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala felt that the needed intensity was absent from his team from the start, “We didn’t put our best foot forward in the first half.” Loyola’s defense did its job, stifling and limiting the Hopkins attack to just two goals, both in the first quarter. The Blue Jays also had 10 turnovers during the first two quarters. “Our second half effort was expected. But that doesn’t discount how we played in the first.”
The second quarter was all Loyola, led by its defense. Hopkins could not get any clean looks or shots on sophomore goalie Grant Limone. Brian Sherlock of Loyola had the pass of the day, assisting Jeff Chase as he found the back of the net. Sherlock drove down the side of the net, then centered a beautiful pass where Chase easily buried it home for the slick goal. The defense held true until after halftime.
The third quarter signaled a shift from Loyola dominating to Hopkins starting to chip away at the 5-2 Loyola halftime lead. Within the first two minutes of the half Hopkins junior Wilkins Dismuke tallied one for the Blue Jays. Momentum was clearly shifting from Loyola. Coach Toomey noted at the end of the game that, “We had a lull in the third.”
The second half, especially the fourth quarter, was a major battle of solid defenses and untimely turnovers for both teams. The script was written for Hopkins to tie the game and go into overtime: Hopkins ball, down one, a minute and change to go. They got the look they wanted, however Loyola’s Limone was there to stop the last minute shot by Hopkins Pat Fraser. “How can you not like the look [Fraser] had? The difference was that [Limone] made the play and we didn’t,” said Hopkins Coach Pietramala.
Zach Herreweyers led the Greyhounds throughout the game with three goals and one assist. Hopkins senior Ryan Brown led his team with a pair of goals himself.
The highly anticipated matchup between the lacrosse powerhouses is typically played in April or May. However, due to scheduling this February contest forced each team to fight for bragging rights earlier than anticipated. Overall, the 2016 Battle of North Charles Street did not disappoint. Both coaches promised that this game would be a massive learning tool for the rest of the year in their post-game press conference, with this game being the biggest and most anticipated game so far this season.
“That’s a win we need to grow from. Hopefully it shows we can play with anybody,” said Coach Toomey.
Photos by Jake Rauscher/The Greyhound
