In a span of about five minutes, just miles apart, two national super powers fell in a pair of massive upsets during a wild Saturday in men's college lacrosse.
It started at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, where Loyola knocked off defending national champion No. 2 Maryland by way of a 12-7 final in their season-opener, thanks to a strong defensive effort and staunch goaltending from Luke Staudt (19 saves).
Only about 10 minutes (driving) east, Johns Hopkins stunned No. 3 Georgetown in a 13-12 thriller to open their home schedule at Homewood Field.
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Loyola never trailed to the Terrapins, leading for the majority of play. The Greyhounds got balanced contributions throughout the lineup with Davis Lindsey and Seth Higgins each notching a goal and two assists, while Adam Poitras, Evan James and Henry Haberman added two goals of their own. Staudt out-dueled Maryland's Logan McNaney (five saves) in net.
1:50, 2Q | @LoyolaHounds 4, Maryland 3
— Loyola Men's Lacrosse (@LoyolaMLAX) February 11, 2023
James gets his second of the day, taking contact and slinging a goal.
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For the Terps, Daniel Kelly had a big day with four goals, while Jack Brennan (1g, 1a), Kyle Long (1g, 1a) and Daniel Maltz (1g) chipped in as well.
Poitras got the day started before Loyola took a 2-1 lead out of the first quarter. Things picked up in a six-goal second quarter, as James picked up his second goal of the game and Haberman scored with seven seconds left on the clock to give the Greyhounds a 5-4 advantage going into halftime.
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Loyola dominated the second half, going on a 7-3 run through the end of regulation, including five straight goals from the end of the third through the start of the fourth before the Terps could find any sort of answer.
Kelly's fourth goal of the day with 1:35 to go was no use, as Maryland settled for the 12-7 final.
9:17, 4Q | @LoyolaHounds 12, Maryland 6
— Loyola Men's Lacrosse (@LoyolaMLAX) February 11, 2023
Staudt saves it cleanly, and Hughes bombs a pass to Minicus who scores on a dive.
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As for JHU, the Blue Jays rode a clutch comeback late and balanced scoring to the win in a game of runs.
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Six different players had multi-point games, including four with at least three points. Russell Melendenz notched four goals, Degnon Garrett and Johnathan Peshko each had hat tricks, and Jacob Angelus added four assists. Tim Marcille made 16 saves.
For the Hoyas, Tucker Dordevic (5g) and Graham Bundy Jr. (3g, 1a) each had monster days, and Danny Hincks made 13 stops.
CANNOT. BE. DENIED. pic.twitter.com/XNxVnEzVdV
— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) February 11, 2023
Dordevic opened the scoring before Melendenz answered 1:20 later, but Georgetown added three more before the end of the first for a 4-1 lead. JHU opened the second quarter with three goals in just 41 seconds, and a fourth just 1:09 later to take a 5-4 advantage, but the Hoyas went on a 3-1 run to take a 7-6 lead into half.
CHAMPS: How Maryland won the 2022 title
Georgetown tried to pull away again in the third, outscoring the Blue Jays 4-2 in the third to go up 11-8 heading into the fourth. But the final 15 minutes were all Johns Hopkins as they found the back of the net five times in just over five minutes to take a 13-11 lead.
Jacob Kelly's goal with 1:06 to go cut it the deficit to one goal for the Hoyas, but JHU locked them down to preserve the 13-12 final.
2-0. pic.twitter.com/KQcPAgPbrX
— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) February 11, 2023
