Johns Hopkins 2024

[HopFan16]

Because we won face-offs against their back-ups.
That said, while the Jays do not have a single ace, in the heat of May it is nice to have two decent options.

“Backups” — one of them was a transfer who was top 10 in the country in FO% the year before. Injuries are a part of the game. We were missing a first line middie who’s probably the best initiator on the team and we still scored 16. Unlike against Cuse, faceoffs didn’t even really decide the game, they were 20-14. The Jays won several other stat categories, including the turnover battle, saves, and GBs. It was as legitimate a win as they come. Weird that you can beat a top 3 team on the road and there are still people making excuses for the other team.

Back to Rutgers — I’m not sure if it translated on TV how well Angelus and Degnon played today. Never panicked, just two grad students who have been there done that, and executed. This team will go as far as they take them.

Aviles got a banana for that tough GB to transition assist. Would have liked to see more of an effort to push the tempo when the Rutgers zone was slowing things down in settled sets. But they seemed reluctant.

Milliman was very animated in the offensive huddle after the third or fourth failed zone possession and it seemed to light a fire under them. They were moving it much quicker after that and the goals started to come.

[norcalhop]

Because we won face-offs against their back-ups.
That said, while the Jays do not have a single ace, in the heat of May it is nice to have two decent options.

“Backups” — one of them was a transfer who was top 10 in the country in FO% the year before. Injuries are a part of the game. We were missing a first line middie who’s probably the best initiator on the team and we still scored 16. Unlike against Cuse, faceoffs didn’t even really decide the game, they were 20-14. The Jays won several other stat categories, including the turnover battle, saves, and GBs. It was as legitimate a win as they come. Weird that you can beat a top 3 team on the road and there are still people making excuses for the other team.

Back to Rutgers — I’m not sure if it translated on TV how well Angelus and Degnon played today. Never panicked, just two grad students who have been there done that, and executed. This team will go as far as they take them.

Aviles got a banana for that tough GB to transition assist. Would have liked to see more of an effort to push the tempo when the Rutgers zone was slowing things down in settled sets. But they seemed reluctant.

Milliman was very animated in the offensive huddle after the third or fourth failed zone possession and it seemed to light a fire under them. They were moving it much quicker after that and the goals started to come.

Hopkins outplayed UVa that day. However, take out FO GBs, and the margin of advantage/error becomes nill.

Ierlan is captured saying "Shouldn't be our style of play" to Coach K on IG after the win. i wonder if that refers to defense having to man up more than they need to due to offensive lulls. Or Ierlan having to ball out.

[JayBlue]

Was at the game. Some really dumb comments in this thread during the game but that’s nothing new.

JayBlue has to be a troll or a closet Cornell fan because Ierlan was *excellent* today despite the sun being in his eyes half the game. He’s been rock solid all year.

Smith absolutely owns Ross Scott. Poor guy must see #18 in his nightmares. Knoblauch is fantastic but he’s really their only guy who scares you. Scott couldn’t dodge any of our poles.

Nice game for Callahan but the wings are still not getting it done.

The momentum in the stadium completely shifted on Melendez’s first goal. He came to life after that, looked more like himself. Maybe he just needed to see one go in. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the stretch run.

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

I am neither. I am entitled to my own opinion- which still stands. I also always positively support this team and quite frankly, I always will. You can always kindly disagree. Fine. No big deal. Take it easy with the troll garbage. I’d rather you call me an a**hole. It sounds more mature. Anyways, thanks for the feedback Hop.

[51percentcorn]

You guys are really rough - 1-0 in the BIG - first win in NJ since 2018. There's a chance - if the Terps could beat the Nits that Hopkins would be the only unbeaten team in the BIG if they pay attention and beat Michigan. Yes they had a disaster agianst Navy that never should have happened but they are very reasonably 2 goals away from being 8-1 and ranked probably #2. They have the same record as last year after 9 games and they were 4-5 after 9 games 2 years ago - what do you want? 5 goal wins every game? Oh they just had one and you're B'ing and moaning.

Defensive stand - including the Rutgers EMO - in the 4th was outstanding.

One of the bigger concerns I saw in the game was despite Chayse's undeniably good performance - every Rutgers goal seemed to be the exact same shot - he'll see alot more cranks from his left.

[norcalhop]

You guys are really rough - 1-0 in the BIG - first win in NJ since 2018. There's a chance - if the Terps could beat the Nits that Hopkins would be the only unbeaten team in the BIG if they pay attention and beat Michigan. Yes they had a disaster agianst Navy that never should have happened but they are very reasonably 2 goals away from being 8-1 and ranked probably #2. They have the same record as last year after 9 games and they were 4-5 after 9 games 2 years ago - what do you want? 5 goal wins every game? Oh they just had one and you're B'ing and moaning.

Defensive stand - including the Rutgers EMO - in the 4th was outstanding.

One of the bigger concerns I saw in the game was despite Chayse's undeniably good performance - every Rutgers goal seemed to be the exact same shot - he'll see alot more cranks from his left.

i think some Hopkins fans are tough (you can certainly group me in that category) because ostensibly this is a Quarter Final team from last year based on minimal roster turnover and upgrades. So that is the baseline. And to be better than that, Hopkins should be completely outplaying opponents they should beat on a consistent basis (which is closer than the final score would indicate especially as they let Rutgers claw all the way back, which is a repeated theme since Denver).

[LaxPundit07]

Melendez with two game changers today. Total momentum shifting goals.

Someone on here last week was postulating about his struggles and potentially being due to his NIL deal with KH18. Dude probably got a thousand bucks to wear a t-shirt. Move on. Maybe he and his girl were going through a rough patch, maybe someone at home was sick, or he was overwhelmed in class. Let him be 22. Bottom line: he was back tonight in a big way at the biggest time. Pump him up and let him carry you with 23 and 40 the rest of the way.

Cheers!

[DocBarrister]

Compared to the 2023 quarterfinal team, this year’s squad is better in goal and overall better on D. Better yet, the D is getting more consistent in their play as the season goes on.

The offense? Not so much.

I think Angelus and Degnon are having their finest seasons yet. Angelus already has 40 points and Degnon has 28 goals in nine games. Chauvette and Ayers have been productive, and Bauer is having a career season.

However, the big guys … Collison, Peshko, and Grimes … haven’t really stepped up their games, and they have personified the team’s inconsistency.

Dunn and Callahan have been inconsistent all season, as have the wings.

The ride has markedly improved and this is one of the best teams in the nation with respect to caused turnovers. Gb play has also been good.

Overall, a very mixed bag to date. The potential is there for this to be a truly exceptional team. They just can’t seem to fire on all cylinders. An entertaining team to watch, and very frustrating at times.

Right now, this is a good quarterfinal team. They can be so much more than that.

DocBarrister

[a fan]

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

....you guys have the biggest glass-half empty fans (or trolls posing as fans) in the sport. Your guys beat a BigTen team on their field by five, and they still find ways to throw stones.

All I can figure is that they're only watching Hop games, and not noticing that every top 20 team is fighting to get wins.

You're nuts if you think Hopkins can't make the Final Four. Who gets hot in May, is what it will come down to....and if you don't bring your A game in the Tournament, expect to be sent home.

I'm watching UVa and they sure aren't struggling to get wins. Their one loss was against Hopkins, which was without UVa's top FO.

Hoping you have a good enough sense of humor to chuckle at your above response.....

[HopFan16]

Was at the game. Some really dumb comments in this thread during the game but that’s nothing new.

JayBlue has to be a troll or a closet Cornell fan because Ierlan was *excellent* today despite the sun being in his eyes half the game. He’s been rock solid all year.

Smith absolutely owns Ross Scott. Poor guy must see #18 in his nightmares. Knoblauch is fantastic but he’s really their only guy who scares you. Scott couldn’t dodge any of our poles.

Nice game for Callahan but the wings are still not getting it done.

The momentum in the stadium completely shifted on Melendez’s first goal. He came to life after that, looked more like himself. Maybe he just needed to see one go in. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the stretch run.

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

I am neither. I am entitled to my own opinion- which still stands. I also always positively support this team and quite frankly, I always will. You can always kindly disagree. Fine. No big deal. Take it easy with the troll garbage. I’d rather you call me an a**hole. It sounds more mature. Anyways, thanks for the feedback Hop.

Sorry, I thought you trolling was the more likely outcome than you watching the game and coming away with the opinion that goaltending was a problem. They had 8 goals and he had 13 saves. You do the math. Good rebound control today too.

I must stress again — the sun was absolutely gnarly inside of the stadium. I don't know if the broadcast picked up on it. Both goalies had to deal with it but Chayse clearly battled through and had a terrific game.

[DocBarrister]

Was at the game. Some really dumb comments in this thread during the game but that’s nothing new.

JayBlue has to be a troll or a closet Cornell fan because Ierlan was *excellent* today despite the sun being in his eyes half the game. He’s been rock solid all year.

Smith absolutely owns Ross Scott. Poor guy must see #18 in his nightmares. Knoblauch is fantastic but he’s really their only guy who scares you. Scott couldn’t dodge any of our poles.

Nice game for Callahan but the wings are still not getting it done.

The momentum in the stadium completely shifted on Melendez’s first goal. He came to life after that, looked more like himself. Maybe he just needed to see one go in. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the stretch run.

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

I am neither. I am entitled to my own opinion- which still stands. I also always positively support this team and quite frankly, I always will. You can always kindly disagree. Fine. No big deal. Take it easy with the troll garbage. I’d rather you call me an a**hole. It sounds more mature. Anyways, thanks for the feedback Hop.

Sorry, I thought you trolling was the more likely outcome than you watching the game and coming away with the opinion that goaltending was a problem. They had 8 goals and he had 13 saves. You do the math. Good rebound control today too.

I must stress again — the sun was absolutely gnarly inside of the stadium. I don't know if the broadcast picked up on it. Both goalies had to deal with it but Chayse clearly battled through and had a terrific game.

Ierlan’s rebound control was exceptionally good today. Really made a difference in limiting any extra possessions for Rutgers.

DocBarrister

[Suitcase]

Angelus or spallina.? U can only pick one.

[norcalhop]

Angelus or spallina.? U can only pick one.

Tough one

[norcalhop]

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

....you guys have the biggest glass-half empty fans (or trolls posing as fans) in the sport. Your guys beat a BigTen team on their field by five, and they still find ways to throw stones.

All I can figure is that they're only watching Hop games, and not noticing that every top 20 team is fighting to get wins.

You're nuts if you think Hopkins can't make the Final Four. Who gets hot in May, is what it will come down to....and if you don't bring your A game in the Tournament, expect to be sent home.

I'm watching UVa and they sure aren't struggling to get wins. Their one loss was against Hopkins, which was without UVa's top FO.

Hoping you have a good enough sense of humor to chuckle at your above response.....

Outside of Hopkins, have they had a close game? Have they had a let down since Hopkins despite tough opponents? Have any of their games been close since then?

No.

How about Hopkins since the UVa game? Can Hopkins make the final four with their talent? It's a questionable maybe at this stage. If they play like they did against Rutgers or Navy versus top competition, then no.

We're all waiting for Melendez to return to the form he had against UMD last year where he took his defender to the rack multiple times.

[a fan]

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

....you guys have the biggest glass-half empty fans (or trolls posing as fans) in the sport. Your guys beat a BigTen team on their field by five, and they still find ways to throw stones.

All I can figure is that they're only watching Hop games, and not noticing that every top 20 team is fighting to get wins.

You're nuts if you think Hopkins can't make the Final Four. Who gets hot in May, is what it will come down to....and if you don't bring your A game in the Tournament, expect to be sent home.

I'm watching UVa and they sure aren't struggling to get wins. Their one loss was against Hopkins, which was without UVa's top FO.

Hoping you have a good enough sense of humor to chuckle at your above response.....

Outside of Hopkins, have they had a close game? Have they had a let down since Hopkins despite tough opponents? Have any of their games been close since then?

No.

How about Hopkins since the UVa game? Can Hopkins make the final four with their talent? It's a questionable maybe at this stage. If they play like they did against Rutgers or Navy versus top competition, then no.

We're all waiting for Melendez to return to the form he had against UMD last year where he took his defender to the rack multiple times.

So you don't have enough of a sense of humor to understand that telling us that you think Hopkins is a mess, while UVa isn't...when Hopkins beat UVa....isn't just a *little* funny?

I understand...we all do...that UVa would be favored in a rematch. But there's no reason to give up on Hopkins winning it all, or assume that UVa or any other team is going to sail through the NCAA Tournament with no trouble.

These D1 teams are closer in talent than they have ever been. Anyone who assumes otherwise, and brings their B game in the NCAA's better get ready to get sent home early. This is March. There's SO much more lacrosse to be played before May.

[norcalhop]

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

....you guys have the biggest glass-half empty fans (or trolls posing as fans) in the sport. Your guys beat a BigTen team on their field by five, and they still find ways to throw stones.

All I can figure is that they're only watching Hop games, and not noticing that every top 20 team is fighting to get wins.

You're nuts if you think Hopkins can't make the Final Four. Who gets hot in May, is what it will come down to....and if you don't bring your A game in the Tournament, expect to be sent home.

I'm watching UVa and they sure aren't struggling to get wins. Their one loss was against Hopkins, which was without UVa's top FO.

Hoping you have a good enough sense of humor to chuckle at your above response.....

Outside of Hopkins, have they had a close game? Have they had a let down since Hopkins despite tough opponents? Have any of their games been close since then?

No.

How about Hopkins since the UVa game? Can Hopkins make the final four with their talent? It's a questionable maybe at this stage. If they play like they did against Rutgers or Navy versus top competition, then no.

We're all waiting for Melendez to return to the form he had against UMD last year where he took his defender to the rack multiple times.

So you don't have enough of a sense of humor to understand that telling us that you think Hopkins is a mess, while UVa isn't...when Hopkins beat UVa....isn't just a *little* funny?

I understand...we all do...that UVa would be favored in a rematch. But there's no reason to give up on Hopkins winning it all, or assume that UVa or any other team is going to sail through the NCAA Tournament with no trouble.

These D1 teams are closer in talent than they have ever been. Anyone who assumes otherwise, and brings their B game in the NCAA's better get ready to get sent home early. This is March. There's SO much more lacrosse to be played before May.

Agreed - there's still a chance for Hopkins if they improve meaningfully down the stretch. And yes, the field is as wide open as I've seen in many years without a truly dominant 2-3 teams that are head and shoulders above all others. This will be an exciting year. I could see Penn State, Army, UVa, Cuse, Duke, Notre Dame, Hopkins, amongst a slew of other teams winning it all this year.

[51percentcorn]

Outside of Hopkins, have they had a close game? Have they had a let down since Hopkins despite tough opponents? Have any of their games been close since then?

No.

How about Hopkins since the UVa game? Can Hopkins make the final four with their talent? It's a questionable maybe at this stage. If they play like they did against Rutgers or Navy versus top competition, then no.

We're all waiting for Melendez to return to the form he had against UMD last year where he took his defender to the rack multiple times.

Well wait a minute
Robert Morris 2-6
Drexel 3-5
Albany 3-5
Then Towson and Maryland - the Towson game was 10-9 at the half and the Maryland game was 12-10 with 11 minutes left. So with the exception of Maryland - UVA hasn't exactly been playing the 27 Yankees AND the Bobby MO/Drexel and Alabany games were all at Klockner

The great outlier is Hopkins loss to Navy. Shouldn't have happened - came on the heels of the following schedule - Georgetown/Loyola (despite their performance this year they have owned Hopkins of late and a mile away)/UNC (loads of trouble with them lately - Petro factor)/UVA/Syracuse - that's alot of "getting up" for games - And only 1 of those games was at home. So they go up 6-1 against the MIds and they thought the game was over.

Rutgers WAS ranked - 6-2 and playing at home. With games at Michigan at Maryland and then Penn State in NJ - they really needed this game. SO you were going to get their best effort.

[51percentcorn]

Other random thoughts:
- Ryan Evans did not play
- While I am solidly in the camp it must be incredibly difficult to stand there all day and not do anything and then get sent out there on EMO - Phillips had a rough outing - I wonder if it is time to give that spot to someone that plays in the game on a regular basis
- No one can say Degnon has not developed - this team would be in much worse shape without him - scored on a top of the box EMO/a cut to the side of the crease/a hitch and a dodge to the middle and a blast from his more normal spot but at a much harder angle - never would have happened a year or two past
- Would have thought with Degnon/Collison/Chauvette/Peshko and Melendez (as he showed yesterday) - Hopkins would be hard to zone - clearly a focus for this week's practice I imagine because it changed the game entirely
- Despite the two goals that were a huge spark - Melendez is going to hear about the much ill advised pass at the end of the first half - Petey was NOT happy - still seething - as much as he can seethe - after halftime. Couple of instances this year where you think - OK go into half or the quarter no worse than up 4 or whatever and then they uncork something really bad.
- Catch the ball Brendan
- Had a brief look at the box score from last year - as far as I can tell - only 2 of the 11 goals - 1 by Cohen and 1 by Aronson were scored by Wolverines on the current roster. Also, another long day at the office for the face-off crew - need a great day from Chayse and another 20 turnovers from Michigan to help tilt the field back to level

[ColumbiaBlueBlack]

The Jays won several other stat categories, including the turnover battle, saves, and GBs.

I would not put much faith in the stats. At the end of Q1, as one of my seatmates put it, we had "The Immaculate Faceoff": The scoreboard showed the Jays with four faceoff wins and zero groundballs [boxscore now shows the Jays with 3 groundballs at the end of Q1].

[HopFan16]

Other random thoughts:
- Ryan Evans did not play
- While I am solidly in the camp it must be incredibly difficult to stand there all day and not do anything and then get sent out there on EMO - Phillips had a rough outing - I wonder if it is time to give that spot to someone that plays in the game on a regular basis
- No one can say Degnon has not developed - this team would be in much worse shape without him - scored on a top of the box EMO/a cut to the side of the crease/a hitch and a dodge to the middle and a blast from his more normal spot but at a much harder angle - never would have happened a year or two past
- Would have thought with Degnon/Collison/Chauvette/Peshko and Melendez (as he showed yesterday) - Hopkins would be hard to zone - clearly a focus for this week's practice I imagine because it changed the game entirely
- Despite the two goals that were a huge spark - Melendez is going to hear about the much ill advised pass at the end of the first half - Petey was NOT happy - still seething - as much as he can seethe - after halftime. Couple of instances this year where you think - OK go into half or the quarter no worse than up 4 or whatever and then they uncork something really bad.
- Catch the ball Brendan
- Had a brief look at the box score from last year - as far as I can tell - only 2 of the 11 goals - 1 by Cohen and 1 by Aronson were scored by Wolverines on the current roster. Also, another long day at the office for the face-off crew - need a great day from Chayse and another 20 turnovers from Michigan to help tilt the field back to level

Evans' entire left leg above the knee is wrapped, and then wrapped again at the waist around the opposite hip. I'm surprised he can even run at all. Explains a lot.

The midfield appears to be as settled as it's ever been under PM/Crawley. First line: Collison, Bauer, Peshko. Second line: Grimes, Chauvette, Ayers. No more mixing and matching. Still no sign of McDermott on offense, which I'm not sure I love. I get he's in the "Hawley role" and you don't want to run him into the ground but he's too good of a player to never play in settled sets.

Might be time to give Ayers a shot on the inside/high crease on EMO.

[MDlaxfan76]

Road wins in this conference do not come easy. Nice step forward to get back on track, but lots more to do. Onto Michigan.

....you guys have the biggest glass-half empty fans (or trolls posing as fans) in the sport. Your guys beat a BigTen team on their field by five, and they still find ways to throw stones.

All I can figure is that they're only watching Hop games, and not noticing that every top 20 team is fighting to get wins.

You're nuts if you think Hopkins can't make the Final Four. Who gets hot in May, is what it will come down to....and if you don't bring your A game in the Tournament, expect to be sent home.

Exactly.

It's amazing that so many supposed Hop supporters can't simply be happy that the program is back in serious contention as a top 10, possible top 4 program if they come together down the stretch. That's a far cry from the angst of just few years back.

Are they dominant? Of course not. No one is.
Not UVA, not Syracuse, not Maryland, not Army, not Duke, not UNC, not Notre Dame, not Penn State, not Michigan and no Ivy...Hopkins is right there in the mix. Anyone can get hot and win it all.
They could fade down the stretch or get some lucky bounces...
With a huge amount of big games yet to play, just celebrate that they're actually in the hunt.