Johns Hopkins 2024

[jhu06]

A lot of signature moments for some kids playing perhaps some of their final games at Homewood.
Up
Szuluk-5 gbs 3 cts. Probably conference defensive player of the week. Ierlan might be specialist of the week if not for Wietfelts start.
Kilrain-Comeback all started with his groundball which set up the martin to jaronski goal which ended the early michigan run. You can't win a game like this if a rally doesn't start somewhere.
Peshko-Not just the goals but he saved a possession and finished it with a score when the michign kid was white hot
Melendez-broke out of the slump.
The commenters calling for a different defense the last decade of the petro era. Many of you spent years calling for a different approach usually after another acc gauntlet smoking. This felt different today.
Halftime adjustments-I'm sure they'll ask callahan what happened in that press conference.
I'm sure Tinney who was not mentioned on the broadcast wanted a hidden ball trick back at homewood and michigan wasn't able or didn't feel comfortable to do it
ssdms and ierlan were great
mcdermott helped finish off the wolverines, he and evans are going to have critical goals down the stretch
Grimes dog mcgoals will probably give the groundskeeper or his stick a nice easter egg for that one he'll cherish awhile
Michigan was at 9 cts coming in a game. They had 5.
There have been years we've seen them really struggle to execute picks and get consistently called for moving picks and we didn't see too many violations. Chauvette the younger didn't blow up the stat sheet but he also didn't get called for screwing them up which is all you can ask from a freshman.

Down
Whatever the pregame scout on michigans faceoff was didn't work
The long poles don't seem to contribute much on the wings on faceoffs. Young Martin might be a year away.
Millimans timeouts calls were not great.
We've watched smith struggle for years trying to clear by himself.
raposo had a long day early
Feels like we've had more offsides calls this year with penalties than usual.
We haven't seen a lot of English but they miss what he brought in terms of ball movement. Bauer wasn't particularly great today.
When you're up and trying to play keep away I don't understand having the collisons and grimes and peshkos out there instead of ssdms. There's a big gap in athleticism and we know mcdermott and raposo can finish a shot


Whatever
-At least 1 of michigan/penn state/maryland is going to be in the play in round and you didn't want to fall behind in the conference today
-I don't know what the blue jay pen at the west end of the stadium was. The metal barricades looked ugly. If it's for behavioral things this isn't college park, fans don't burn things down because Juan Dixon and Steve Blake play great basketball.
-In what we hope are the bad days of the past we used to hear a lot about the lack of speed and athleticism with Hopkins or undersized attackmen out of position caught on d, how the schools with power football had the resources to help recruit and develop better athletes, how early recruiting doomed Hopkins and you just didn't see those narratives on the field today. If anything you really saw a lot of mental poise, heady plays, and guys able to stand up to Michigan and all that training Stephen Ross and Fox Sports football tv contracts pay for.

[coda]

He was terrible today.. it happens. Goalies and faceoff guys, nobody understands them

Little surprised Angelus shot there. 25 seconds > goal in that situation

Don’t care which team, I just hate watching a goalie have a tough game. Also feel bad for the kids family. It’s rough being a goalie parent.

Totally agree. Both positions. It’s terrible to be a goalie or Fogo parent.

[coda]

Melendez. The man has his mojo back. Getting hot at the right time.

I said that earlier in this thread after the Rutgers game. Hopkins is a legit contender, if Melendez finds his 2023 form

[HopFan16]

Sometimes it's now how many faceoffs you win, but when you win them. Jays were 4/5 in the 3rd quarter to help build the lead and prevent Michigan from coming back.

Smart gameplan for the D to press out and play aggressive as a way to cut into the possession deficit. It's definitely a calculated risk given how many penalties the Jays have taken this year (and how good Michigan is on man-up), but it paid off.

Martin and Aviles were both tremendous, living up to their "midseason All-American" billing. It's so nice to have shorties you don't have to worry about. The whole D and goalie are put under an enormous strain when you have to compensate for bad shortie play.

Pehsko has these big games (3 goals on 3 shots, 1 GB, 1 CT, 0 TOs) that show what he's capable of and then disappears the following week. Let's see two in a row out of the big fella.

The third midfield was an interesting wrinkle I didn't expect. Maybe just trying to keep legs fresh as the calendar flips to April. McDermott acquitted himself well with a goal — I've been saying I'd like to see him play more offense.

Degnon has 31 goals in 10 games and 3 turnovers. Crazy. He's doing everything a 6th year captain needs to be doing and more. Might not be a "midseason All-American" but he's the heart and soul of this team.

[DocBarrister]

Sometimes it's now how many faceoffs you win, but when you win them. Jays were 4/5 in the 3rd quarter to help build the lead and prevent Michigan from coming back.

Smart gameplan for the D to press out and play aggressive as a way to cut into the possession deficit. It's definitely a calculated risk given how many penalties the Jays have taken this year (and how good Michigan is on man-up), but it paid off.

Martin and Aviles were both tremendous, living up to their "midseason All-American" billing. It's so nice to have shorties you don't have to worry about. The whole D and goalie are put under an enormous strain when you have to compensate for bad shortie play.

Pehsko has these big games (3 goals on 3 shots, 1 GB, 1 CT, 0 TOs) that show what he's capable of and then disappears the following week. Let's see two in a row out of the big fella.

The third midfield was an interesting wrinkle I didn't expect. Maybe just trying to keep legs fresh as the calendar flips to April. McDermott acquitted himself well with a goal — I've been saying I'd like to see him play more offense.

Degnon has 31 goals in 10 games and 3 turnovers. Crazy. He's doing everything a 6th year captain needs to be doing and more. Might not be a "midseason All-American" but he's the heart and soul of this team.

Hard to believe we can actually say this, but the Blue Jays may just have the best corps of SSDMs in college lacrosse.

The Big Guys … Grimes, Peshko, and Collison … had a productive day with 5 goals and 1 (freaky crazy) assist. They even occasionally played like Big Guys. Need to see more of that from this trio.

Having Melendez back in form is going to make defending against the Blue Jays so much harder.

In Petro’s day, if the Blue Jays lost the faceoff battle by a wide margin, it was game over. Not anymore. Just shows the importance of having a good ride and a takeaway D.

DocBarrister

[51percentcorn]

You guys with axes to grind on Smith and Deans are nuts IMO. Do I wish Smith didn't hit the kid at the end of the Denver game - yes of course I do. Otherwise he has 36 ground balls and 9 caused turnovers - his ground ball total dwarfs everybody but Callahan and he has certainly neutralized many a top attackman
Deans has 8 CTOs - 13 ground balls and ZERO turnovers - yes he got caught for his first penalty of the year today and Michigan scored. Pretty wild scramble - sort of a soft slash and the officials were dying to call something on Hopkins after a coupld Michigan fouls,
Scott and Patrick - please come back next year

Bottom line:
After looking as disorganized and sleepy as likely any point in the year - it was a 6v6 defensive clinic after halftime. 2 man-up goals - a kind of a throwaway goal with 90 seconds left and maybe one of the broken stick goals? It was awesome. Play like that and you might have something.

[HopFan16]

You guys with axes to grind on Smith and Deans are nuts IMO. Do I wish Smith didn't hit the kid at the end of the Denver game - yes of course I do. Otherwise he has 36 ground balls and 9 caused turnovers - his ground ball total dwarfs everybody but Callahan and he has certainly neutralized many a top attackman
Deans has 8 CTOs - 13 ground balls and ZERO turnovers - yes he got caught for his first penalty of the year today and Michigan scored. Pretty wild scramble - sort of a soft slash and the officials were dying to call something on Hopkins after a coupld Michigan fouls,
Scott and Patrick - please come back next year

Bottom line:
After looking as disorganized and sleepy as likely any point in the year - it was a 6v6 defensive clinic after halftime. 2 man-up goals - a kind of a throwaway goal with 90 seconds left and maybe one of the broken stick goals? It was awesome. Play like that and you might have something.

Agreed. Smith isn't perfect, but he's one of the best defensemen in the country. Think we should just be happy with that. Helluva lacrosse player. His CT numbers are "down" this year because teams are avoiding him like the plague. He's been terrific off the ground in the defensive zone — him and Kilrain have done a great job stepping up there after the loss of Mazzone.

I'm not sure the Carson Brown disappearance act will ever make sense to those of us who aren't at practice everyday. You had to make room for Kilrain but it almost defies belief that a freshman defenseman could go 21 GBs/15 CTs and then just not play the following year. I see him dressed on the sideline every week so I don't think it's injury. PM and K have proven themselves to be good evaluators of talent so my guess at this point is that it's just one of those things — he's being outplayed when the cameras aren't on. Sophomore slump, something going on with him personally, who knows. All I know is he showed too much potential last year for this to be the last of him.

Another good game for Ierlan — think he probably wanted this one badly after Michigan sent him and Cornell home in the tournament last year.

Need to avenge the PSU loss from last year next weekend. That one still stings.

[Bluejayfan2]

Bring On Penn State- Going to be a great one for my 40th reunion next weekend at Homewood. Too old now to have the pledges sneak a keg over the fence on the visitor side for the game however. #Foreverabluejay

[windsorhills87]

Bring On Penn State- Going to be a great one for my 40th reunion next weekend at Homewood. Too old now to have the pledges sneak a keg over the fence on the visitor side for the game however. #Foreverabluejay

I am going to miss my 60th reunion this coming week- but- I would try to get the keg in the stands- your 40th shouldn't be an issue- so get the pledges going- it will be a great game- go Jays!

[51percentcorn]

Other random thoughts:
- Congratulations to the Hopkins Women with a huge win over #9 James Madison and it wasn't close 21-13. Top 10 ranking for sure and the calendar will be circled for April 10th when the Lady Terps come to Baltimore - hope they don't overlook Rutgers
- Glad to see Evans with some mobility after '16's description of a lower body injury @ Rutgers - sounded like he could have been an extra in one of the Mummy movies
- '16 raised this point earlier but McDermott's goal and earlier shot - which was a good one - raises the question of are there any - it's not the right word but I'll use it - regrets - with designating him the wing guy. He's got 12 ground balls for the year which is not going to come that close to Hawley's 31 (e.g. if averages hold and Hopkins played 8 more games Casey would get to 21 ground balls). With all the nice attributes to the Hopkins middies - north south speed is probbaly lower on the scale (English was supposed to provide some of that) and is one of McDermott's strengths.
- Given smaller sample sizes the percentages on EMO and Man Down can change markedly. We are now above 40 - one good one bad in both categories Phillips was sat down and a Melendez right handed blast and a doorstep goal by Hunter were certainly different
- Penn State - Penn State - Penn State - gave one away last year - up 5-0 - down 10-7 - up 11-10 with 2 minutes and change left. So many things need to change:
- Malone had 4 goals and 3 assists - the Traynor that's left had 2 goals - that's half the goals and 3 of the 7 assists - guard the knowns
- Hopkins was overmatched in Goal - 17 Saves to 8 - 60% Save Percentage to 40% - that gap hopefully will close by a fair amount - but Fracyon starts the gamut in the BIG where Hopkins will be seeing alot of AA caliber goalies - Penn State put 9 shots on goal in the last 38 minutes of play and 5 of them went in.
- Hopkins was unexpectedly crushed at face-offs 19-9 which led to a huge disparity in ground balls 44-28 - Only a gazillion Penn State turnovers shrunk the possession AFLAC gap. The Penn State face-off man and Callahan have virtually identical - just below 52% - success rates this year
- Penn State's EMO has been statistically poor so far this year - but any team that has Malone/Traynor etc. should not be fouled

[HopFan16]

- '16 raised this point earlier but McDermott's goal and earlier shot - which was a good one - raises the question of are there any - it's not the right word but I'll use it - regrets - with designating him the wing guy. He's got 12 ground balls for the year which is not going to come that close to Hawley's 31 (e.g. if averages hold and Hopkins played 8 more games Casey would get to 21 ground balls). With all the nice attributes to the Hopkins middies - north south speed is probbaly lower on the scale (English was supposed to provide some of that) and is one of McDermott's strengths.

When they made the decision initially it made some sense — English had not yet gone down, Evans may have been healthier, Melendez was not yet in a funk — the offense had depth and they probably thought they could afford to move McDermott. And for awhile it seemed like it was working, the team was winning games and I recall 33 having especially solid games in the middle of the field vs. Loyola and Virginia where his athleticism and motor were needed. If there's a "regret" it might be that they waited a week or two too long to mix him back into the offense — maybe he could have helped provide a spark when they went frigid vs. Navy.

Looked like Iler joined English in the Scooter Gang on the sideline yesterday. The dream is dead. Please respect my privacy at this time. In all seriousness it is a bummer as I loved what I saw out of him in the fall but we will likely need him next year with graduation losses at midfield.

Right now faceoffs and transition defense are putting a cap on this team's ceiling from first round/QFs to a Final Four or beyond, IMO. Possessions, possessions, possessions. They've been the more efficient team in 8/10 games this season (all 8 wins + the Cuse loss). The settled 6v6 D has been good all year...when the Jays make it a "our offense vs. your defense/your offense vs. our defense" type of game, they tend to win those matchups on both ends of the field. Unsettled play and the X have muddled things up.

[Brewj]

Hate to say it, but this Hopkins team may have peaked at UVA. They have been playing an extremely sloppy brand of lacrosse the past couple games; missed ground balls, inaccurate passes, and an abysmal shooting percentage are not the recipe for a trip to championship weekend. I'm no longer convinced an at-large berth is even guaranteed without some strong performances in conference play (e.g., a win over Maryland).

If this team doesn't clean up the unforced errors and figure out how to get production out of the suddenly-invisible 2nd and 3rd attack slots then we can expect the rest of the season to resemble tonight's frustrating mediocrity.

I have determined I was committing the equivalent of getting bearish at the bottom in this post, to use a stock trading analogy.

I am confessing for my sins and doubling down here. This is a special team and is championship weekend bound. It's time this board of jaded old guys fully buys in—the team deserves it. I'll return to collect clout or eat crow come playoffs.

[Hoponboard]

https://x.com/icecrehm/status/177444204 ... CyvTOhrf1Q

Collison’s signature highlight.

[jhu06]

penn state playing well against the terps right now and they have a lot of 1/6 in their ncaa stat sheet but there are some holes
.
6th in conference in faceoff win percentage
6th in man up offense
5th in turnovers per game
their faceoff guys baldwin/mullins at 4/3 gbs a game each, weitfelt is at 9. their faceoff guys are 51/41 win percentage. weitfelt was 61.

Otoh Fracyon is saving at 56 percent, and the michigan guy from last weekend is at 48 percent so need more possessions this week because their goalie is going to save more shots.

they're also
1 in man down d/opponent clear percentage/scoring o/scoring d/shot percentage/points per game/gbs per game

they shoot well/pass well/save well/pick up gbs

[jhu06]

Sometimes it's now how many faceoffs you win, but when you win them. Jays were 4/5 in the 3rd quarter to help build the lead and prevent Michigan from coming back.

Smart gameplan for the D to press out and play aggressive as a way to cut into the possession deficit. It's definitely a calculated risk given how many penalties the Jays have taken this year (and how good Michigan is on man-up), but it paid off.

Martin and Aviles were both tremendous, living up to their "midseason All-American" billing. It's so nice to have shorties you don't have to worry about. The whole D and goalie are put under an enormous strain when you have to compensate for bad shortie play.

Pehsko has these big games (3 goals on 3 shots, 1 GB, 1 CT, 0 TOs) that show what he's capable of and then disappears the following week. Let's see two in a row out of the big fella.

The third midfield was an interesting wrinkle I didn't expect. Maybe just trying to keep legs fresh as the calendar flips to April. McDermott acquitted himself well with a goal — I've been saying I'd like to see him play more offense.

Degnon has 31 goals in 10 games and 3 turnovers. Crazy. He's doing everything a 6th year captain needs to be doing and more. Might not be a "midseason All-American" but he's the heart and soul of this team.

Hard to believe we can actually say this, but the Blue Jays may just have the best corps of SSDMs in college lacrosse.

The Big Guys … Grimes, Peshko, and Collison … had a productive day with 5 goals and 1 (freaky crazy) assist. They even occasionally played like Big Guys. Need to see more of that from this trio.

Having Melendez back in form is going to make defending against the Blue Jays so much harder.

In Petro’s day, if the Blue Jays lost the faceoff battle by a wide margin, it was game over. Not anymore. Just shows the importance of having a good ride and a takeaway D.

DocBarrister

Jameson was brought in the first time-I think after the 11 disaster with maybe dolente to fix the faceoff mess and did it. they need more from the boys on the wings. last year brother mazzone et al hoovered a lot of rubber off the green. they haven't gotten that help this year. young martin looks lost out there.

[norcalhop]

did not see this UMD win coming after the Michigan loss. Wild

[Hoponboard]

Short week for PSU. Up by five goals. Deflating loss.

Been there, done that.

[HopFan16]

Short week for PSU. Up by five goals. Deflating loss.

Been there, done that.

I'd rather play them after a win. After a brutal loss they'll be extra motivated. Had they won maybe they'd be feeling themselves a little too much. Will be a tough one either way.

[nyjay]

Short week for PSU. Up by five goals. Deflating loss.

Been there, done that.

I'd rather play them after a win. After a brutal loss they'll be extra motivated. Had they won maybe they'd be feeling themselves a little too much. Will be a tough one either way.

At Homewood. I'd guess the line is Jays -1.5, O/U 23.5. And I'd probably take the Jays and the over. Big game next weekend. A win would be huge.

[DocBarrister]

Short week for PSU. Up by five goals. Deflating loss.

Been there, done that.

I'd rather play them after a win. After a brutal loss they'll be extra motivated. Had they won maybe they'd be feeling themselves a little too much. Will be a tough one either way.

At Homewood. I'd guess the line is Jays -1.5, O/U 23.5. And I'd probably take the Jays and the over. Big game next weekend. A win would be huge.

Hopkins Homecoming!!!

DocBarrister