UMBC vs. Johns Hopkins: Halftime thoughts
No. 7 Johns Hopkins leads No. 19 UMBC, 8-6, at halftime at Homewood Field, and the advantage could have been much bigger for the host Blue Jays if they hadn’t been flagged for four penalties in the first quarter.
Senior attackman Steven Boyle, senior long-stick midfielder Greg Harrington, snioe short-stick defensive midfielder Dave Spaulding and senior defenseman Matt Drenan each committed slashing penalties, and the Retrievers converted on three of those four extra-man opportunities.
A few of the penalties seemed iffy, and Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala gave the officials quite an earful for much of the period, but the Blue Jays just need to turn down the volume on the aggression button and stay disciplined.
Other notes:
*After registering just one goal and one assist in what was a quiet performance by his standards this season, Boyle has exploded in the first half, scoring three times and adding an assist. UMBC has alternated between marking Boyle with senior defensemen Bobby Atwell and Brian Schneider, but Boyle has pretty much had his way thus far. How successful the Retrievers can contain Boyle could determine the final outcome.
*Sophomore goalkeeper Brian McCullough has fared decently in his first career start. After playing just 3 minutes, 44 seconds as a backup to Jeremy Blevins last spring, McCullough surrendered four goals before making his first save with just a few seconds left in the first quarter. Since then, he’s made a couple of good stops and kept UMBC in the game. He has five saves in the half.
*Kyle Wimer is the Retrievers’ primary playmaker, but goals have been a rare commodity for the senior attackman. After scoring three in a season-opening, triple-overtime loss to unranked Delaware on Feb. 20 (with the last occurring with 7:06 left in the fourth quarter), Wimer went scoreless in games against Rutgers and No. 4 North Carolina. He finally ended the streak with 48 seconds left in the first quarter, snapping a drought of 152 minutes, 11 seconds.
*UMBC ended the half on a bad note, collecting 30-second penalties for going offsides (senior attackman Matt Latham) and pushing (senior defenseman Lance Ophof). Johns Hopkins will begin the second half with a two-man advantage and possession.
Categories: Halftime thoughts, Johns Hopkins, UMBC
