Postscript from Johns Hopkins at Delaware
The final box score from Tuesday night’s game will show that once again, the starting attack of seniors Chris Boland and Kyle Wharton and sophomore Zach Palmer led the way in both goals and points in No. 9 Johns’ Hopkins’ 18-5 demolition of No. 20 Delaware.
But their performance should not overshadow the encouraging play of the team’s youthful midfielders.
That’s because while the Blue Hens defense sought to contain the attack, sophomore John Ranagan and freshmen Rob Guida and Eric Ruhl sparked the offense in the first two quarters.
Guida scored the first two goals of the game, Ranagan assisted on the next two, and Ruhl capped the scoring in the first half.
Coach Dave Pietramala said he wasn’t surprised by Delaware’s defensive game plan after the attack unit combined for seven goals and four assists in the Blue Jays’ 10-6 victory over Towson in the season opener last Saturday.
“I would imagine after the last game when you watched how we played, John and [sophomore] John [Greeley] and Robert were not great, and our attack carried the majority of the workload and had the majority of the points,” Pietramala said. “In this game, if I’m a coach, I’m looking at Hopkins and saying, ‘OK, well, the attack had a lot of the points. We’ve got to be very aware of them.’ I was really pleased to see Robert Guida get off and get a couple early. I thought both Johns played well. I thought the first line got some production, and we got some production from the second line and Eric Ruhl. In the last game, I didn’t feel like we got enough out of our middies, and that was something that we talked about that day and in practice over the last two days. So it was a focal point.”
Ranagan said he understands that the offense will continue to be scrutinized until the midfield produces on a consistent basis. But he expressed a confidence that he said stems from his teammates.
“We have our teammates’ support, so it’s not too bad,” Ranagan said. “We have two great captains at attack, and we’re all playing together. John and I played half a season together last year, and this is all new for us. So it’s nice to have three guys who are going through it together.”
Other notes:
*For the first time this season, Blue Hens junior Dan Cooney had a sub-par day at the faceoff X. Cooney, who had entered Tuesday night’s contest with a .732 faceoff percentage (41-of-56), won just 10-of-21 faceoffs against Johns Hopkins. Senior Matt Dolente won 7-of-13 faceoffs, and Ranagan split six attempts, but Pietramala said the key was applying pressure on Cooney. “One of the things we did do was we increased the level of pressure that we put on him,” Pietramala said. “When he got the ball, we felt like we could pressure him. If we could make into a ground ball scrum just a little bit more, we felt like we had a chance to come up with the ball.”
*If there’s one area of concern, the Blue Jays did not capitalize on their extra-man opportunities, converting just 2-of-9 chances. But enticing Delaware – which had committed 19 penalties in three games – into fouling was nearly as palatable, Pietramala said. “When you look at a game when you have a lead and a team’s trying to make a comeback, every penalty is a dagger,” he said. “It takes from your momentum and it takes from your opportunities to come back. … I thought their penalties took from any rhythm they might have had in the offensive end.”
*With wins at Towson and now Delaware, Johns Hopkins has two victories away from Homewood Field – which doubles the team’s total of road wins. “That may be the best thing, that we got two wins on the road,” Pietramala said.
