Navy at Johns Hopkins: Halftime thoughts
Johns Hopkins is continuing its dominance over area rivals, taking a 10-0 advantage into halftime against visiting Navy at Homewood Field in Baltimore Saturday night.
The No. 4 Blue Jays, who have won four consecutive games, scored two goals in the first 51 seconds of the contest – both within a six-second span – and scored three goals on its first four shots.
Johns Hopkins (9-2) converted 2-of-4 man-up chances in the first quarter and 3-of-5 in the first half, has taken 27 shots, and collected 11 more ground balls.
Under coach Dave Pietramala, the Blue Jays are 51-4 against their in-state rivals, including 10-1 against the Midshipmen. Navy’s lone win in the series occurred last season when the Midshipmen snapped a 36-game skid to Johns Hopkins.
Navy (4-8), which has dropped four straight contests, is in danger of compiling the most losses in a single season under coach Richie Meade since he took over the program prior to the 1995 season.
Other notes:
*The Blue Jays’ efficiency on offense has been in sharp contrast to the Midshipmen’s futility on that side of the ball. Navy has taken just seven shots and didn’t get one on net until there was 4:27 left in the second quarter. One play that symbolized Navy’s frustration occurred late in the first quarter when senior midfielder Kevin Doyle ran down the right alley and skipped a pass to freshman attackman Harrison Chaires, who was alone by the left post. But Chaires’ one-timer was pushed wide left, and Johns Hopkins sophomore goalie Pierce Bassett corralled the ball and started a successful clear.
*Sophomore attackman Zach Palmer leads all scorers with four points on one goal and three assists. Senior attackman Chris Boland registered two goals and one assist. His first goal just 45 seconds into the game marked the seventh time this season that the Blue Jays scored on their first shot of the contest. Senior Matt Dolente has won all 10 of the game’s faceoffs.
*There might be a mutual respect between these rivals, but that doesn’t mean that they have to like each other. Both sides engaged in a pre-game scrum at midfield when some Johns Hopkins players took issue with a few Midshipmen straying over the line. Coaches from both teams quickly moved to squash the shoving, but several players – most notably, Dolente and Navy junior Logan West – continued to jaw at each other during pre-game warm-ups.
Categories: Halftime thoughts, Johns Hopkins, Navy
