No. 9 UVA and No. 15 Johns Hopkins Clash Saturday in Baltimore
Virginia Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN3) | Live Audio
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (5-2, 2-0 ACC) return to Charm City on Saturday to face the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (4-3, 0-0 B1G) for a non-conference tilt in the battle for the Doyle Smith Cup. Faceoff at historic Homewood Field is set for 6 p.m. UVA is ranked No. 9 in both this week’s USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse/Maverick media polls. Johns Hopkins is No. 15 in the coaches poll and No. 16 in the media poll.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3, which can be viewed on the WatchESPN app, or by logging onto ESPN3.com. Jay Alter will call the play-by-play, while Matt Ward (UVA c/o 2006) and Don Zimmerman will provide analysis. ESPNU will run a tape delay of the game at 9 a.m. on Sunday. There will be a live radio broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA 1070 AM and 98.9 FM. Luke Neer will provide the play-by-play. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM ACC Radio channel 371.
DOYLE SMITH CUP
The game is the 14th annual battle for the Doyle Smith Cup, a spoil since 2006 that goes to the regular season winner in the series. Virginia and Johns Hopkins joined together to honor E. Doyle Smith, Jr., for his lifetime of contributions to the lacrosse programs at both schools and on the national level with the annual regular season winner laying claim to the cup. Smith served as team manager and statistician for Johns Hopkins under coach Bob Scott from 1963-68.
Smith enrolled at UVA to pursue a doctorate in the fall of 1968, and became the University’s first full-time assistant sports information director, a position he held for 31 years until his retirement in 1999, serving as the lacrosse team’s publicist for four head coaches: Buddy Beardmore, Glenn Thiel, Jim Adams and Dom Starsia. In 2000, he was elected to the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame and is the only individual inducted who never played the game at some level.
CAVALIER TIDBITS
• Dox Aitken is No. 5 all-time at UVA among midfielders in career goals with 85, tying him with Chris Rotelli (85). Matt Poskay (88) is next up on the list at No. 4.
• Michael Kraus has at least one point in all 39 career games he has appeared in. The active streak is currently No. 4 in the nation.
• Kraus has been on fire during UVA’s current four-game winning streak. He boasts 11 goals and nine assists for 20 total points.
• In seven games this season, UVA is limiting its opponents to a 72.4 clearing percentage (105-of-145), which is 5.7 failed clears per game by UVA opponents.
• UVA has scored 87 goals through four games this year and has assisted 55 of them. That means UVA has recorded an assist on 63.2 percent of its goals in 2019.
• UVA’s defense has forced 10 shot clock violations through the first seven games of the season.
SERIES INFO
• The 2019 season marks the 73rd straight season the Cavaliers and the Blue Jays have clashed in an all-time series that began in 1904. Johns Hopkins holds the all-time advantage with a 61-31-1 mark, however Virginia has won nine of the last 16 meetings, including a streak of six in a row before dropping six of the last 10 matchups.
• Virginia’s 93 all-time games against the Blue Jays is the most games the Cavaliers have played against any opponent in their history.
• The rivalry between the two schools goes all the way back to two meetings in 1904, well before lacrosse was recognized as a varsity sport at UVA.
• The teams have met at least once every season since 1948, the longest current series of any Virginia opponent
• Virginia has closed the gap recently by winning 18 of the last 30.
• Five of the last seven regular season meetings have gone to overtime. UVA won three of those games (2014-15-16).
JOHNS HOPKINS
• Dave Pietramala is in his 19th season as the head coach of Johns Hopkins.
• The Blue Jays are riding a two-game winning streak with triumphs over Mount St. Mary’s and Delaware. Johns Hopkins has also won four of its last five games, also defeating Princeton and then-No. 10 North Carolina.
• Joe Epstein leads Johns Hopkins with 23 points. Epstein and Kyle Marr share the team lead with 15 goals.
• Cole Williams has a team-best nine assists and is third on the team with 17 points, while Brett Baskin rounds out the top scorers with eight goals and 10 points.
• Ryan Darby is saving 50.6 percent of shots he is seeing between the pipes and is posting a 12.21 goals against average.
UP NEXT
Virginia returns to action on Sat., March 29 when in-state foe Richmond comes to Klöckner Stadium for a Friday night tussle. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.