Shellenberger’s Double-Overtime Winner Stuns Hopkins in NCAA Quarterfinals

TOWSON, Md. – Coming out of a timeout in double overtime, Connor Shellenberger (3g, 1a) dodged down the right alley, rolled back towards the cage and fired a left-handed shot that got past Johns Hopkins’ goalie Chayse Ierlan (15 saves) to seal an 11-10 comeback win for No. 6 seed Virginia in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium Sunday afternoon (May 19). The Cavaliers (12-5) held Hopkins (11-5) scoreless for nearly final 23 minutes of game time, a span in which UVA claimed the game’s last four goals.

For the second consecutive season, the Cavaliers advance to Championship Weekend, where they will take on No. 7 seed Maryland (10-5), which upended No. 2 seed Duke (13-6) on Saturday, in the semifinals on Saturday (May 25). Opening faceoff from Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pa.) is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Virginia defeated the Terrapins in College Park, Maryland in the regular season on March 16.

Just minutes from his hometown of Reisterstown, Maryland, Virginia attackman McCabe Millon (3g, 3a) led the Hoos offensively with six points. Defensively, the Cavaliers were led by long-stick midfielder Ben Wayer, who collected a career-high 10 ground balls. Wayer also dished out one assist and added two caused turnovers. Short-stick defensive midfielder Chase Yager (3gb, 3ct) recorded one caused turnover in each overtime period, the second of which ultimately led to Shellenberger’s goal on the other end of the field. Between the fourth quarter and both overtimes, Hopkins committed nine turnovers, including three failed clears in the fourth.

Kyle Morris (8 saves) checked into the game midway through the first period and earned his first career win. Morris came up with a pair of clutch saves in the first sudden death period to keep the Hoos afloat.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Hopkins took the game by storm to start, firing off the first four goals within the first seven minutes of play. The Blue Jays’ first strike came on a man-up chance after Virginia was signaled for a hold. Boyden’s first strike of the day put Cavaliers on the scoreboard at the 7:57 mark of the first. Shortly thereafter, the Blue Jays were penalized for a slash and Shellenberger stuck his first of the day amid the man-up chance on a pass from Griffin Schutz (2a). After Hopkins’ Russell Melendez (4g) ripped his third goal of the opening quarter, Shellenberger found Millon on a give-and-go to conclude an eventful first 15 minutes, at which point JHU led, 5-3. After the Blue Jays’ fourth goal, Morris checked into the game for UVA starter Matthew Nunes.

Both teams traded two goals apiece in the second period. Millon nabbed his second goal of the afternoon on an unassisted  turnaround shot from the wing. The Cavaliers’ second man-up score of the day came on yet another Boyden-Millon connection with 2:46 remaining in the first half. Hopkins led 7-5 at the break. Melendez had four of the Blue Jays’ seven goals and Millon led the Hoos with two goals and two assists. Virginia won nine of the first-half’s 14 total faceoffs and held the advantage on the ground, 19-12.

Back-to-back goals by Shellenberger and Ryan Colsey (1g) evened the game for the first time, 7-7, midway through the third. The Cavaliers had a chance to take the lead when Boyden found himself one-on-one with Ierlan, but Ierlan made a dazzling save to erase the Hoos’ chance of seizing the lead. Then, the Blue Jays shut out UVA the rest of the quarter and clung to a 10-7 lead entering the fourth.

After JHU’s 10^th goal with 1:37 left in the third, UVA shut out the Blue Jays the rest of the way. Payton Cormier (1g) notched his first score of the afternoon, his 64^th of the season, to extend his goal streak to 20 consecutive games. With 2:59 remaining in regulation Millon tiptoed around the crease and tied the game, 10-10. Millon’s goal was reviewed and upheld by the officials, an added boost of energy for the Hoos. A Blue Jay was sent to the penalty box with 48 seconds remaining in the fourth after JHU was flagged for offsides, but the Cavaliers could not get off a clean look by the end of regulation.

The first overtime period saw a combined five turnovers, including three by Virginia. Yager stripped Melendez with 36 seconds left to erase a Hopkins chance and 30 seconds later Morris denied Melendez to force double overtime.

The Cavaliers lost their second straight faceoff to start the second overtime, but a blocked shot by the UVA defense and another Yager caused turnover gave UVA the ball 90 seconds into the period. After a successful Virginia clear, the Hoos called timeout in their own offensive end. Coming out of the break, Shellenberger made his move and fired the game-winner to punch Virginia’s ticket to Championship Weekend.

WITH THE WIN…

• The Hoos advance to the NCAA semifinals for the 26^th time in school history and fourth in the last five tournaments.
• Virginia earned its first win in an overtime game since defeating Duke in double overtime in the 2019 NCAA semifinals … Today’s contest was also the first NCAA Tournament game to require double overtime since the Duke-Virginia matchup in 2019.
• Virginia is 13-2 in its last 15 NCAA Tournament contests dating back to 2019.
• UVA toppled a higher seed in the tournament for the fifth time since 2019.
• Virginia advances to face seventh-seeded Maryland for the 10^th time all-time meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament, including fourth instance in the last five years … UVA is 5-4 in such contests all-time.
• UVA also faces Maryland at Championship Weekend for the third time in the last five tournaments.
• The Cavaliers earned their first win over Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament since 2009.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Ben Wayer tallied a career-high 10 ground balls. The last UVA non-faceoff specialist to record least 10 ground balls in a single game was Jared Conners against Utah (April 17, 2021), who had 12.
• With 92 ground balls, Wayer now leads the nation in ground balls among non-faceoff specialists and surpassed Jared Conners’ 2021 mark of 85 ground balls.
• With three goals and three assists, McCabe Millon is only one goal shy of Joe Yevoli’s UVA freshman record of 40, which he set in 2002.
• Millon is also second on UVA’s freshman points list with 64 on the season.
• Six of the last 14 contests in the Virginia-Hopkins series have gone to overtime. UVA is now 4-2 such games.