No. 13 Virginia Edged by No. 16 Johns Hopkins, 14-13No. 13 Virginia Edged by No. 16 Johns Hopkins, 14-13

No. 13 Virginia Edged by No. 16 Johns Hopkins, 14-13

The Blue Jays scored six goals in the fourth quarter to mount a successful comeback

Box Score

MLAX Championship Weekend_SPORT BANNER

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — After a fast start backed by unseasonably warm weather and its first home crowd of the year, No. 13 Virginia (2-2) managed to only score two of the game’s final 12 goals, as No. 16 Johns Hopkins (4-1) mounted a 14-13 comeback victory over the Cavaliers at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28). The contest proved to be the third consecutive one-goal game of the series, dating back to UVA’s double-overtime thriller over the Blue Jays in the 2024 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. 

Hopkins attackman Hunter Chauvette scored a game-high six goals. His final strike of the afternoon gave the Blue Jays their first lead of the game, which they did not relinquish. JHU’s Oran Gelinas (1-0) earned the win in net after replacing starting goaltender Dash Lamitie, who was pulled after being penalized for unnecessary roughness in the first quarter, while UVA led 4-1. 

Ryan Colsey, who was in UVA’s starting lineup as a midfielder, stood out among the Cavaliers with three goals, two assists and five ground balls. McCabe Millon (2g, 5a) also had five points. In his first start as an attackman, freshman Brendan Millon finished with two goals and two assists. UVA netminder Kyle Morris (1-1) made his second consecutive start and stopped six Blue Jay shots. 

With the win in the 100th game of the series, which began in 1904, the Blue Jays retained possession of the Doyle Smith Cup — bestowed annually to the winner of the regular-season matchup — for the third consecutive year, doing so on the 20th anniversary of the trophy’s establishment. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Cavaliers leaped out to a 5-1 lead less than 10 minutes in, a stretch that included a pair of goals from Ryan Duenkel (2g). The run was capped by a man-up goal from Colsey after Lamitie was sent to the sin bin and did not return. UVA led 6-2 at the end of the first. 

Hopkins scored the first goal of the second, but Virginia’s defense held the Blue Jays scoreless for the final 10:42 of the first half. The Cavaliers added to their lead after Colsey and McCabe Millon took turns assisting one another. Morris turned away a good look for the Blue Jays as time expired. UVA carried an 8-3 lead into the intermission. 

The Hoos opened the third quarter with three of the first four goals to build their largest lead of the afternoon, 11–4. Momentum stayed firmly with the Cavaliers when long-stick midfielder Luke Hublitz stripped Chauvette, sparking a fast break. After Duenkel scooped up the ground ball and returned it to Hublitz, he fired a behind-the-back pass to Tommy Snyder. Crisp ball movement on the other end set up Brendan Millon for the finish off a feed from Truitt Sunderland (1g, 1a), UVA's 10th score. McCabe Millon tacked. After McCabe Millon notched his second goal with 9:22 in the period, the Blue Jays ignited their run, scoring four straight goals to cut their deficit to three [11-8]. The Blue Jays’ momentum appeared to come to a halt after Morris made a save and a long outlet pass up the field that ultimately led Snyder's first career goal, which was assisted by fellow long pole Hublitz.

Despite Snyder’s critical goal and UVA's 12-8 lead entering the fourth quarter, Hopkins quickly regained momentum and scored six straight goals to grasp its first lead of the day. After the Blue Jays took a 14-12 lead with 1:21 remaining, Hopkins won the ensuing faceoff, but Duenkel laid a hit on a JHU midfielder who lost the ball and it was corralled by Brendan Millon. Moments later, Brendan Millon fed Sunderland, who buried his only goal of the game with just under 1:00 to play. Andrew Greenspan won the next faceoff and UVA signaled for time to talk things over. Coming out of the huddle, two Cavalier shots by McCabe Millon were off the mark, the second of which was saved by Gelinas.  

FROM HEAD COACH LARS TIFFANY ... 
“It's [about] maintaining a high level of intensity. I think you felt a shift there late in the third quarter. We’ve got to keep being as physical as we need to be on defense. And can we continue to create turnovers? And we just weren't able to do that defensively. Offensively, can we keep attacking? Can we put some pressure [on them]? Now, give their goalie credit. He made nine saves in the second half, so [he] was able to make the saves he needed to make for them to win. So, it's not completely broken – [Hopkins] just made plays in those last six, seven minutes that we didn't. And we’ve got to learn and grow from it.” 

NOTES 

  • Including Saturday’s game, ten of the last 17 meetings have been decided by one goal. UVA is now 5-5 in such contests. 
  • Senior attackman Ryan Colsey extended his goal streak to 18 games dating back to last year’s season opener, a span in which he’s totaled 39 goals. 
  • The game was UVA’s first at Klöckner Stadium this season after its season opener, a 19-14 win over Colgate (Feb. 8), was moved to the George Welsh Indoor Football Practice Facility due to frigid temperatures. 
  • Saturday's contest also marked the latest in a season that UVA has played its first game at Klöckner Stadium since 2004, when the Cavaliers didn’t open at home until March 6 against Syracuse. 
  • This year marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Doyle Smith Cup. Beginning with the 2006 meeting, UVA and Hopkins came together to honor the life and legacy of Edward “Doyle” Smith and his lasting contributions to both programs and the game at the national level. 
  • The game was part of a doubleheader with the UVA women’s lacrosse team, which fell 16-8 to No. 2 Stanford. 
  • Saturday's doubleheader is also the men's and women's annual One Love game, an event created in 2010 to honor former Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love and support the One Love Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to educating, empowering, and activating young people to end relationship violence and promote healthy relationships. 

UP NEXT 
The Cavaliers travel to High Point (1-4) on Tuesday (March 3). Opening faceoff from Vert Stadium is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. 

The Panthers fell 18-7 in a neutral-site meeting with Jacksonville Saturday afternoon. The game was contested on the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.