Hopkins lacrosse needs win at rival Maryland to make tourney
The longest-running rivalry in college lacrosse authors a new chapter this weekend.
The battle between Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland-College Park is a game every lacrosse fan considers must-see TV.
But the competitors arrive at this year's edition of "the game" in very different places.
One can say it's a good rivalry when the teams can't even agree on how many games they've played against one another. (It's at least 108 times that Maryland and Johns Hopkins have gathered for men's lacrosse.)
"I think it's got everything you could ask for in a rivalry -- tradition, history, great players, great moments -- so it's obviously an honor to be part of that," Maryland men's lacrosse coach John Tillman said.
The most storied rivalry in lacrosse renews hostilities -- special for all who take part, more so for a sophomore from Maryland like attackman Logan Wisnauskas.
"Once upon a time, I was one of those kids behind us, just trying to get autographs from all the Maryland kids, all the Hopkins kids," Wisnauskas said.
But for Johns Hopkins, the spectacle of the rivalry takes a back seat to other factors. The Blue Jays need a win to secure a berth in the Big Ten Tournament and consideration for the NCAA tourney. They enter the game having just suffered a 20-9 loss to No. 1 Penn State -- the first time they've allowed 20 goals in a game since 1994.
"Twenty goals in a game is 20 goals. I don't care who we play, and I don't care how good they are," Hopkins' men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala said. "It's offensive to me that we gave up 20 goals. Does it change how I feel when I wake up in the morning? Yeah. Does it change how I feel when I go to bed at night? Yeah."
In a rivalry game, most anything can happen, so adding in the desperation factor is a key focus for Saturday.
"I think that's really important for us to know, that really, it's a must win for them," Maryland sophomore attackman Anthony DeMaio said.
It's all part of a huge Saturday in College Park: the football red-white scrimmage is at noon, the Hopkins-Maryland women's lacrosse game is at 4:30 p.m. and the nightcap, the Hopkins-Maryland men's lacrosse game, is at 7:30 p.m.