A four-game losing streak can be fatal to a team's hopes for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. For No. 20 Johns Hopkins, it's treated as a minor hiccup.
The Blue Jays (4-5) haven't won since beating UMBC, 16-10, on March 9, dropping decisions to No. 13 Hofstra, No. 2 Syracuse, No. 1 Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina in consecutive weeks.
But Johns Hopkins lost five straight two years before reeling off five consecutive wins, qualifying for the tournament, and reaching the championship final. That's why coach Dave Pietramala isn't stressing over speculation that the program might not make its 39th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament this spring.
"There's always concern when you're not winning, when you hit a skid like this," he said. "But we've always taken everything one game at a time, and there's still a lot of lacrosse left for us. So you can't hit the panic button. You've got to just continue to work hard. Our focus is on the areas of concern, addressing the areas that will help us win."
The Blue Jays get a chance to reverse their fortunes this Saturday when Albany visits Homewood Field at 2 p.m. The Great Danes opened the season with six consecutive losses and are 2-7 overall. Despite those numbers, however, Pietramala dismissed the notion that Albany is a team ripe for Johns Hopkins.
“In the end, I don’t think the remedy for our situation lies in the teams that we’re playing or the next team that we’re playing,” he said. “I think it lies within our team. Part of it is we need to play with a greater sense of urgency. I thought we took a step on Saturday in doing that. … Is Albany the cure for that? No, because we still have to make those plays, and we still have to make the appropriate decisions, pass or slide. Albany might feel like we’re the antidote for them. So we’re not looking at it like that.”