Maryland's start was a lot worse than its finish as the No. 5 Terps trail No. 15 Johns Hopkins, 4-3, at halftime in the second game of the Smartlink Day of Rivals doubleheader at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Saturday night.
Maryland (7-2), which has dropped the last three meetings and 12 of the last 15, got off to a lethargic start, killing possessions with costly turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays (5-5) took advantage by scoring three unanswered goals. The first two came from freshmen midfielders as John Greeley scored with 12:13 left in the first quarter and Greeley connected with John Ranagan with 6:53 left. Senior attackman Steven Boyle capped the run by converting a pass from senior midfielder Michael Kimmel with 4:54 left.
After both teams traded goals, junior attackman Ryan Young converted a feed from sophomore midfielder Jake Bernhardt, and senior midfielder Adam Sear scored on a two-man advantage as the Terps closed to within one before halftime.
If Maryland harbors any hope of ending its recent hex against Johns Hopkins, the team will need a hotter start in the third quarter. The good news is that the Blue Jays have surrendered 28 goals in the third period – the most of any quarter this season.
Other notes:
*If Johns Hopkins falters, the team will be kicking itself for failing to take advantage of its man-up opportunities. The offense has whiffed on six extra-man chances in the first half, which is not a good sign for a Blue Jays team that needs to convert those types of situations.
*Both teams are pretty even statistically. Johns Hopkins barely leads in shots (15-14), groundballs (15-12) and face-offs (5 of 9). The Terps are leading in saves (5-4), and both teams have committed six turnovers.
*Ranagan leads all scorers with three points on two goals and one assist. Young and junior attackman Grant Catalino pace Maryland with one goal and one assist each.