The unranked UMBC men's lacrosse team had accomplished last night what no other opponent had done against defending national champion Johns Hopkins this season.

A 2-0 advantage to start the game, execution of a patient, methodical offense and a 6-5 lead early in the third quarter.

But the visiting Retrievers could not sustain their charge, and the No. 1 Blue Jays mustered a second-half comeback to prevail, 10-8, at Homewood Field.

As pleased as Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala was to see his team win its 12th consecutive game and the sixth straight meeting between the Blue Jays and UMBC, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the execution.

"We weren't mentally ready to play like we were a week ago," Pietramala said, referring to Johns Hopkins' convincing 14-9 victory over then-No. 9 Princeton. "We've got to expect everybody's best game no matter what, and everybody should expect our best game."

The Retrievers took more shots (39-36, including 22-14 in the second half), grabbed more groundballs in the second half (19-14), and committed fewer turnovers (eight to the Blue Jays' 12).

"I think it was kind of a wake-up call," said Hopkins sophomore attackman Steven Boyle, who recorded three goals and two assists. "I think it humbles us down a little bit after the Princeton game."

With the game tied at five at halftime, senior midfielder Terry Kimener (one goal and one assist) put UMBC ahead 6-5 with a score just 1:34 into the third quarter.

But Johns Hopkins responded, getting goals from Boyle, freshman attackman Kyle Wharton and sophomore midfielder Michael Kimmel (one goal and three assists) over the next 12:51 to take a 8-6 lead.

Retrievers sophomore midfielder Kyle Wimer cut the advantage in half with his second goal of the game at the 10:05 mark of the fourth quarter. But goals from Boyle at 4:41 and senior midfielder Paul Rabil (two goals and one assist) at 1:36 put the game out of reach before UMBC sophomore attackman Matt Latham ended the scoring with a goal with 17 seconds left in the contest.edward.lee@baltsun.com

UMBC 2 3 1 2 - 8

Johns Hopkins 3 2 2 3 - 10

Goals: U-Wimer 2, Smith 2, Davis 2, Kimener 1, Latham 1. J-Boyle 3, Rabil 2, Kimmel 1, Peyser 1, Walker 1, Wharton 1, Duerr 1. Assists: U-Kimener 1, Pierce 1. J-Kimmel 3, Boyle 2, Rabil 1. Saves: U-Blevins 10. J-Gvozden 8.