It was like a great fight between two of the sport's biggest heavyweights. Johns Hopkins couldn't put Syracuse away, and the Orange refused to lose.
But midfielder Steven Brooks' low bounce shot 37 seconds into the four-minute sudden death overtime period ended nearly two hours of excitement as No. 9 Syracuse edged No. 4 Hopkins, 14-13, yesterday before an announced crowd of nearly 3,500 at Homewood Field.
Hopkins led the entire game, five times by as many as three goals, but Syracuse attackman Kenny Nims tied the game on a fast-break goal with 2:10 left in regulation.
Syracuse (4-1) won the faceoff to open the overtime period, and seconds later Brooks delivered the game-winning goal for the second straight week.
Last week, the game-winner came against Georgetown. Yesterday, it was against Hopkins, but the shot was similar. Brooks scored running to his left on a 15-yarder that bounced through the legs of Hopkins goalie Michael Gvozden (11 saves).
"I just was sweeping to my left, and it was a jumper that went through his legs," Brooks said. "We don't really like going into overtime games, but it's good coming out with a win."
It's usually the Blue Jays who win close games. Since Dave Pietramala became head coach in 2001, Hopkins was 30-7 in one-goal games because Pietramala teams are usually so disciplined and methodical.
But the Blue Jays (3-2) have now lost two overtime games in a row, including an 8-7 loss to Hofstra last week. They became unglued yesterday, taking ill-advised shots in the closing minutes.
They couldn't run out the clock in the final three minutes with a one-goal lead, as an unforced turnover on a high pass to midfielder Paul Rabil led to Nims' goal.
Another glaring deficiency was on faceoffs. Hopkins won only one of eight in the fourth period.
It appears as if some Hopkins players are trying to do too much. Maybe it's the pressure of trying to win back-to-back championships. But Pietramala refused to point fingers at anyone but himself.
"I've come in here time after times when we won one-goal games and said we won them because we did the little things to win ballgames," Pietramala said. "You can't have it both ways. We're not doing those little things now that we were doing before to win."
"We have to focus on that, and that's my job," Pietramala said. "I'm not going to take anything away from Syracuse or the job John Desko is doing coaching that team. They're a very good team, highly motivated. Obviously, they are doing the little things needed to win these types of games."
After the celebration yesterday, several Orange players shouted, "We're back" while leaving the field. Syracuse last season finished 5-8 and failed to make the NCAA tournament.
Syracuse had some defensive lapses yesterday, and the goalie play has to improve for the Orange to become national champions again. But they caused some matchup problems for Hopkins.
Pietramala elected to put a long pole midfielder on Dan Hardy, but it was Brooks who hurt the Blue Jays with four goals. Attackman Mike Leveille added three.
Kevin Huntley (Calvert Hall) scored four goals to lead Hopkins.
As for Hopkins, the Blue Jays have little time to rebound. Syracuse hosts Binghamton next week at the Carrier Dome. The Blue Jays travel to Charlottesville to face Virginia.
"I still believe in our guys and still think we have a good lacrosse team," Pietramala said. "It's the little things, like not throwing the ball back in bounds, or understanding the strength of a player and his weak hand. We have to make better decisions."
mike.preston@baltsun.com
Syracuse 2 3 4 4 1 - 14
Johns Hopkins 2 4 4 3 0 - 13
Goals: S-Brooks 4, Leveille 3, Miller 2, Abbott, Hardy, Loftus, Niewieroski, Nims; H-Huntley 4, Peyser 2, Boyle, Castle, Christopher, Kimmel, Rabil, Walker, Wharton. Assists: S-Leveille 3, Carrozza, Hardy, Loftus, Perritt; H-Kimmel 3, Boyle, Christopher, Huntley, Rabil. Saves: S-Galloway 10; H-Gvozden 11.