Johns Hopkins kicked off the 2015 season Saturday with a convincing, 16-4 victory over UMBC at Homewood Field, running their record in season openers under coach Dave Pietramala to 13-2 and making him the program's all-time leader in coaching wins.
But there was still somberness surrounding the team.
The memory of freshman defenseman Jeremy Huber, who was found dead in his dorm on Jan. 26, weighed heavily on the players and colored the victory and coaching achievement for Pietramala.
"This is a bittersweet day because we did something very special for a very special family," he said after the game. "We just got off the phone with the Huber family in the locker room, and they're going to a service for Jeremy today. They pushed that ceremony back so that they could watch us play. So, today was huge on a lot of fronts, and the most important one was that we hopefully helped the family heal.
"I'm very proud of our guys. It's been a tumultuous and challenging two weeks, and I'm really proud of how they came together. So I'm happy for all of those reasons. It's also nice to win and get off on a good start against a very well-coached team. But more importantly, we hope this is a step in the process toward healing our family and healing the Huber family."
The Blue Jays did what they could to honor their fallen teammate. They wore patches with the No. 19, Huber's number, on their jerseys and No. 19 decals on their helmets. Prior to the start of the game, the team gathered around a blue-colored 19 painted on the turf in front of their bench and put their arms around each other.
"He's always on our minds," freshman midfielder Shack Stanwick said. "He's the nicest kid. It's hard to think of words to describe him. It's just sad and something we can get stronger from."
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Eric Schneider recalled Huber's selflessness and disdain for attention.
"Even when he was injured, he always had a smile on his face and he never let his injury get to him," Schneider said. "We would text him when he was getting out of surgery and he would just tell us, 'I'm fine. Don't worry about me.' That's the type of kid he was. He was a great teammate, and he's dearly missed. Moving forward, we're going to continue to play for him and honor his memory."
Pietramala said Huber's death has been especially tough for his classmates.
"Those are the guys that ate in the cafeteria with him and those are the guys that knew all of the behind-the-scenes jokes and quirky things that they all did," Pietramala said. "So while this has been challenging for every one of us, I can only begin to imagine how challenging it has been for those guys. I was impressed with the poise that they've shown."
Other notes:
**Junior midfielder Holden Cattoni sat out the season opener due to an undisclosed ailment, but was close to playing against the Retrievers.
"It was a game-time decision," Pietramala said. "Holden could've played, and we just decided to hold him out."
Stanwick, normally an attackman, filled Cattoni's spot on the first midfield and scored three goals and had one assist.
Cattoni, who had 35 points on 29 goals and six assists last season, could return in time for Tuesday night's game at Towson.
"Today was a game-time [decision]," Pietramala said. "So, there's a good chance he'll play this coming Tuesday."
**UMBC redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Connor Gordon made eight saves and allowed 11 goals before leaving with 5:02 left in the third quarter because of a cut on his forehead.
But coach Don Zimmerman didn't sound too pleased with Gordon's showing.
"I didn't think we got a particularly good performance out of our starting goalkeeper," Zimmerman said. "There were some shots that I don't think he had much of a chance to get, but I thought there were some shots he needed to see better and make a save for us."
Freshman David Pisanic replaced Gordon and also made eight stops while surrendering just three goals. The Towson resident and Boys' Latin graduate might have opened the door for some more playing time with his effort.