Johns Hopkins lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala didn't talk about vindication, but he didn't need to because the evidence spoke for itself.
Nearly two years ago when the Blue Jays announced they were going to join the Big Ten Conference after 130 years as an independent program, Pietramala and other school officials were criticized for breaking the tradition of one of college lacrosse's most storied teams.
There were still some whispers of complaints this past season, but they probably disappeared Sunday when the Blue Jays hung on for a 16-15 win against archrival Syracuse in an NCAA Division I quarterfinal at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Blue Jays will advance to the Final Four next weekend in Philadelphia where they will play another rival, Maryland, a 14-7 winner over North Carolina Sunday in the other quarterfinal. If Hopkins didn't make the move to the Big Ten the Blue Jays wouldn't be in the semifinals.
They would be sitting home with most of their former critics.
"I don't feel vindicated at all," Pietramala said. "All along we believed this was the right thing to do. All along I've said the most consistent thing about us is that we're consistently inconsistent. We've shown flashes of brilliance and showed flashes where we could lose to anybody.
"The decision to go into the Big Ten was not reached easily when you talk to changing the tradition of a program, a program that has thrived off its history. And to change that, I was worried about that at one point because it was happening on my watch. If it turned out that it wasn't the right thing to do, it was partially on me. But the president had his committee do all their research. We got all the right answers and decided on the right conference."
There were some who thought Pietramala and school officials were taking the easy way out because a Big Ten schedule wouldn't be as demanding, but the decision was logical. Growth in the sport had created more talent, which produced more quality programs such as Denver, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Traditional favorites like Hopkins, Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Cornell were still able to lure some blue chip recruits, but all of those teams had conference affiliations and automatic playoff bids if they won their conference championships.
Well, except Hopkins. That changed when the Blue Jays joined the Big Ten.
If they didn't win the conference championship this year, they wouldn't have made the 18-team Division I tournament. Before winning Sunday — its seventh straight victory — Hopkins was 4-6 after losing to Ohio State on April 5.
Even with a 15-12 upset win against Maryland at the end of the regular season that pushed the Blue Jays record to 7-6, Hopkins still was on the outside looking in when it came to the tournament.
"After we beat Maryland, at least we were in the discussion, but we weren't guaranteed anything," Pietramala said. "Having that Big Ten tournament was huge for us."
Those extra games allowed Pietramala to develop more confidence in goalie Eric Schneider, who struggled early in the season but had 15 saves Sunday. The extra time allowed midfielder Holden Cattoni (two goals Sunday) more time to heal from an injury and midfielder Connor Reed to become a more integral part of the offense.
Freshman Shack Stanwick was a midfielder to start the season, but had four goals and two assists Sunday as an attackman. Senior attackman Wells Stanwick, who had four goals and two assists, is playing the best ball of his career and has accepted his role as the quarterback of the offense.
The Blue Jays were masterful Sunday, setting up and creating mismatches behind the goal with Syracuse's short-stick midfielders. They've peaked partially because that Big Ten tournament bought them extra time.
"My hat is off to the Blue Jays," Syracuse coach John Desko said. "I watched them a week ago and thought they were playing their best lacrosse of the season. We knew they had to work on some things early in the season."
Good coaches never complain when they start losing. They just roll up their sleeves and go back to work. They find ways to win, regardless if it means more practice time, film study or making changes in personnel.
In the case of Hopkins, the Blue Jays bucked tradition and did what was best for the program. They gave themselves a better chance of winning. After missing the tournament in 2013 for the first time since it began in 1971, Hopkins is in the NCAA semifinals for the 29th time.
Sometimes, change is good.
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