April 4, 2002

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The Game: Fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins (6-1) hits the road for a battle at 15th-ranked Ohio State (6-2). JHU knocked off Villanova, 10-7 in its last game, while Ohio State defeated Delaware, 15-7 in its last outing.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins posted an 8-4 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Ohio State posted an 8-6 record last season and finished the year ranked 19th in the nation.

The Coaches: Dave Pietramala is in his second season as the head coach of the Blue Jays. He sports an overall record of 37-22, including a 14-5 record at Johns Hopkins.

Pietramala spent three years as the head coach at Cornell (1998-2000) before returning to his alma mater last season. He is the only person in the history of college lacrosse who has earned NCAA Division I National Player of the Year honors (1989) and NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year honors (2000).

Joe Breschi is in his fifth season as the head coach at Ohio State. A 1990 graduate of the University of North Carolina, he sports an overall record of 35-26.

National Rankings:

JHU Ohio State

STX/USILA 4th 15th

Inside Lacrosse 4th 15th

Note: For purposes of pre-game rankings, the Johns Hopkins sports information office uses the STX/USILA rankings as each team's official ranking.

Hopkins Lacrosse on the Radio: Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse games can be heard on WJFK-AM 1300 in Baltimore. The Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Game of the Week presented by Copy World begins with a pre-game show 15 minutes prior to faceoff and includes a 15-minute post-game show. Larry Quinn and Mark Dixon will provide all the play-by-play and expert analysis. All regular-season games (except the games against Albany, North Carolina, Villanova, and Navy) and NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast.

Please note that beginning with the Syracuse game, all Johns Hopkins games that are broadcast on the radio can also be heard on the official web site of Johns Hopkins athletics (www.HopkinsSports.com).

Hopkins Lacrosse on Television: The Blue Jays are scheduled to hit the air waves eight times this season. Games against Princeton, Syracuse, North Carolina, Maryland, Towson and Loyola will air on WMAR in Baltimore, while the JHU-Virginia game was aired on Comcast SportsNet. This is in addition to the Hofstra game, which aired in New York on the Madison Square Garden Network. Since 1998, Johns Hopkins has had 31 of its games televised and has posted an 19-12 record in those 31 games.

Hopkins Lacrosse on the Web: The official web site for Johns Hopkins athletics is located at www.HopkinsSports.com.

Series Notes

* Johns Hopkins and Ohio State have met just three times with the Blue Jays taking a 17-8 decision in 1999, a 12-7 victory in 2000, and a 17-7 decision last season. All three games were played at Homewood Field.

* The Blue Jays and the Buckeyes have just one common opponent this season as both teams played North Carolina. Ohio State dropped a 13-12, triple overtime decision at UNC, while JHU knocked off the Tar Heels, 12-11.

* Last season, the Blue Jays and Buckeyes had two common opponents, Virginia and Notre Dame. Hopkins dropped a 9-8 decision in four overtimes to UVa and fell 13-9 to Notre Dame in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Ohio State lost to Notre Dame (13-4) and Virginia (15-6) during the regular season.

About the Buckeyes: Ohio State enters the game against Johns Hopkins riding the crest of a six-game winning streak, during which they have outscored the opposition, 83-38. A high-powered offense (ranked fifth nationally - averaging 12.9 goals per game) and a stingy defense (ranked eight nationally - allowing just 7.6 goals per game) have propelled the Buckeyes to a national ranking of 15th. OSU plays four of its final six games at home and a season-ending game at Notre Dame could be for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. OSU has never qualified for the NCAAs, although head coach Joe Breschi and his team could put an end to that.

Curtis Smith and Anthony Gilardi lead a talented offensive unit. Smith has a team-high 27 goals and seven assists for 34 points, while Gilardi has 20 goals and nine assists to his credit. Smith ranks seventh in the nation in points per game and fourth in goals per game. It doesn't take many opportunities for them to make their mark as both are connecting on better than 45% of their shots.

The defense is anchored by goalie Tony Russo, who ranks among the national leaders in goals against average and save percentage. He sports a 7.74 goals against average (10th in the nation) and a .627 save % (8th).

With a potent offense and a strong defense, possession for the opposition is crucial. However, this is also an area where the Buckeyes excel as they rank third in the nation with a team faceoff winning percentage of .609. Anthony Kelly and Josh Lesko are two of the premier faceoff men in the nation as Kelly ranks eight in the nation with a faceoff winning percentage of .622 (74-of-119), while Lesko ranks 14th (.607/34-of-56).

These Are The Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Ohio State with an all-time record of 800-258-15 (.753) in 114 seasons of play. The Blue Jays own seven NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles, and 6 ILA titles for a total of 42 national championships.

What 800 Means: With the 10-7 win over Villanova, Johns Hopkins became the first collegiate lacrosse program to amass 800 wins.

Captain My Captain: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), senior midfielder Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva), senior goalie Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) and junior midfielder Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) have been selected as team captains for Johns Hopkins this season.

All In the Family: For the second consecutive season, the Johns Hopkins coaching staff consists entirely of Johns Hopkins' graduates. Head coach Dave Pietramala and assistant coaches Seth Tierney (class of 1991), Bill Dwan (1991), and Howard Offit (1981) all earned their degree at JHU. Prior to last season when Pietramala, Tierney, Dwan and Offit also comprised the Blue Jay coaching staff, the last time the entire coaching staff was made up of JHU graduates was 1984, when the Blue Jays were coached by Don Zimmerman (1976), who was assisted by Jerry Pfeiffer (1966), Joe Devlin (1978), Fred Smith (1950), Joe Cowan (1969), and Dennis Townsend (1966).

Brother Act: Sophomore Corey Harned is the younger brother of Chris Harned, who played attack for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000. Freshman Peter LeSueur is the younger brother of Paul LeSueur, who played midfield for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000 and served as a team captain as a senior.

Tough: Johns Hopkins' season-opening game against Princeton was the latest for the Blue Jays against the defending national champion. Hopkins has now played the defending national champion every year since 1973 (the longest such streak in the nation). The Blue Jays have won six of their last nine and nine of their last 14 games against defending national champions, including wins over Princeton in 1995, 1999, 2002 and Syracuse in 1994, 1996 and 2001.

Tougher: The game earlier this season against top-ranked Syracuse was also the latest in a long line of games for the Blue Jays against the number one ranked team in the nation. Since 1994, JHU has played 15 games against teams which were ranked number one in the nation at the time of the game. Hopkins is 8-7 in those 15 games, including the season-opening win against Princeton. Currently, JHU has won three straight and five of its last seven against teams ranked number one.

The Toughest: Johns Hopkins will once again play the most difficult schedule in the nation, a fact that was cemented with release of the Faceoff Lacrosse 2002 Strength of Schedule Rankings (right).

The Blue Jays have a strength of schedule rating of 175 to easily outdistance the field in the battle for the toughest schedule in the nation. The Blue Jays will play the other five consensus top six teams in the nation (Princeton/Syracuse/Towson/Virginia/Maryland) and seven of the top 10. Hopkins plays three of last season's Final Four teams and three other teams which advanced to the national quarterfinals.

Getting Tougher: As if Hopkins doesn't already play the most difficult schedule in the nation, the Blue Jays will be adding Duke to their schedule beginning next season.

Home Sweet Home: The home white uniforms are always a welcome site for the Blue Jays. Currently, Johns Hopkins has won eight straight, 21 of its last 24 and 27 of its last 30 games at Homewood Field. JHU is 9-1 at home under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Anytime, Anywhere: Including this week's game at Ohio State, 18 of JHU's last 19 road games have been against team's ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game.

April Reign: Johns Hopkins is 29-1 (.967) in the month of April since the beginning of the 1997 season.

More April Reign: Since 1993, JHU is a sparkling 47-6 (.887) in games played in the month of April.

It's Great For Ratings: Three of Hopkins' seven games this season have been decided by just one goal. Dating back to last season, eight of JHU's last 19 games have been decided by just one goal. JHU is 6-2 in those eight one-goal games.

More Ratings: Since the beginning of the 2001 season, 13 of Hopkins' 19 games have been decided by three goals or less.

Youth: It's no secret the Blue Jays may have the youngest team in the nation this season. Of the 40 players on the roster, 16 are freshmen, nine are sophomores, eight are juniors, and seven are seniors.

More Youth: Entering the season, junior attackman Bobby Benson, junior midfielder Adam Doneger, and junior goalie Rob Scherr had combined to start 55 games. The 37 other players on the team had a combined 35 starts to their credit.

A Final Youth: In the first seven games of the season, 28 different players have seen playing time for the Blue Jays. Of the 28, 11 are freshmen and seven more are sophomores.

It Starts With Youth: Of the 10 players who have started for Hopkins in the first seven games of the season (JHU has used the same starting lineup in each of the first six games), four are freshmen (Kyle Barrie, Peter LeSueur, Kyle Harrison, Chris Watson), one is a sophomore (Conor Ford), one is a junior with one career start entering the season (Mike Peyser) and another is a senior who had never started a game before this season (Nick Murtha).

Points of Youth: Of Hopkins' 64 goals scored in seven games 23 have been scored by juniors, 20 have been scored by sophomores, 20 have been scored by freshmen, and one has been scored by a senior.

More Points of Youth: All 56 goals scored by Johns Hopkins in the last six games have been scored by players who will return next season.

Still More Points of Youth: All 94 points the Blue Jays have registered in the last six games (56g, 38a) have been amassed by players who will return next season.

Final Point of Youth: 106 of the 107 (.991) points JHU has amassed in seven games belong to players who will return next season. 73 of the 107 (.682) belong to players with at least two years of eligibility remaining.

OK, This is the Last One: The last 61 goals the Blue Jays have scored have been scored by players who will return next season.

Give and Take: 33 of JHU's 43 (.767) assists this season belong to freshmen and sophomores.

It Must be the Speech: There must be something about what head coach Dave Pietramala says to the Blue Jays at halftime. To the right is a comparison of Hopkins' first half and second half statistics.

And Then There Were Three: Through seven games, only Bobby Benson, Adam Doneger, and Peter LeSueur have registered at least one point in every game.

USA, USA: Johns Hopkins junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) earned a spot on the United States National Team and will play in this summer's ILF World Championships in Australia.

Topping the Charts: Bobby Benson, Hopkins' only returning All-American after garnering Honorable Mention All-America honors last season, led the Blue Jays in goals (28), assists (14) and points (42) last season. With his two-goal, two-assist effort against Villanova, he now has career totals of 66 goals and 24 assists for 90 points. He has 10 goals and six assists this season.

It's Safe to Say: With two goals against Villanova, Bobby Benson has scored at least one goal in 30 of the 32 games he has played in during his career and has 20 multi-goal games to his credit. Currently, he has scored at least one goal in 19 straight games.

Double Your Pleasure: JHU is 16-4 (.800) in the 20 games Bobby Benson has scored two or more goals.

A Change of Scenery: Junior Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) made the move from attack to midfield this season, where he is anchoring Hopkins' top midfield unit. Last season, Doneger finished second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points.

29 and Counting: Adam Doneger scored one goal and added one assist against Villanova, pushing his season totals to a team-high 13 goals and three assists for 16 points. The effort extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 29. This is by far the longest active streak on the team.

I Like it Warm: Adam Doneger entered this season with six career goals in nine games played in March. This season, he scored 12 goals in six games in March.

More Warm: Including the win over Villanova, Adam Doneger has 26 goals and eight assists in 12 games in the month of April.

Triple Play: Johns Hopkins is 9-0 over the last three years when Adam Doneger scores three or more goals and 10-1 when he tallies three or more points.

"X" Marks His Spot: One of the biggest holes the Blue Jays have to fill is at the faceoff "X", where now-graduated Eric Wedin took over 94% of the faceoffs for the Blue Jays last season and over 1,000 in his career. Freshman midfielder Kyle Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Friends) has handled most of the load this season for Hopkins. Harrison enjoyed an outstanding debut against Princeton as he won 11-of-15 (.733) faceoffs while also grabbing the ground ball on six of the 11 faceoffs he won. Harrison came back to win 5-of-9 against Hofstra and 9-of-15 against Syracuse. In the win over North Carolina, he won 14-of-20 (.700) and grabbed a career-high 12 ground balls. On the year, he has won 47-of-77 (.610) faceoffs and has a team-high 37 ground balls.

Jump-Start, Part I: Kyle Harrison opened the scoring for Johns Hopkins in the win over Princeton with his first career goal just 1:22 into the game.

Jump Start, Part II: Kyle Harrison ignited Hopkins' game-ending 5-1 run against Syracuse with an unassisted goal with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Prior to Harrison's goal, Hopkins had been held scoreless for 26:01.

More "X": Freshman Lou Braun (Upper Arlington, OH/Upper Arlington) won a career-high 11-of-15 faceoffs in the game against Virginia and grabbed a career-high six ground balls as well. He won 8-of-12 against Villanova and he is now 31-for-61 (.508) on the year.

More Scenery Changes: Sophomore Conor Ford (Timonium, MD/St. Paul's) started most of last season on attack and, like junior Adam Doneger, is starting on Hopkins' first midfield unit this season. He currently leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points.

Streaking: Conor Ford has registered two or more points in 10 of his last 11 games dating back to last season.

Mister Assister: Conor Ford's three assists against Hofstra were one better than his previous career-high of two against Loyola last season. He assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals against Hofstra. He tied that with the three-assist performance against UNC. He currently leads the team with 10 assists, which is four more than he had all of last season.

More Assister: 14 of Conor Ford's 16 career assists have come in the last nine games dating back to last season.

Ford Tough: In his last 11 games dating back to last season, Conor Ford has 22 goals and 14 assists for 36 points. No other player on the team has more than 29 points during the same period (Adam Doneger).

In the Nick of Time: Senior Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) made the first start of his career one to remember as he limited Princeton to just two goals in the first 53 minutes and registered a career-high 11 saves in the 8-5 win.

More Nick: Nick Murtha's effort in goal helped Hopkins hold Princeton to just five goals, the fewest goals the Blue Jays have allowed in a season-opener since 1983, when JHU knocked off UMBC, 15-4.

The Final Nick: Nick Murtha is the first Johns Hopkins goalie since Larry Quinn in 1983 to win the first three starts of his career.

Saving the Day: Nick Murtha registered a career-high 18 saves while allowing just eight goals in the 9-8 win over Syracuse. Seven of Murtha's saves came during the fourth quarter, when Hopkins outscored the Orangemen, 5-1.

More Saving: Nick Murtha posted 13 saves in the win over North Carolina, including nine in the fourth quarter. He also had 13 saves in the 10-7 win over Villanova.

Scherr-ing the Load: The Blue Jays boast two proven goalies as junior Rob Scherr (Reisterstown, MD/McDonogh) returns after starting all 12 games last season. Scherr posted an 8.52 GAA and a .587 save percentage last season.

Hail Hanna: Senior Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva) scored Hopkins' third goal of the game early in the third quarter in the win over Princeton. In his 19 games at Johns Hopkins (he transferred to JHU from Loyola prior to last season), he has nine goals and one assist. Three of his nine goals have come against Princeton.

McDermott the Middie: One year after playing most of the season on attack, sophomore Joe McDermott (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) makes the permanent move back to midfield, his natural position. Last season, McDermott finished sixth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

More Middie: Joe McDermott registered his first two points of the season with a goal and an assist in the win over Hofstra. His goal late in the second quarter capped a three-goal run for JHU, while he later assisted on Bobby Benson's goal that gave JHU a 6-5 lead. Against Syracuse, McDermott assisted on Kevin Boland's second goal of the game, which drew Hopkins within 8-7 with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. He helped jump-start the JHU offense against North Carolina with a rebound goal just 2:18 into the game that gave JHU a 2-0 lead.

One Career-High...: Kevin Boland's (Jessup, MD/Gilman) three points (1g, 2a) against Princeton tied his career high for points in a game. He previously had three assists in a 13-11 win over Navy last season.

...Deserves Another Career-High: Kevin Boland's career-high three-point effort against Princeton didn't remain his career-high for very long as he tallied three goals and added two assists to lead Hopkins to the 9-8 win over Syracuse.

I'm Honored: Kevin Boland was named the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse.com and AllLacrosse America.com National Player of the Week for his effort in the win over Syracuse.

Go Figure: Kevin Boland's three goals against Syracuse were one more than he had scored in his previous 14 career games combined.

More Figure: With two goals and one assist in the win over Villanova, Kevin Boland is tied for second on the team in scoring with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points. Last season, he had one goal and six assists for seven points in 12 games.

For Comparison's Sake: Kevin Boland has not started a game yet this season and already has 17 points in seven games. His 17 points in seven games this season are already more than any non-starter had throughout the entire 2001 season.

Something About Number One: In three career games against teams ranked number one in the nation, Kevin Boland has four goals and five assists for nine points.

Muir of a Good Thing: One of the most athletic and versatile players on the team, junior Tim Muir (Collingdale, PA/Episcopal) tallied seven goals and three assists in 10 games last season. This season, Muir is anchoring Hopkins' defensive midfield unit. He currently has 16 ground balls to his credit and is helping Hopkins hold the opposition to less than eight goals per game.

Shawn, Brandon, and Brendan Who: Last season, seniors Shawn Nadelen, Brandon Testa, and Brendan Shook started on close defense and anchored a unit which allowed an average of exactly nine goals per game. Despite losing the three, who all earned All-America honors as least once in their career, the Blue Jays have allowed an average of just under 8.00 goals per game through seven games.

One Good Switch Deserves Another: Sophomore Corey Harned (Holbrook, NY/Sachem) was a standout attackman in high school, played short-stick defensive middie last season, and is listed as Hopkins' top long stick defensive middie this season. He picked up a career-high seven ground balls in the win over Villanova and currently has 26 ground balls on the year. He ranks second on the team with his 26 ground balls.

Long in the Tooth: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) entered the season having played in 32 games with four starts to his credit. The next four players listed as close defenders (Michael Peyser, Dan DiPietro, Chris Watson, Tom Garvey) entered the season having played in a total of 26 games with one start.

Holding Them Down: P.J. DiConza held Princeton sophomore attackman Ryan Boyle to just one goal in the win over the Tigers, and that came with less than a minute to play in regulation.

More Holding: P.J. DiConza held Syracuse sophomore attackman Mike Powell to just one assist in the win over the Orangemen. Powell entered the game with 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in four games.

The Numbers Don't Lie: P.J. DiConza was enjoying a standout season as Hopkins' long stick middie before being lost for the season with a knee injury prior to the game against Maryland last year. Johns Hopkins had not allowed more than 10 goals and was allowing an average of just 7.3 goals per game before his injury. After he was lost for the year, the Blue Jays did not hold an opponent to less than 10 goals in any game and allowed an average of 11.4 goals per game in their final five games. Since the beginning of the 2001 season, Johns Hopkins has allowed more than 10 goals in a game that P.J. DiConza has played in just twice.

Coming Full Circle: Junior Mike Peyser (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor) arrived at Hopkins as a close defenseman and spent most of his freshman year playing there. He even earned a start against Maryland on close defense as a rookie. Last season, he played the first seven games of the season as a short stick defensive middie before playing the rope the final five games of the season after P.J. DiConza was lost for the year with an injury. This season, he's back as a starter on close defense and held Princeton's Sean Hartofilis to no goals on 11 shots in the win over the Tigers. He also held Syracuse attackman Josh Coffman to just one goal in the win over the Orangemen. Through seven games, he currently has 20 ground balls to his credit. He had 20 ground balls all of last season.

For Pete's Sake: Freshman Peter LeSueur (Garden City, NY/Garden City) posted the first multi-goal game of his career with two goals in the game against Virginia.

More Pete: Peter LeSueur picked up two more goals and added an assist in the win over Albany for his first career three-point game.

A Final Pete: Peter LeSueur posted the first four-point game of his career with a two-goal, two-assist showing against Villanova. He now has eight goals and six assists for 14 points.

Barrie Ball: After being held scoreless against Syracuse, freshman attackman Kyle Barrie (Narberth, PA/The Haverford School) bounced back with the first multi-point game of his career against Virginia as he registered one goal and one assist.

More Barrie Ball: Kyle Barrie posted the first three-point game of his career with a one-goal, two-assist effort in the win over Albany.

The Final Barrie Ball: Kyle Barrie ignited Hopkins' highest scoring total to date against North Carolina. He scored three of Hopkins' first seven goals and assisted on another in the first 35 minutes of the game. The three goals and four points were both career highs. He added one goal and two assists against Villanova and now has eight goals and six assists for 14 points.

Elementary My Dear Watson: Freshman Chris Watson (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown) has wasted little time establishing himself as the cornerstone of the JHU defense for the future. He has started all six games and held Syracuse attackman Michael Springer to just one goal. He has 13 ground balls on the year after picking up a personal-best four in the win over UNC.

More Elementary: Chris Watson scored a 1590 on his SATs.

Putting Out the (Offensive) Fire: Freshman defenseman Tom Garvey (Garden City, NY/Garden City), who has served as a junior firefighter in his hometown of Garden City, NY, has been a key member of a Johns Hopkins defense that has kept opposing offenses to a mere smolder through six games. Garvey, who is seeing extended playing time at the rope, has helped JHU hold teams to an average of just under eight goals per game and has eight ground balls on the year.

Streaking- Part I: Johns Hopkins made its record 30th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, a streak which is by far the longest in the nation. Hopkins has competed in every NCAA Tournament since 1972, having missed only the first tournament in 1971. Below is a list of the longest active streaks of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Lacrosse Tournament.

Team Streak Began

Johns Hopkins 30 1972

Syracuse 19 1983

Loyola 14 1988

Princeton 12 1990

Virginia 9 1993

Streaking- Part II: In addition to boasting the longest active streak of qualifying for the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament, the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team also boasts the longest active streak of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in any Division I team sport.

Below are the longest active streaks in each of the five major team sports in which the NCAA sponsors championships. Bowl games for Division I-A football are not included since they are not directly sponsored by the NCAA. Also, finishes at national championships in individual sports (wrestling/swimming/track) are not included.

Team Sport Streak/Began

Johns Hopkins Lacrosse 30/1972

Miami (FL) Baseball 29/1973

Virginia Soccer 21/1981

Arizona Basketball 18/1985

Michigan Hockey 12/1991

Leading the Pack: In addition to the above streaks, the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team holds the record for the most overall appearances in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament (30).

Below is a list of the schools with the most all-time appearances in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championships (schools with 10 or more appearances are listed):

Johns Hopkins 30

Maryland/Virginia 25

Syracuse 22

North Carolina/Navy 20

Cornell 15

Loyola 14

UMass 13

Princeton/Army 12

Brown/Hofstra 11

Notre Dame 10

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