Johns Hopkins vs. Virginia

Hopkins needed these critical goals to get the W in the fourth.  Lee Coppersmith's goal, it was his third goal of the day. All three plays were clutch, and the fact that two sophomore's had a part in all of those goals starts to tell how quickly this Hopkins team is growing up. Despite the loss, Virginia is still ranked no.2 in the country and they still keep their spirits high. With how quickly Hopkins built their lead, Virginia coach Dom Starsia should have been proud of how his team came back, scoring four goals in less than two minutes to tie the game. Hopkins obviously felt pretty good coming off their biggest win of the year.  In two weeks, Hopkins has proved they can play a slow, quality game and come within an inch of knocking off the top team in the country, or they can play a fast, run and gun game and walk away with the win over the no.2 team in the country.

Hopkins sophomore goalie, Pierce Bassett, did a great job in Saturday’s game. He had a total of 14 saves out of 25 shots taken by the Cavaliers. He let up only 11 goals. It was a surprise to me that no.12 ranked Hopkins beat the no.2 ranked Hopkins in their fight to be the best team in the country. Congrats to Pierce Bassett, and to Hopkins in their greatest win of the year.

Virginia vs. Cornell

When 14th-ranked Cornell played No. 2 Virginia on Saturday in the second game of Face-Off Classic’s tripleheader. Senior defenseman Max Feely, an All-American in 2010, isn't expected to play after suffering an injury during practice last week.
"I'm comfortable with it," said DeLuca. "That's why those guys are playing. They've earned it in practice."
In Feely's stead, sophomore Kyle Ewanouski has earned great reviews. Mike Bronzino and Jason Noble, two great playmakers joined him at defense.

Sophomore Thomas Keith is the starting longstick midfielder. Freshman Tom Freshour is the backup midfielder. Tom Trasolini and Cody Levine are getting few minutes at shortstick midfield. So is freshman Joe Paoletta. That leaves senior shortstick midfielder Shane O'Neill as the only veteran midfielder in the group.

Virginia's one and only loss this season came on March 4, by No. 1 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. The Cavaliers, like Cornell, were national semifinalists in 2010. Graduation affected them in the defensive end.
Offensively, Virginia still runs out a first midfield line lead by the Bratton twins. Shamel, a first-team All-American, and Rhamel. Coach Dom Starsia has additional firepower in reserve. 18 players have scored at least one goal, for an offense averaging over 15 goals per game. Junior attackman Steele Stanwick runs the show on offense, and sophomore Chris Bocklet has 18 goals in six games.

 Cornell's 2010 season ended last May, in a 12-7 semifinal loss to Notre Dame. This is Cornell's first appearance in an Inside Lacrosse sponsored event. The Big Red was the cover story for IL's March edition. Virginia is a regular participant. For Cornell's upperclassmen, the Cavaliers are a familiar opponent. This season is the third of a four-game regular season agreement between the two programs. Virginia won both games, but fell to Cornell, 14-5 in the 2009 semifinals. Cornell may be young, but they have experience.