Game Data

Loyola opens play in the third-annual ECAC Lacrosse League Championships on Thursday, May 2, when it takes on The Ohio State University in the second semifinal in Geneva, N.Y.

Faceoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. from Hobart College’s Boswell Field.

Watch The Action

The ECAC Championships will be the first original lacrosse games programed by Fox Sports Networks. Mark Larson will call the play-by-play, and Dale Drypolcher will handle color analysis. Terry Mangan will be the sideline reporter for the broadcasts.

Thursday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game will be distributed on various Fox Sports Regional Networks nationwide. They will also be available – in the Baltimore area – on Fox College Sports, a premium sports channel on many cable and satellite companies, or on FUEL TV.

Series History

Loyola and the Buckeyes will be meeting for the seventh time in series history and first time in postseason action. The Greyhounds have won all six prior meetings, including a 9-4 victory earlier this season in regular-season action.

In the teams’ regular-season meeting on March 30 in Columbus, David Planning scored for Ohio State with 3:03 left in the first half, making the score 3-3, but Loyola scored the next six goals and held the Buckeyes scoreless for 32 minutes, 54 seconds, until they scored with nine ticks left on the clock.

After Planning’s tying goal, the Greyhounds tacked on three goals before the end of the first half, the initial by Chris Layne and the second and third by Zach Herreweyers and Nikko Pontrello.

Pontrello had a game-high three goals, while Layne tallied a goal and two assists. Herreweyers, Davis Butts and Scott Ratliff each posted a goal and an assist.

Jack Runkel made nine saves and allowed just four goals for Loyola, while Joe Fletcher picked up a team-best five ground balls.

The Greyhounds led last year’s contest 9-4 when Patrick Fanshaw scored a man-up goal in transition off a Josh Hawkins assist with 5:17 to go in the third quarter, but Ohio State scored five of the next six goals to pull within a score, 10-9, on Tyler Fredericks’ tally with 3:57 left in regulation.

Mike Sawyer and Chris Palmer, however, scored after that for Loyola, and the Greyhounds held off the Buckeyes for an 11-9 victory in Columbus. Chris Palmer finished with five goals, and Matt Langan had three goals and two assists. Hawkins scored a goal and had two assists, all coming in transition.

In The Polls

Loyola moved up to fourth the USILA coaches poll and checked in sixth in the Inside Lacrosse media ranking.

Ohio State is 10th in the coaches version, 11th in the media.

Last Time Out

Johns Hopkins scored 41 seconds into the second half, but Loyola held the Blue Jays scoreless for the game’s final 29 minutes, 18 seconds, and the Greyhounds defeated host Johns Hopkins, 8-4, snapping a 13-game losing skid in the series.

The Greyhounds opened the second half on a man-advantage, and after the teams returned to even strength, Sean O’Sullivan took a Justin Ward skip pass and scored at 14:24 to put Loyola up, 5-3. The Blue Jays, however, got the goal back five seconds later after winning the faceoff on a violation. Mike Poppleton ran into the box and scored Johns Hopkins’ last goal of the game at 14:19.

Mike Sawyer scored his last of three goals with 6:10 to play in the third quarter, and Davis Butts and Kevin Ryan added fourth-quarter goals to provide the final margin.

Sawyer had a game-high three goals, while O’Sullivan, Ryan and Josh Hawkins each posted a goal and an assist.

Jack Runkel made 10 saves, six in the second half, and Joe Fletcher picked up a team-high five ground balls.

ECAC Championships History

Loyola is 2-1 all-time in ECAC Championships games, winning both of its contests last season to take the second-annual tournament title.

Last year, the Greyhounds defeated Denver, 14-13 in overtime, to advance to the Championship Game where they beat Fairfield, 14-7.

In the first year of the tournament, the Stags edged Loyola, 10-9, in the semifinals.

Second Half Defensive Success

Loyola’s defense held Johns Hopkins to just one goal in the second half last Saturday and none in the game’s final 29 minutes, 18 seconds. The Blue Jays’ final 18 shots of the second half were either saved or went off target.

Jack Runkel made six of his 10 saves in the second half, four during the fourth quarter.

Johns Hopkins also turned the ball over 10 times in the final 30 minutes, 16 times in all during the game.

Loyola also shutout the Blue Jays on extra-man opportunities Saturday, holding them scoreless on three attempts, two in the fourth quarter.

Fletcher Honored For Defensive Performance

Joe Fletcher earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third time this season on Monday after a standout performance on close defense against Johns Hopkins.

The junior picked up five ground balls and helped start Loyola’s transition game that cleared the ball successfully all 20 times it attempted clears.

He was matched up against the Blue Jays’ leading scorer, Wells Stanwick, who entered the game averaging 4.0 points per game. Fletcher held Stanwick to just one point on an assist that came in transition off a Johns Hopkins faceoff win. Stanwick, who had 23 goals entering the game, managed just three shots against Fletcher.

Sawyer Keeps Scoring

Mike Sawyer recorded his third-straight hat trick on Saturday at Johns Hopkins, the first time this season he’s accomplished that. In the Greyhounds’ last three games, Sawyer has scored 11 goals while assisting on four. In his first nine this year, he tallied 19 goals and two assists.

Sawyer put up his best offensive numbers of the season on April 13 against Denver, scoring four goals and recording two assists for six points, season-highs in all categories.

The senior attacker quickly replicated that effort on April 20 at Hobart, posting the same numbers in each category.

With his 11 goals in three games, Sawyer has leapt into the team lead for goals scored with 30 this season. He finished the regular-season as the ECAC leader in goals per game during conference games (2.47).

In 56 career games, Sawyer has scored 122 goals and has 25 assists for 147 points.

Earlier this year, against UMBC, he became the eighth player in school Division I history to reach 100 goals, and his 122 total place him are second-most on the program’s Division I career chart. He is 11 back of Pat Lamon in first. Sawyer’s 139 points rank 11th in school Division I history.

Defending The Midfield

Loyola did not allow an offensive midfielder to score for Johns Hopkins on Saturday in 23 shot attempts when entering the game, the seven players that ran on the two midfield lines had combined for 69 goals and 43 assists.

The Greyhounds’ defensive midfield kept the Blue Jays middies from dodging to space and forced outside shots, keeping 17-of-23 shots off cage. The six that were on goal were all saved by Jack Runkel in goal.

Hawkins On The Fly

In just seven games this year, Josh Hawkins has already eclipsed his previous high in goals, scoring 10 this season to beat his total of six from last season and his 2010 freshman campaign. He also has two assists this season.

The defensive midfielder has scored at least two points in each of Loyola’s last four games and has at least one goal in every game he’s played this year. He scored twice against Fairfield, Denver and Hobart and registered a goal and an assist versus Johns Hopkins.

He has put 16-of-24 shots on goal and scored on 41.7-percent of his total shots.

In 47 career games, Hawkins has scored 25 goals and has nine assists as a short-stick defender.

Athletics Banquet Honors

Scott Ratliff was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, and Joe Fletcher earned Most Dedicated Player honors at the end of the year Athletics Awards Banquet on April 29.

Ratliff also was the recipient of the John R. Mohler Award as the athletic department’s top male student-athlete. The award, which is give to a student-athlete from one of Loyola’s eight men’s teams, recognizes the best Greyhound who combines athletic and academic accomplishments.

Sean O’Sullivan was the winner of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Inspiration Award.

ECAC Weekly Honors For Ratliff

Scott Ratliff earned ECAC Lacrosse League Specialist of the Week honors on April 22, his third weekly award of 2013 from the conference office. The long-stick midfielder posted another all-around performance at Hobart Saturday, scoring twice in transition and adding another assist on a Mike Sawyer goal in the third-quarter.

Defensively, Ratliff posted seven ground balls and three caused turnovers, while he and his teammates in the defensive midfield held the Statesmen’s starting midfield to three goals. Ratliff did not allow a goal against a player he was matched up against in the game.

He now has scored 13 goals this season, eclipsing his 2012 school record for scoring by a long-pole player.

Ratliff, who was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and 2013 ECAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has earned seven weekly awards from the league. Earlier this season, he was named Defensive Player of the Week twice.

O’Sullivan Shooting On Target

Sean O’Sullivan has scored eight goals in the Greyhounds’ last four games, nearly doubling his output of nine in the team’s first 10 outings this season. He is currently third on the team with 17 goals and fifth with 19 points.

After scoring once against Fairfield on April 6, he matched his career-high with four goals a week later against Denver. His final goal of the game tied the score with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, forcing overtime. O’Sullivan needed just four shots in the game against the Pioneers to score his four goals.

On April 20 at Hobart, he scored twice on four shots, and he added a goal on his only shot and an assist at Johns Hopkins.

This season, he has scored his 17 goals on just 40 shots (.425 shot percentage), and he is putting 75.0-percent of his total shots on goal (30-of-40). His four extra-man goals in conference play led the ECAC in that category.

Rookie Production

Zach Herreweyers recorded his fourth hat trick of the season at Hobart in just his seventh game of the season.

The freshman from London, Ontario, posted three goals and two assists against the Statesmen, and with a goal at Johns Hopkins, he raised his first-year total to 16 goals and three assists in eight contests.

Herreweyers, who had hat tricks against Air Force, Georgetown, Michigan and Hobart, leads ECAC Lacrosse League freshmen with 2.0 goals per game and 2.4 points per contest.

Against Air Force, Herreweyers became the first Loyola freshman to score three times in a game since current senior Patrick Fanshaw scored five goals and assisted on another on March 20, 2010, also against Air Force.

Ratliff Sets Record

Scott Ratliff did something believed to be a first in the modern era of college lacrosse  (circa 1971) on April 6 in the Greyhounds’ win over visiting Fairfield. The senior long-stick midfielder scored four goals, becoming the first player with a pole to do so.

Ratliff scored once off a Loyola faceoff win, a second time on a give-and-go in transition with Pat Laconi and twice more off set plays in settled offense with feeds from Justin Ward and Nikko Pontrello.

In recent years, at least two long-sticks, Duke’s C.J. Costabile and Bryant’s Mason Poli, have recorded hat tricks.

Multi-Point Ventures For Ward

Johns Hopkins All-American defender Tucker Durkin held Justin Ward to just one assist on April 27, the first time this season the junior attacker has been held to less than two points.

With three first-quarter goals against Hobart, Justin Ward had his 13th multi-point effort in as many games this season. He has now tallied at least two points in all 13 games this season, and he has three or more in nine of those outings.

In the Georgetown game, he became the 10th player in the program’s Division I history (since 1982) to log 50 or more assists in his career. With 60 career assists, Ward is tied for seventh in school Division I history Gewas Schindler in seventh. He is now 10 away from tying Kevin Beach and Tim O’Shea for fifth place.

Ward put up his second game with seven or more points on March 16 against Air Force, logging seven with two goals and five assists in the win over the Falcons. His five assists tied his career-high, set twice in 2012 against Towson and Fairfield.

On February 26, against UMBC, as the junior finished with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. His goal and point outputs were career-highs. He became the first player to score at least seven goals in a game since Gavin Prout tallied eight in a 19-11 win at Hobart on April 28, 2001.

Ward’s 10-point effort was the first 10-point game for a Greyhound since Tim Goettelmann tallied the same amount in a 19-9 win on March 25, 2000, against Fairfield. In that game, Goettelmann scored four goals and had six assists. Later that season, he would score seven goals on May 16 in the NCAA First Round against Notre Dame.

Through 13 games this year, Ward leads the team with 26 goals and 27 assists for 53 points. His 27 assists are ninth-most in school Division I single-season history.

CLASSy Senior Candidate

Two weeks ago, Scott Ratliff was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, an honor given yearly to a NCAA Division I senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition

Ratliff has continued his high production on defense, transition and offense that helped him earn USILA All-America Third Team and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago when he led the team last year in ground balls (88) and caused turnovers (37), was fifth in goals (12) and seventh in assists (7).

His career totals now stand at 29 goals and 14 assists, and his 43 career points are second-most among active long-poles to Bryant’s Mason Poli. Last year, he set the school’s single-season long-pole scoring record with 12 goals and seven assists, eclipsing the previous high of 16 points on 11 goals and five assists set in 1995 by current Loyola assistant coach Matt Dwan.

Additionally, Ratliff is now tied for ninth in school Division I history in career ground balls (207) with P.T. Ricci, and he is second in caused turnovers (88). His caused turnovers are two shy of tying the school record set by Ricci.

Defensive Midfield Production

Loyola’s defensive midfield had a productive game against Fairfield, finishing the outing with six goals, an assists, six caused turnovers and six ground balls.

The unit posted another solid outing on both sides of the field with four goals and two assists at Hobart on April 20.

This season, long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff has posted 13 goals and four assists, good for sixth on the team with 17 points, while short-stick Josh Hawkins has nine goals and an assist, and fellow short-stick Pat Laconi has four goals and six points. Kyle Duffy scored his first point of the season with an assist at Hobart.

Pontrello Keeps Tallying Points

Nikko Pontrello notched his third hat trick of the season on March 30 at Ohio State, scoring a game-high three against the Buckeyes. He also had three-goal outings against UMBC and Air Force earlier this year.

In his first season as a starter, Pontrello has scored 13 goals while assisting on 17 for 30 points, third-most on the team. As a freshman in 2012, he scored four goals and assisted on six.

He posted his second six-point game this season March 16 against Air Force, scoring a career-high four goals to go with two assists. He scored in the first quarter, tallied a pair during Loyola’s 4-0 third-quarter run and added his fourth in the final frame. Earlier this year against UMBC, Pontrello posted three goals and three assists for six points against the Retrievers.

Helmet Stickers

Loyola players are wearing three stickers on their helmets this season to remember those who have passed away. The stickers are in memory of Adam Pomper, a member of the 2012 team who passed away on June 12, 2012, Mandy O’Sullivan, mother of current players Sean and Ryan O’Sullivan who died in March 2012 from pancreatic cancer, and the 26 victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting in December 2012 where Loyola put on a youth lacrosse clinic in January.

Well-Represented In MLL Draft

Five members of the Loyola men’s lacrosse team were selected in the top 26 of the January 11 Major League Lacrosse draft. The Greyhounds tied Virginia for the most draft picks in the selection process.

Josh Hawkins and Mike Sawyer were both taken in the first round, going fifth and eighth overall to the Hamilton Nationals and Charlotte Hounds, respectively.

Scott Ratliff was the first pick of the second round, going ninth to the Boston Cannons, and Davis Butts was taken early in the third round, 19th overall to the Denver Outlaws. Joining Hawkins in Hamilton will be Reid Acton, the team’s fourth round pick, 26th overall.

Big Runs

Last season, runs of three-plus goals were critical in the Greyhounds success, as they had runs of 3-0 or better in all 19 games. In all, Loyola scored three or more in a row on 37 occasions last year.

The Greyhounds have continued the trend this year, scoring three or more in a row 20 times and have had runs of 3-0 or better in every game but one (Maryland).

Second-Half Success

Last season, the Greyhounds outscored opponents 66-22 in the third quarters of games, and 123-63 overall in the second half (including overtime). The second-half scoring continued a trend from 2011 when Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56.

This year, Loyola is outscoring opponents 54-25 in the third quarter and 87-57 overall after halftime.

Ratliff, Schiro Receive Top Awards At Athletics Banquet

BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland seniors Scott Ratliff and Nichole Schiro were the 2012 recipients of the John R. Mohler and Ernest Lagna Awards, respectively, as the top male and female senior student-athletes who excel in athletics, scholarship and character.

These awards, and many others, were presented on Monday evening at the 2013 Loyola Athletic Awards Banquet held in McGuire Hall on the Evergreen Campus.

A two-year captain for the men’s lacrosse team, Ratliff has been one of the best at his position in the game. The long-stick midfielder was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse draft and has been one of the most versatile players in the game, excelling in the possession game, on both defense and offense. In his four years at Loyola, he is second all-time at the school in caused turnovers, and earlier this year, he accomplished something never believed to have happened in modern collegiate lacrosse. He scored four times against Fairfield, a record for a long-pole player. He was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and is currently one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

In her time at Loyola, Schiro literally rewrote the school women’s soccer record book. She set Loyola records for goals (52) and points (119) while earning three MAAC Offensive Player of the Year awards. She is the first person to earn that award three times on the women’s side, and she was also Capital One Academic All-America First Team honoree this season. She helped the Greyhounds advance to the NCAA College Cup as a freshman and senior and also served on the school’s Green and Grey leadership committee.

Several other awards were handed out to Loyola senior student-athletes, beginning with the Unsung Hero Awards.

The Men’s Unsung Hero Award went to men’s basketball senior Julius Brooks who helped the Greyhounds win 47 games over the last two years as a post player. Brooks was key in the Greyhounds run to the NCAA Tournament as a junior and the CIT Quarterfinals as a senior when he led the team in field-goal percentage.

Women’s lacrosse senior Joanna Dalton garnered the Women’s Unsung Hero Award after filling a variety of roles, all with a high amount of skill, for the Greyhounds. As an attack player, she helped Loyola advance to four BIG EAST Championships during her time, a tournament the Greyhounds won during her sophomore and junior season and enter as the No. 2 seed this week. She learned the center position for the Greyhounds as a junior and filled in as the main draw specialist that season.

Men’s Leadership Award winner Kevin Curan of the men’s soccer team was a four-year starter fo the program and played in every game of his collegiate career (78). He was a leader who led vocally and by example, helping the Greyhounds win 60 games during his time at Loyola. This season, as a captain, he helped Loyola win the MAAC regular-season title.

Alyssa Sutherland garnered the Women’s Leadership Award and has been a ubiquitous figure at the school, with her women’s basketball team and in the athletic department. She was a three-year president of Loyola’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and she was one of two student-athletes in this year’s Green and Grey Society, a school-wide leadership group. Earlier this year, she earned the Diane Geppi-Aikens Award for student leadership, the highest honor a Loyola student can earn for leadership and service to others.

The Men’s Medal of Merit went to men’s soccer’s Hector Arellano. A two-year starter, Arellano earned high academic honors while helping the Greyhounds win the 2012 MAAC Regular-Season title. A stalwart on the Greyhounds’ central defense, Arellano was selected by the United State’s Navy to be part o their Civil Engineering Corps Officer School and upon graduation, he will enter a program to earn his commission as a naval officer.

Jackie D’Antonio of the women’s track and field and cross country teams was the winner of the Women’s Medal of Merit. She was a MAAC Champion and All-ECAC honoree earlier this year in indoor track and field. Although she was recruited to run middle distance, she became a top competitor at longer distances, as well as winning the 800-meters indoors earlier this year.

Men’s lacrosse player Sean O’Sullivan was the recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Inspiration Award. During the Greyhounds’ 2012 run to the NCAA Championship, O’Sullivan’s mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. O’Sullivan used her passing as an inspiration to a high level of play, and his teammates fed from his leadership and drive.

The women’s rowing team and Head Coach Rick McClure was tabbed for having the highest cumulative grade point average among the Greyhounds’ 18 teams, track and field’s Noreen Petrash and golf’s Jon Ross were the two senior student-athletes with the highest grade point averages.

In addition to the department-wide awards, student-athletes from each team received Most Dedicated and Most Valuable awards:

Fletcher Earns Final ECAC Defensive Player Of Week Award

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Loyola University Maryland junior defender Joe Fletcher received the final ECAC Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Week award for the 2013 season Monday after helping the Greyhounds defeat host Johns Hopkins University, 8-4, on Saturday.

Fletcher, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., was a big part of the Greyhounds’ defense that held the Blue Jays scoreless for the final 29 minutes, 18 seconds of the game and limited them to 1-of-19 shooting after halftime.

He had marking responsibilities for Johns Hopkins’ leading scorer, Wells Stanwick who entered the game averaging 4.0 points per game. Fletcher held him to just one point, an assist that came in transition off a Blue Jays’ faceoff win.

Fletcher helped Loyola force 16 Johns Hopkins turnovers, picking up five ground balls to lead all Loyola players. He also was instrumental in the Greyhounds’ clearing game, as Loyola went 20-of-20 in that statistical category.

The award is Fletcher’s third of the season, tying him for the most this year by any player in the league.

Loyola opens play in the ECAC Championships on Thursday, May 2, at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., where it will face Ohio State University in the semifinals at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Networks, Fox College Sports and FUEL TV.

Solid Second Half Gives Men’s Lacrosse 8-4 Win At Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland held Johns Hopkins University scoreless for the final 29-minutes, 18-seconds of regulation on Saturday afternoon at Homewood Field, and the Greyhounds snapped a 13-game losing skid to the Blue Jays with an 8-4 victory to close the regular-season.

Loyola’s last victory in the series came in 1999 when the Greyhounds beat the host Blue Jays, 14-5. The previous seven games, however, had been decided by only 13 goals with Johns Hopkins winning four times by a single tally.

The seventh-ranked Greyhounds opened the second half on a man-advantage that carried over from late in the second quarter, and after the teams returned to even strength, Justin Ward skipped a pass to Sean O’Sullivan at the top of the offense, and the midfielder scored on a low shot from 13 yards out 36 ticks into the half.

O’Sullivan’s goal put Loyola (11-3 overall) in front 5-3, but the 11^th-ranked Blue Jays (8-5) pulled back within a goal just five seconds later when they won the faceoff on a Greyhounds’ violation. Mike Poppleton ran the ball into the offensive zone and snuck a shot into the top right corner at 14:19.

That, however, was the last goal Johns Hopkins would score in the game. Greyhounds’ goalkeeper Jack Runkel made six of his 10 saves in the final half, and the rest of the Blue Jays’ 11 shots went off goal.

Johns Hopkins also committed 10 turnovers in the second half, and the Greyhounds had just eight in the entire game.

Mike Sawyer scored his third of the day, rolling off a short-stick defensive midfielder and slinging a sidearm shot into the net with 6:10 to go in the third quarter, pushing Loyola out to a two-goal advantage for the third time in the game.

The score remained 6-4 Loyola until nearly six minutes had passed in the fourth quarter. Davis Butts beat a short-stick from below goal-line extended on the right side and bounced a shot past Johns Hopkins goalkeeper Pierce Bassett.

Loyola tacked on its eighth and final goal with 3:13 remaining on a man-up possession. O’Sullivan faked a pass to the right and doubled back with one to Kevin Ryan on the left side of the crease, and Ryan finished past Bassett.

The Greyhounds opened scoring in the game early in the first quarter after Scott Ratliff picked up a ground ball off a Blue Jays’ turnover and sent the ball to Ryan who carried it into the offensive half for Loyola. He then sent a pass to Josh Hawkins who scored from 10 yards out at the 12:20 mark.

Johns Hopkins, however, tied the game 2:25 later when John Kaestner scored on a fading jumper after running from ‘X’. The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead at 7:23 when Brandon Benn ripped a high-to-low shot off a John Ranagan pass.

The Blue Jays held the lead for nearly five minutes until Zach Herreweyers rolled from behind the cage and snuck a no-look underhand shot into the net, tying the score at 2-2- with 2:24 left in the second quarter.

Less than a minute later, Sawyer struck with his first of the game with a sidearm shot after Harry Kutner rolled back to the middle and passed it to Sawyer.

Sawyer then scored his second of the game with 13:54 to go in the second quarter, finishing the end of a transition run for Loyola. Runkel started the sequence with a save, and Joe Fletcher picked up one of his team-high five ground balls. Hawkins ran the clear and threw a pass to Sawyer who finished with a high shot.

The goal made it 4-2 Greyhounds, but Poppleton won the faceoff for Johns Hopkins, sent a pass to Wells Stanwick who got the ball to Benn for a goal six seconds after Sawyer’s at 13:48 in the second half.

Neither Loyola, nor Johns Hopkins scored after that point in the half, and the teams went to the locker room with the Greyhounds in front, 4-3.

The Blue Jays outshot Loyola 36-28 in the game, but the Greyhounds held them to a .111 shooting percentage in the game.

On the defensive end, Fletcher led the team with five ground balls, while Pat Frazier, Ratliff and Hawkins each had three. Reid Acton and Pat Laconi both picked up a pair, while Laconi and Frazier each caused six turnovers, and Acton and Hawkins had one apiece.

The Greyhounds open play in the third-annual ECAC Lacrosse League Championships on Thursday, May 2, as the No. 2 seed. They will take on No. 3-seed Ohio State Unviersity at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. at a to be determined time.

TEWAARATON AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the 2013 Tewaaraton Award men’s and women’s nominees, presented by Panama Jack. Twenty-five women and 25 men were selected as nominees, from which the 13th annual Tewaaraton Award 10 finalists (5 women, 5 men) will be selected and honored May 30, 2013, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

The men’s award nominees include players from 20 schools, including 2012 winner Peter Baum (Colgate) and representatives from 16 of the current Top 20 teams in the April 22 USILA Men’s Division I Poll. Five schools had two players nominated, including Albany (Lyle Thompson, Ty Thompson), Cornell (Steve Mock, 2011 finalist Rob Pannell), Loyola (Scott Ratliff, 2012 finalist Mike Sawyer), Maryland (Niko Amato, Jesse Bernhardt) and Syracuse (JoJo Marasco, Brian Megill).

Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora. This is The Year of the Mohawk and the men’s nominees include a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation in Ty Thompson and a member of the Onondaga Nation in his cousin Lyle Thompson.

Men’s nominees are as follows:
Niko Amato, Maryland – Jr., GK
Peter Baum, Colgate – Sr., A
Jesse Bernhardt, Maryland – Sr., LSM
David DiMaria, Lehigh – Sr., A
Tucker Durkin, Johns Hopkins – Sr., D
John Glesener, Army – Soph., A/M
Marcus Holman, North Carolina – Sr., A
Austin Kaut, Penn State – Jr., GK
John Kemp, Notre Dame – Sr., GK
Eric Law, Denver – Sr., A
Brandon Mangan, Yale – Jr., A
JoJo Marasco, Syracuse – Sr., M
Kieran McArdle, St. John’s – Jr., A
Brian Megill, Syracuse – Sr., D
Steve Mock, Cornell – Sr., A
Rob Pannell, Cornell – Sr., A
Mason Poli, Bryant – Sr., LSM
Scott Ratliff, Loyola – Sr., LSM
Mike Sawyer, Loyola – Sr., A
Tom Schreiber, Princeton – Jr., M
Logan Schuss, Ohio State – Sr., A
Lyle Thompson, Albany – Soph., A
Ty Thompson, Albany – Jr., A
Dillon Ward, Bellarmine – Sr., GK
Jordan Wolf, Duke – Jr., A

The women’s award nominees include players from 16 schools, including 2012 winner Katie Schwarzmann (Maryland) and representatives from 13 of the current Top 20 teams in the April 22 IWLCA Division I Poll. Florida (Kitty Cullen, 2012 finalist Brittany Dashiell, Shannon Gilroy, Mikey Meagher) and Maryland (Alex Aust, Iliana Sanza, Schwarzmann) and Syracuse (Becca Block, Alyssa Murray, 2012 finalist Michelle Tumolo) lead all schools with four, three and three nominees respectively.

Women’s nominees are as follows:
Casey Ancarrow, James Madison – Sr., A
Alex Aust, Maryland – Sr., A
Becca Block, Syracuse – Sr., D
Kara Cannizzaro, North Carolina – Sr., M
Demmianne Cook, Stony Brook – Sr., M
Kitty Cullen, Florida – Sr., A
Taylor D’Amore, Johns Hopkins – Jr., A
Brittany Dashiell, Florida – Sr., M
Jasmine DePompeo, Navy – Sr., A
Danielle Etrasco, Boston University – Sr., A
Erin Fitzgerald, Northwestern – Sr., A
Shannon Gilroy, Florida – Soph., M
Kerrin Maurer, Duke – Soph., A
Maggie McCormick, Penn State – Soph., A
Mikey Meagher, Florida – Sr., GK
Alyssa Murray, Syracuse – Jr., A
Marlee Paton, Loyola – Jr., M
Mikaela Rix, Boston College – Soph., M
Iliana Sanza, Maryland – Sr., D
Katie Schwarzmann, Maryland – Sr., M
Barbara Sullivan, Notre Dame – Soph., D
Caroline Tarzian, Georgetown – Soph., A
Taylor Thornton, Northwestern – Sr., M
Michelle Tumolo, Syracuse – Sr., A
Taylor Virden, Duke – Jr., D

Five men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced May 9 and invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony. The original men’s and women’s watch lists were announced Feb. 22, with additions made March 14 and April 11, and were ultimately comprised of 97 men’s players and 62 women’s players. Two of the men’s nominees were added in this round – Eric Law (Denver) and Dillon Ward (Bellarmine). The selection committees are comprised of 12 men’s and 10 women’s current and former coaches.

“We congratulate these 50 elite student-athletes on their remarkable accomplishments thus far this season,” said Jeff Harvey, chairman of the Tewaaraton Foundation. “With the help of our selection committees, we look forward to announcing this year’s finalists next month.”

For more information on the Tewaaraton Award, please visit www.tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The
Tewaaraton Foundation at www.facebook.com/Tewaaraton and www.twitter.com/tewaaraton.

About The Tewaaraton Foundation
First presented in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse players in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and U.S. Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, please visit www.tewaaraton.com.

Paton, Ratliff, Sawyer Named Tewaaraton Candidates

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three Loyola University Maryland lacrosse players – junior Marlee Paton of the women’s team and seniors Scott Ratliff and Mike Sawyer from the men’s side – were named candidates for their respective Tewaaraton Awards, an honor that recognized the best men’s and women’s players in collegiate lacrosse.

The Tewaaraton Foundation announced Friday night 25 men’s and 25 women’s nominees for the awards.

All three are repeat nominees after also being up for the award last season. Sawyer was one later one of five finalists on the men’s side.

Loyola is one of six schools to have players nominated for both the men’s and women’s awards, joining Johns Hopkins, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State and Syracuse. Loyola is also one of five men’s teams to have two players on the list, along with Albany, Cornell, Maryland and Syracuse.

Paton, an Inside Lacrosse Women Preseason All-American and unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST pick, leads the Greyhounds with 46 points this year on a team-best 28 goals and 18 assists. She also has 31 ground balls, 22 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers.

A 2012 IWLCA first-team All-American and the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, the Seaholme, Australia native recently cracked into Loyola’s top-10 program records for career points, currently sitting ninth with 184. She is also just the ninth Greyhound in program history to notch both 100 goals and 50 assists and only the second player to reach those numbers in their junior season.

Ratliff and Sawyer have helped the Greyhounds men’s team to a 10-3 record heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Johns Hopkins.

Sawyer has continued to be one of the top attack players in the nation this season after earning USILA All-America Second Team honors and finishing as a finalist for the 2012 Tewaaraton. This season, he has scored 27 goals and has 33 points through 11 games for the Greyhounds.

In each of his last two contests – against the Denver and Hobart–  the senior from Waxhaw, N.C., has scored four goals and assisted on two, season-highs in both categories. He is tied for the lead in the ECAC Lacrosse League with 2.83 goals per game in conference games.

After earning USILA All-America Third Team honors a year ago as a long-stick midfielder, Ratliff has continued to be one of the best at his position. He leads the Greyhounds in both ground balls (64) and caused turnovers (29), and with 88 career caused turnovers, he is two away from tying the school career record set by P.T. Ricci.

Ratliff has continued to be a scoring threat in both transition and settled offense for the Greyhounds. This season, he has set a school record for single-season goals by a long-pole player, scoring 13 to increase his record from a year ago by one. Earlier this year against Fairfield, he became what is thought to be the first player in modern lacrosse history to score four goals in a game with a long-stick. He also has assisted on four goals this season, and in his four-year career, he has scored 29 goals and assisted on 14.

The 13^th-annual Tewaaraton Award winners will be announced on Thursday, May 30, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Television:  ESPNU

The Game: Johns Hopkins (8-4) welcomes Charles Street rival Loyola (10-3) to Homewood Field for a key late-season game. JHU is ranked 11th in this week’s USILA Poll, while Loyola carries a number seven national ranking into the game.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins will carry a two-game winning streak into this week’s game against Loyola as the Blue Jays followed their win two weeks ago at top-ranked Maryland with a 15-4 win over Navy last Saturday. Seventh-ranked Loyola made the long return trip from Hobart an enjoyable one as the ‘Hounds raced past the Statesmen, 19-11.

Series History: This week’s game will be the 51st in a series that dates to a 20-1 Johns Hopkins win in 1939. The Blue Jays lead the series 47-3 and have won 13 straight against the Greyhounds.

Senior Day: The 11 seniors on the 2013 Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team will play their final regular season home game at Homewood Field this week. The 11 have helped the Blue Jays to a 40-19 record, three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals during their time at Homewood. There will be a ceremony recognizing the 11 before the game.

Program Ties: Johns Hopkins associate head coach Bill Dwan is the older brother of Loyola assistant coach Matt Dwan.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Loyola with an all-time record of 932-302-15 (.752). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

1,250 and Counting: This week’s game against Loyola will be the 1,250th in the history of the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse program.

That’s 103 Games Over .500: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala picked up his 169th career win with Johns Hopkins’ victory over Navy last week and he now stands at 169-66 overall. Included in that mark is a 146-49 record at JHU and a 23-17 record in three seasons as the head coach at Cornell.
Pietramala ranks second all-time in school history in career coaching victories as only Hall of Fame coach Bob Scott (158 wins from 1955-74) has more victories than Pietramala while patrolling the sidelines at Homewood.

April Reign: Flipping the calendar to April has usually been a good sign for the Blue Jays, who are 52-11 (.825) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played in April. JHU is 29-5 at home, 21-4 on the road and 2-2 on a neutral field in April under Pietramala’s guidance.

Must be the Speech: There must be something to what Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala says in the locker room that sparks the Blue Jays as Johns Hopkins holds decided scoring advantages in the first and third quarters through 12 games. JHU has outscored the opposition 43-23 in the first quarter and 40-24 in the third.
The Blue Jays also hold a 28-20 scoring margin in the second quarter and a 37-29 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Attack Oriented: The Johns Hopkins starting attack trio of John Kaestner, Brandon Benn and Wells Stanwickfueled last week’s 15-4 win vs. Navy as they combined for nine goals and eight assists.
Kaestner totaled career highs of three goals, three assists and six points, while Benn tied his career high with five goals on the day. Stanwick scored once and matched his personal best with five assists.

Balancing Act: Johns Hopkins counts nine players with six or more goals and nine players with 12 or more points through 12 games. In all, 18 different players have found the back of the net for JHU and 22 players have at least one point.

It’s Been a While – Part I: Johns Hopkins held Navy to just four goals – and none in the final 28 minutes – in last week’s 15-4 victory. This defensive effort came seven days after JHU held Maryland to four goals in a 7-4 win. This marks the first time the Blue Jays have held back-to-back opponents to four goals or less since 2008, when JHU held Hofstra (10-4) and Navy (10-4) to four goals in victories in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

It’s Been a While – Part II: More than six years had passed since Johns Hopkins last won a game when scoring seven goals or less. Prior to the 7-4 win at Maryland, the Blue Jays’ last win when scoring seven or less came on March 3, 2007, when JHU topped Princeton, 7-6, in double overtime in the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium. Ironically, the win against Princeton that day came one week after a one-goal loss to Albany; as did this year’s win at Maryland.

The Key to Victory – Part I: Johns Hopkins is 7-1 on the year when scoring in double figures. The Blue Jays are 1-3 when scoring fewer than 10 goals. JHU scored its first win of the season when scoring less than 10 goals with the 7-4 win at Maryland.

The Key to Victory – Part II: Johns Hopkins improved to 8-0 on the year when holding the opposition to less than 10 goals with the win against Navy. On the flip side, JHU is 0-4 when allowing 10 goals or more.

EMO Among Nation’s Best: The Blue Jay extra-man offense is 25-of-56 (.446) on the year and currently ranks eighth in the nation in man-up offense.
Seven different players have scored at least one extra man goal for the Blue Jays with freshman Ryan Brown(8), junior Brandon Benn (6) and sophomore Wells Stanwick (4) leading the way. Brown’s eight extra man goals are already the most by a Johns Hopkins player since 2004, when Matt Rewkowski had 12 and Conor Ford had eight.

Welcome Back: Junior midfielder Rob Guida returned to the lineup at Maryland after missing eight games with injury. Guida took his customary spot on Johns Hopkins’ first midfield and scored one goal with two ground balls to his credit. He added another goal and two more GBs against Navy and now has three goals, one assist and eight ground balls on the year. Two of his goals are extra-man tallies.

Kaestner Enjoys Career Day: Senior attackman John Kaestner fueled JHU’s 15-4 win against Navy with the most productive game of his career. Starting again for an injured Zach Palmer, Kaestner totaled career highs of three goals, three assists and six points to go along with three ground balls on the day.
Despite playing in just eight of JHU’s 12 games, Kaestner now ranks seventh on the team in scoring with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. In 21 career games played before this season, he had four goals and two assists.
He also represents the third-generation of Kaestners to play at JHU as his grandfather (Benjamin “Bud” Kaestner, Jr.) and uncle (Benjamin “Hank” Kaestner, III) both played lacrosse at Johns Hopkins, are members of the All-Time Johns Hopkins Team and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. His uncle was a two-time recipient of the Schmeisser Award as the nation’s top defenseman (1966 & 1967), His father, John, played lacrosse at Maryland, was a three-time All-American and the 1972 recipient of the Turnbull Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top attackman.
In addition, Kaestner’s two older sisters were also accomplished Division I lacrosse players. His oldest sister, earned All-America honors three times at Georgetown, while another sister, Christie, played at Duke and was a First Team All-America pick for the Blue Devils.

Stanwick Leads Team in Scoring: Sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick had a nine-game streak with multiple points come to an end at Maryland as he was held scoreless for the first time this season, but he bounced back in a big way in the 15-4 win over Navy with one goal and a career-high five assists for six points.
Stanwick continues to lead the team in scoring with 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points on the year and he has far surpassed his goal (9), assist (13) and point (23) totals from last season. He currently ranks 15th in the nation in points per game (4.00), 19th in assists per game (1.91) and second in shooting percentage (.535).
Stanwick has recorded at least two points in 10 of the 11 games he has played in this season and, despite not registering a point at Maryland, still has 36 points in his last eight games (4.5/game).
Stanwick enjoyed the finest game of his career in the 19-9 win over Mount St. Mary’s earlier this season as he totaled five goals and four assists for nine points. Previously he had never had more than two goals, three assists or four points in a game. Stanwick is the first Johns Hopkins player to post nine points in a game since Kyle Barrie had five goals and four assists in a 17-3 win over Navy in 2003. He is also the first JHU player with back-to-back six-point games since Dan Denihan did it against Villanova (8), Ohio State (6) and Maryland (7) during the 2000 season.

Poppleton Rolls On: Senior Mike Poppleton continued to enjoy a standout season as he won 15-of-17 faceoffs and grabbed 10 ground balls in last week’s win over Navy. It was the 11th time in is career he has won 14 or more faceoffs in one game.
Poppleton, who ranks second in the nation in faceoff winning percentage, is now 150-of-220 (.682) on the year and leads the team with 83 ground balls. He also improved to 340-of-530 (.642) in his career with his showing last week against Navy and now ranks seventh in school history in career faceoffs won and eighth in faceoffs attempted.

Palmer Ranks Third in Scoring: Despite missing the last two games after suffering an injury in practice, senior attackman Zach Palmer is still ranked third on the team in scoring with 12 goals goal and 12 assists on the year. He posted three goals and one assist at North Carolina and added one goal against Albany before missing the games against Maryland and Navy.
Palmer now has career totals of 71 goals and 68 assists for 139 points. He enters this week’s game against Loyola needing just two assists to become the 11th player in school history to amass 70 goals and 70 assists.

Benn Leads Team in Goals: Junior Brandon Benn continues to pace the team in goals (28) and ranks second in points (29) after punching up a career-high-tying five goals in last week’s win over Navy. He has scored 58 of his 63 career goals since the start of the 2012 season and has scored at least one goal in all 11 games this season and 14 straight dating back to last season.
Benn’s 14-game goal-scoring streak is currently the ninth-longest active streak in the nation.

What Brown Does For Us: Freshman Ryan Brown has stepped in and made an immediate impact for the Blue Jays in his first year at Homewood. Brown has 14 goals and four assists through 12 games and leads the team with eight extra-man goals. He has registered at least one point in nine of 12 games this season and his eight extra-man goals are already the most by a Johns Hopkins player since 2004, when Matt Rewkowski (12) andConor Ford (8) led a potent JHU extra man unit.
Brown fired home the first hat trick of his career and added an assist for a career-high four points in the 15-8 win over Virginia and added two goals at North Carolina. He now has six multi-point and four multi-goal games to his credit this season.

Sanders Breaks Through: Junior midfielder Rex Sanders entered the 2013 season with one career goal to his credit. He has already far surpassed that total as he has scored 13 goals through 12 games. Sanders ranks fifth on the team in goals (13) and ranks ninth in points (13).

Cattoni Emerging: Freshman Holden Cattoni played in two of the Blue Jays’ first three games, but didn’t register a point in those two outings.
That changed quickly as the hard-shooting lefty punched up back-to-back two-point games against Princeton and Mount St. Mary’s. He fired home a pair of goals against the Tigers and added one goal and one assist against the Mount. He scored an extra man goal against Syracuse, added one goal and one assist vs. Virginia, one goal against Albany and an assist vs. Navy. He now has six goals and three assists for nine points on the year.

Bassett Among National Win Leaders: Senior Pierce Bassett enters this week’s game against Loyola with a 7.89 goals against average and a .591 save percentage after posting seven saves while allowing just four goals in last week’s win against Navy. He currently ranks ninth in the nation in both save percentage and goals against average.
Bassett enjoyed one of his finest games of the season against Virginia as he posted 16 saves and allowed just seven goals in 59:02. The 16 saves are tied for the second-highest total of his career and he followed that with a 15-save performance against Albany, a 12-save showing against Maryland and the seven-save effort against Navy that boosted his career total to 475 saves, good for seventh place on JHU’s career saves list. He passed Larry Quinn (462 saves • 1982-85) on the career saves list with his 12 against the Terps.
Bassett also enters this week’s game against Loyola tied for second among active Division I goalies in career wins after picking up number 35 against Navy.

Durkin Fuels Defense: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala has the luxury of returning the nation’s top defensive player in senior co-captain Tucker Durkin, who has picked up right where he left off a year ago.
Durkin has been on a roll of late as the two players he has primarly covered in his last two games – Albany’s Lyle Thompson and Maryland’s Kevin Cooper, combined for one assist in the two games. He held Thompson, the nation’s leading scorer at better than seven points per game, scoreless, while Cooper managed just a first-quarter assist.
Durkin currently ranks fifth on the team in ground balls (24) and leads the team with 15 caused turnovers. He is the anchor of a Johns Hopkins defense that ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense (8.08).

Lightner, Reilly Round Out Starting Defense: While senior Tucker Durkin has drawn the most headlines among JHU’s close defensemen, the Blue Jays also count talented senior Chris Lightner and junior Jack Reillyamong the key pieces to their defensive puzzle.
Lightner leads JHU’s close defensemen and ranks third on the team with 28 ground balls and also has eight caused turnovers to his credit, while Reilly has 13 ground balls and ranks second on the team with 13 caused turnovers. Lightner had five ground balls and two caused turnvoers in the recent win at Maryland.

Scoring Droughts Abound: Despite the new rules in place this season that aim to quicken the pace (and thus increase scoring), the Johns Hopkins defense has been able to hold the opposition scoreless for long stretches.
In the win at top-ranked Maryland, the Blue Jay defense was dialed in from the opening whistle and held the Terps off the scoreboard for stretches of 11:23, 22:02 and 13:13. Senior goalie Pierce Bassett and close defensemen Tucker Durkin, Chris Lightner and Jack Reilly combined to hold Maryland’s starting attack unit to one goal and one assist and the Terps’ potent first midfield managed just three goals and one assist. This is the first time this season JHU has held the opposition scoreless for 11 minutes or more three different times in one game.
The four goals the Blue Jays allowed are the fewest Johns Hopkins has allowed against a team ranked in the top five since April 5, 1986, when JHU topped third-ranked North Carolina, 16-4. The Blue Jays followed that with another strong showing as they held Navy to just four goals on 22 shots and twice held the Midshipmen scoreless for stretches of 20 minutes or longer.

• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 11 minutes or more 19 times this season.
• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 15 mnutes or more 12 times this season.
• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 20 minutes or more seven times this season.

State Rivalries: Last week’s 15-4 win against Navy improved Johns Hopkins’ record to 61-7 (.897) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played against teams from the state of Maryland. JHU is 5-0 this year against in-state teams.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays are ranked 11th in this week’s USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll as well. The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll to represent JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. Prior to falling out of the top 20 of the USILA Poll on April 26 and May 3, 2010 (JHU was receiving votes in both polls), the Blue Jays had been ranked in the top 20 in 367 consecutive polls dating back to the first poll in 1973.

More Poll Position: Including this week’s USILA Poll, there have been 407 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 405 of those 407 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 381 of the 407 and the top five in 299 of those 407. Johns Hopkins has been ranked number one 104 times since the poll debuted in 1973.

I’m Honored: The Blue Jays return four players who earned All-America honors last season in seniors Tucker Durkin, Pierce Bassett and John Ranagan and junior Rob Guida. Durkin earned First Team All-America honors on defense, while Ranagan and Guida grabbed second team honors at midfield. Bassett earned honorable mention honors in goal and he, Durkin and Ranagan are two-time All-America selections for the Blue Jays.

Odd, But True: Years ending in “3” have been kind, and unkind, to the Blue Jays. Since the formation of the NCAA Tournament in 1971, Johns Hopkins has advanced to the NCAA Championship game three times (1973, 1983, 2003) and the NCAA Semifinals once (1993) in the years ending in three. JHU fell in each of those three title games with the three loses coming by a total of four goals. In each of those instances the Blue Jays subsequently won a national championship within two years.

Representing the Stars and Stripes – Part I: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala will serve as an assistant coach for the United States at at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships in Denver Colorado.
Pietramala will serve under Richie Meade, the head coach at Navy from 1995-2011.

Representing the Stars and Stripes – Part II: Johns Hopkins sophomore defender Rob Enright was a member of the United States Team that won the 2012 FIL U-19 World Championship in Turku, Finland. Enright is the 17th Johns Hopkins player to represent the United States at the U-19 Championships since the formation of the event in 1988.

Working Overtime: The loss at North Carolina snapped a three-game winning streak for the Blue Jays in games that have gone to overtime. With the loss the Blue Jays are now 19-10 all-time in overtime under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Game Data

The 2013 regular-season comes to an end for Loyola men’s lacrosse on Saturday, April 27, 2013, when they make the short trip down Charles Street to face Johns Hopkins University.

Face-off is slated for 1 p.m. at Homewood Field.

Watch The Action

Saturday’s game will be the Old Spice College Lacrosse Game of the Week on ESPNU. Booker Coorigan will call the play-by-play, while Mark Dixon handles color analysis. The game can also be viewed on ESPN Mobile and WatchESPN platforms.

Series History

The Greyhounds and Blue Jays will be meeting for the 51st time in series history on Saturday when they take the field. Johns Hopkins holds a 47-3 advantage in the all-time series and is currently on a 13-game winning streak.

Loyola’s last win against the Blue Jays came on March 12, 1999, when the Greyhounds took a 14-5 decision on the road.

Last year, the Blue Jays held the Greyhounds scoreless for the game’s first 18-plus minutes and scored the first five goals en route to a 6-3 halftime advantage. Johns Hopkins eventually went ahead 9-5 on a Rob Guida goal with 14:13 left in regulation, but Loyola rallied to score four in a row.

Pat Laconi’s first career goal, in transition with 3:04 remaining, pulled Loyola within a goal, and Justin Ward dodged from X, scoring just off the left side of the crease with five seconds to play, sending the game to overtime.

With less than 10 seconds remaining, a Josh Hawkins trail-check sent a John Ranagan shot high and wide right, but the ball went right to the stick of Zach Palmer. He hit Guida with a pass on the doorstep, and Guida one-timed a shot into the net for the game-winner with 2.3 ticks left in overtime.

When the teams play for the 51st time, Johns Hopkins will overtake Penn State as Loyola second most-played in school history. Towson is the Greyhounds’ most-played opponent at 55 meetings.

In The Polls

Loyola moved up to seventh the USILA coaches poll while staying steady at eighth in the Inside Lacrosse media ranking.

Last Time Out

Loyola scored the first six goals of the game and then used a 7-0 run after Hobart closed the gap to one in the second quarter. The latter Greyhounds’ run broke open the game, and Loyola closed its ECAC Lacrosse League regular-season schedule with a 19-11 victory over the host Statesmen.

Justin Ward scored all three of his goals in the opening quarter, and the Greyhounds were ahead 5-0 on his final tally, a man-up strike with 1:23 on the first-quarter clock.

Hobart, however, scored the first five goals of the second quarter and drew within a point, 6-5, at 4:24 on an Alex Love score. Scott Raltiff scored in transition at 3:18, however, sparking three goals before the end of the half at the beginning of a 7-0 Greyhounds’ run.

Mike Sawyer was involved in the scoring of the first five goals of the run, scoring three and assisting on Ratliff’s goal and one by Zach Herreweyers. Sawyer finished with a game-high four goals and six points, while Herreweyers chipped in three goals and two assists, and Ward scored three with one assist.

Ratliff tallied two goals and an assist, while Sean O’Sullivan and Josh Hawkins each scored twice.

Back-To-Back Six-Point Games

Mike Sawyer put up his best offensive numbers of the season on April 13 against Denver, scoring four goals and recording two assists for six points, season-highs in all categories.

The senior attacker quickly replicated that effort on April 20 at Hobart, posting the same numbers in each category.

With his eight goals in two games, Sawyer has leapt into the team lead for goals scored with 27 this season. In seven ECAC Lacrosse League games this season, Sawyer leads the conference with 2.83 goals per game.

In 55 career games, Sawyer has scored 119 goals and has 25 assists for 144 points.

Earlier this year, against UMBC, he became the eighth player in school Division I history to reach 100 goals, and his 119 total place him are third-most on the program’s Division I career chart. He is one behind Gewas Schindler in second and 14 back of Pat Lamon in first. Sawyer’s 139 points rank 11th in school Division I history.

Hawkins On The Fly

In just six games this year, Josh Hawkins has already eclipsed his previous high in goals, scoring nine this season to beat his total of six from last season and his 2010 freshman campaign.

The defensive midfielder has scored twice in each of Loyola’s last three games and has at least one goal in every game he’s played this year.

He has put 13-of-20 shots on goal and scored on 45.0-percent of his total shots.

In 46 career games, Hawkins has scored 24 goals and has eight assists as a short-stick defender.

ECAC Weekly Honors For Ratliff

Scott Ratliff earned ECAC Lacrosse League Specialist of the Week honors on Monday, his third weekly award of 2013 from the conference office.

The long-stick midfielder posted another all-around performance at Hobart Saturday, scoring twice in transition and adding another assist on a Mike Sawyer goal in the third-quarter.

Defensively, Ratliff posted seven ground balls and three caused turnovers, while he and his teammates in the defensive midfield held the Statesmen’s starting midfield to three goals. Ratliff did not allow a goal against a player he was matched up against in the game.

He now has scored 13 goals this season, eclipsing his 2012 school record for scoring by a long-pole player.

Ratliff, who was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and 2013 ECAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has earned seven weekly awards from the league. Earlier this season, he was named Defensive Player of the Week twice.

O’Sullivan Shooting On Target

Sean O’Sullivan’s game-tying goal with 2:11 to play in the third quarter against Denver gave him four for the game, tying his career-high set on February 25, 2012, against Towson. The senior needed just four shots against the Pioneers to score his four goals.

On Saturday at Hobart, O’Sullivan scored twice on four shots, and this season, he has scored his 16 goals on just 39 shots (.410 shot percentage), and he is putting 74.4-percent of his total shots on goal (29-of-39). His 16 goals rank third on the team this season, and his six extra-man tallies lead the team. O’Sullivan’s four extra-man goals in conference play lead the ECAC in that category.

Attack Stats

Loyola’s starting attack against Hobart – Mike Sawyer (four goals, two assists), Zach Herreweyers (three, two) and Justin Ward (three, one) – represented 10 of the Greyhounds’ 19 goals and 15 of the team’s 31 points against the Statesmen.

Ward and Sawyer are first and second, respectively, on the team in scoring this season with 53 and 33 points. Herreweyers, in just seven games, is fifth with 18. Nikko Pontrello, who started 10 games on attack this season, is third on the team with 30 points, 13 coming from goals.

Rookie Production

Zach Herreweyers recorded his fourth hat trick of the season Saturday at Hobart in just his seventh game of the season.

The freshman from London, Ontario, posted three goals and two assists against the Statesmen, raising his first-year total to 15 goals and three assists.

Herreweyers, who has hat tricks against Air Force, Georgetown, Michigan and Hobart, leads ECAC Lacrosse League freshmen with 2.14 goals per game and 2.6 points per contest.

Against Air Force, Herreweyers became the first Loyola freshman to score three times in a game since current senior Patrick Fanshaw scored five goals and assisted on another on March 20, 2010, also against Air Force.

Ratliff Sets Record

Scott Ratliff did something believed to be a first in the modern era of college lacrosse  (circa 1971) on April 6 in the Greyhounds’ win over visiting Fairfield. The senior long-stick midfielder scored four goals, becoming the first player with a pole to do so.

Ratliff scored once off a Loyola faceoff win, a second time on a give-and-go in transition with Pat Laconi and twice more off set plays in settled offense with feeds from Justin Ward and Nikko Pontrello.

In recent years, at least two long-sticks, Duke’s C.J. Costabile and Bryant’s Mason Poli, have recorded hat tricks.

Another Multi-Point Venture For Ward

With three first-quarter goals against Hobart, Justin Ward had his 13th multi-point effort in as many games this season. He has now tallied at least two points in all 13 games this season, and he has three or more in nine of those outings.

In the Georgetown game, he became the 10th player in the program’s Division I history (since 1982) to log 50 or more assists in his career. With 59 career assists, Ward is tied for eighth in school Division I history with Pat Lamon, one shy of Gewas Schindler in seventh.

Ward put up his second game with seven or more points on March 16 against Air Force, logging seven with two goals and five assists in the win over the Falcons. His five assists tied his career-high, set twice in 2012 against Towson and Fairfield.

On February 26, against UMBC, as the junior finished with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. His goal and point outputs were career-highs. He became the first player to score at least seven goals in a game since Gavin Prout tallied eight in a 19-11 win at Hobart on April 28, 2001.

Ward’s 10-point effort was the first 10-point game for a Greyhound since Tim Goettelmann tallied the same amount in a 19-9 win on March 25, 2000, against Fairfield. In that game, Goettelmann scored four goals and had six assists. Later that season, he would score seven goals on May 16 in the NCAA First Round against Notre Dame.

Through 13 games this year, Ward leads the team with 26 goals and 27 assists for 53 points. His 27 assists are ninth-most in school Division I single-season history.

CLASSy Senior Candidate

Two weeks ago, Scott Ratliff was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, an honor given yearly to a NCAA Division I senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition

Ratliff has continued his high production on defense, transition and offense that helped him earn USILA All-America Third Team and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago when he led the team last year in ground balls (88) and caused turnovers (37), was fifth in goals (12) and seventh in assists (7).

His career totals now stand at 29 goals and 14 assists, and his 43 career points are second-most among active long-poles to Bryant’s Mason Poli. Last year, he set the school’s single-season long-pole scoring record with 12 goals and seven assists, eclipsing the previous high of 16 points on 11 goals and five assists set in 1995 by current Loyola assistant coach Matt Dwan.

Additionally, Ratliff now stands 10th in school Division I history in career ground balls (204) and second in caused turnovers (88). His caused turnovers are two shy of tying the school record set in 2008 by P.T. Ricci.

Defensive Midfield Production

Loyola’s defensive midfield had a productive game against Fairfield, finishing the outing with six goals, an assists, six caused turnovers and six ground balls.

The unit posted another solid outing on both sides of the field with four goals and two assists at Hobart on April 20.

This season, long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff has posted 13 goals and four assists, good for sixth on the team with 17 points, while short-stick Josh Hawkins has nine goals and an assist, and fellow short-stick Pat Laconi has four goals and six points. Kyle Duffy scored his first point of the season with an assist at Hobart.

Pontrello Keeps Tallying Points

Nikko Pontrello notched his third hat trick of the season on March 30 at Ohio State, scoring a game-high three against the Buckeyes. He also had three-goal outings against UMBC and Air Force earlier this year.

In his first season as a starter, Pontrello has scored 13 goals while assisting on 17 for 30 points, third-most on the team. As a freshman in 2012, he scored four goals and assisted on six.

He posted his second six-point game this season March 16 against Air Force, scoring a career-high four goals to go with two assists. He scored in the first quarter, tallied a pair during Loyola’s 4-0 third-quarter run and added his fourth in the final frame. Earlier this year against UMBC, Pontrello posted three goals and three assists for six points against the Retrievers.

Fletcher Turns Up ‘D’

Joe Fletcher earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 18 after picking up three ground balls and causing a turnover against Air Force. More impressive was the defense Fletcher played on Air Force’s offensive quarterback, preseason All-American Keith Dryer.

Dryer entered the game with four goals and a team-leading 10 assists, but Fletcher held him without a point.

This season, Fletcher, who was a Preseason All-America First Team honoree, has 49 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers, numbers that are second and third, respectively, on the team.

ECAC Championships Approaching

After Loyola plays at Johns Hopkins to wrap up its 2013 regular-season on Saturday, the Greyhounds will embark on a return trip to Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., where they will play in the 2013 ECAC Lacrosse League Tournament.

Loyola, at 6-1 in conference play, is guaranteed no lower than the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Denver, which enters this weekend at 5-1, can earn the top seed with a win Saturday at Michigan by virtue of its head-to-head win against Loyola.

Fairfield and Ohio State have also qualified for the ECAC Championships and play this weekend. If Fairfield wins and Denver loses, the Stags will be the No. 2 seed. If Denver wins, the winner of Fairfield-Ohio State will be the third seed, and the loser will be the fourth.

Helmet Stickers

Loyola players are wearing three stickers on their helmets this season to remember those who have passed away. The stickers are in memory of Adam Pomper, a member of the 2012 team who passed away on June 12, 2012, Mandy O’Sullivan, mother of current players Sean and Ryan O’Sullivan who died in March 2012 from pancreatic cancer, and the 26 victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting in December 2012 where Loyola put on a youth lacrosse clinic in January.

Well-Represented In MLL Draft

Five members of the Loyola men’s lacrosse team were selected in the top 26 of the January 11 Major League Lacrosse draft. The Greyhounds tied Virginia for the most draft picks in the selection process.

Josh Hawkins and Mike Sawyer were both taken in the first round, going fifth and eighth overall to the Hamilton Nationals and Charlotte Hounds, respectively.

Scott Ratliff was the first pick of the second round, going ninth to the Boston Cannons, and Davis Butts was taken early in the third round, 19th overall to the Denver Outlaws. Joining Hawkins in Hamilton will be Reid Acton, the team’s fourth round pick, 26th overall.

Preseason Accolades

Six Loyola players were named to the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America teams: defender Joe Fletcher and short-stick midfielder Josh Hawkins (first team); attackman Mike Sawyer and long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff (second); midfielder Davis Butts (third); and, defender Reid Acton (honorable mention).

All six earned All-America honors last season with Sawyer earned Second Team honors and Ratliff was named to the Third Team. Acton, Butts, Fletcher and Acton earned Honorable Mention along with graduate student Eric Lusby.

Toomey Receives Morris Touchstone Award

Loyola Head Coach Charley Toomey was named the ECAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his seven-year career, and in December, he received the coaches association’s Morris Touchstone Award as the national coach of the year.

The Greyhounds became the second team in USILA Coaches Poll history to start a season unranked and ascend to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. The only other team was Duke in 2007 – a year after the Blue Devils had their season suspended in March – which accomplished the feat after being unranked in the first poll, moving to second in the next version and first in the third. Duke was knocked from its perch as No. 1 that season when it lost to the Greyhounds at the First Four in San Diego.

The win over Georgetown this was the 70th victory of his coaching career, becoming the second coach in Loyola history to win 70 or more, joining – Dave Cottle (181-70, 1983-2001).

Big Runs

Last season, runs of three-plus goals were critical in the Greyhounds success, as they had runs of 3-0 or better in all 19 games. In all, Loyola scored three or more in a row on 37 occasions last year.

The Greyhounds have opened the 2013 season in similar fashion as they scored three-straight in the second quarter to take a 4-2 lead against Delaware after trailing, 2-1. They then had two runs of 3-0 or better at Towson.

Against UMBC, Loyola had a 3-0 first-half run before putting together a 10-0 stretch in the third and fourth quarters. The Greyhounds then had a 4-0 run that spanned both halves to help beat Bellarmine, and they runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to beat Air Force.

In the Georgetown game, Loyola had its longest run of the year, scoring eight straight.

At Ohio State, the Greyhounds went on a 6-0 run that spanned the final three quarters to take control of the game. A 5-0 first-quarter run spurred the win over Fairfield.

The game against Hobart saw the Greyhounds go on a pair of major runs en route to the win. Loyola scored the game’s first six goals and, after the Statesmen went on a 5-0 run to pull within a goal in the second quarter, the Greyhounds used a 7-0 run that spanned both halves to break open the game.

Second-Half Success

Last season, the Greyhounds outscored opponents 66-22 in the third quarters of games, and 123-63 overall in the second half (including overtime). The second-half scoring continued a trend from 2011 when Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56.

This year, Loyola is outscoring opponents 52-24 in the third quarter and 83-56 overall after halftime.

ECAC LACROSSE WEEKLY AWARDS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alex Love, Hobart, Jr., Attack, Geneva, N.Y./ Salisbury School
Love recorded a team-high 10 points in a 1-1 week for the Statesmen and in the process broke his own team record for goals in a season. At then fifth-ranked Syracuse on Tuesday, he scored a game-high six goals and produced a new career-high with seven points as the Statesmen scored a 13-12 upset. Love’s goal with 2:13 remaining in the contest proved to be the game winner. His career-high matching six-goal effort raised his season total to 42, eclipsing his own season record set last season (38). On Saturday against then No. 8 Loyola, Love recorded his 19th career hat trick in a 19-11 loss to the Greyhounds. He leads Hobart with 53 points, three off the Statesmen season record set by current Assistant Coach Mark Williamson in 2004.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jack Murphy, Fairfield, Junior Goalkeeper, Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset
Murphy was stellar once again in the Stags win at #1 Denver, stopping 11 shots. His biggest save came at the buzzer of
regulation, stopping Chase Carraro’s shot, to preserve the tie and setup the overtime winner. Murphy stopped four shots in the fourth quarter, with six saves coming after the intermission. He also picked up two ground balls, something he has done in every game this year, and caused a turnover.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Robby Haus, Ohio State, Freshman, Defense, Lutherville, Md./Gilman
At Air Force: 4 gb, part of man-down unit that was 2-for-3 (including stopping 2-man down chance to start 2nd half)
Haus had a career-high tying four groundballs in the Buckeyes’ win at Air Force and was a leader in the Buckeye defensive effort that held the Falcons to just two second-half goals and 14 second-half shots as Ohio State came back to win. He was part of the man-down unit that was 2-for-3 and held Air Force scoreless on a two-man down situation that moved to a oneman down, keeping it a one-goal game to start the third quarter and allowing the Buckeyes to come from behind for the win. Haus has started all 12 games as a true freshman and has 25 groundballs and seven caused turnovers.

SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
Scott Ratliff, Loyola, LSM, Senior, 6-0, 185, Marietta, Ga./George Walton H.S.
Ratliff was the leader of the Greyhounds’ defense on Saturday and finished with two goals and an assist to go with seven ground balls and three caused turnovers. He helped hold Hobart’s first midfield to just three goals in the game, and he did not allow a goal against a man against whom he was matched up. Ratliff sparked a 7-0 Loyola run that would break open an eight-goal margin for the Greyhounds. He scored his first of the game with 3:18 left in the second quarter after the Statesmen had scored five in a row. Ratliff added an assist on a Mike Sawyer goal with 11:41 to go in the third quarter, and he scored again in transition with 6:50 left in the third, tallying the sixth goal of the run. His second goal of the game, his 13th of the year, broke his Loyola single-season goals scored record for a long-pole player.

SPECIAL NOTES
Thomas Paras, Michigan, Senior, Attack, Lakewood, Ohio/St. Ignatius
Paras had three goals and two assists for five points on only five shots in Michigan’s first win of the season against St. Joe’s.

Logan Schuss, Ohio State, Senior, Attack,Delta, British Columbia/Ladner
Schuss led the Buckeyes with four goals, an assist and five points. Schuss scored all three Ohio State goals in the third
quarter as the team took a 9-7 lead, then assisted on the game-winning goal, scored at 6:48 of the fourth quarter.

Eric Warden, Fairfield, Junior, Attack/Midfielder, 5-11/195, Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley
Warden scored a game-high four goals, including the Stags last three tallies of regulation.