With 8:32 left in the third quarter, Georgetown University men’s lacrosse Head Coach Kevin Warne called timeout after the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays widened their lead to 4 goals. In the huddle, he was incensed, trying to spark a fire into a team that was struggling on both ends. 

Just before the timeout, Blue Jays midfielder Jimmy Ayers received a pass from the corner from forward Russell Melendez at the top of the Hoyas’ crease. His shot beat the keeper to the top right corner, and Johns Hopkins widened their lead to 8-4.

Warne’s enthusiasm was unable to turn around a performance of missed opportunities against a talented Johns Hopkins team. 

In one of the premier matchups in men’s collegiate lacrosse so far this season, No. 8 Johns Hopkins (3-0) dispatched No. 10 Georgetown (1-1) at Homewood Field in Baltimore Feb. 8 by a score of 11-6. 

Perennial contenders Johns Hopkins and Georgetown are in the fourth year of a home-and-away series, with the Blue Jays having the upper hand with two narrow wins in the last two matchups. Georgetown opened their season with a comfortable win against Loyola University Maryland (0-2) on the Hilltop. Johns Hopkins, on the other hand, narrowly took down nationally ranked No. 7 Denver and No. 17 Towson in their first two games.

Under dreary skies and with rain looming in the forecast, Georgetown defensive midfielder Joe Vranzian recovered a ground ball to win the opening faceoff, leading into a strong attacking run. Junior midfielder Joe Cesare hit the post in the Hoyas’ closest opportunity early.

Johns Hopkins recovered and cleared their own end. Catching Georgetown sophomore goalie Anderson Moore out in front of the net, Johns Hopkins midfielder Matt Collison rocketed a shot across midfield, opening the scoring for the Blue Jays.

The game settled down, with the teams trading scoring opportunities. For the Hoyas, first-year attacker Owen Horning and graduate attacker Fulton Bayman both found the back of the net in the first.

With less than 10 seconds left in the first quarter, Johns Hopkins’ Melendez found Ayers open in front of goal at short range. Ayers fired it past Moore and, despite 6 more shots than the Blue Jays, the Hoyas trailed 3-2 at the end of the first. 

Moore, who was last season’s Big East freshman of the year and named to the preseason all-Big East team this year, struggled to settle in. He allowed 11 goals against and 5 saves in the game. 

Despite this, Warne remained confident in his goalie, saying the team failed defensively. 

“We got to give him better shots to see,” Warne told The Hoya. “They shot the ball too much with their feet set. He’ll bounce back.”

The Hoyas continued to struggle to convert their scoring opportunities into goals for the rest of the first half. Despite the Hoyas having 13 more shots throughout the half, both the Hoyas and the Blue Jays managed 7 shots on goal each.

Warme said these missed opportunities would come back to haunt Georgetown. 

“We get some of our shots early on and maybe things are different,” Warne said in a postgame media huddle.

Hat tricks from Collison and attacker Hunter Chauvette buoyed Johns Hopkins. Both tied their career highs for points in a game.

On Georgetown’s end, graduate attacker Aidan Carroll notched 3 points with 2 assists and a goal. In his second game for the Hoyas, Graduate attacker Fulton Bayman, a transfer from Notre Dame, scored twice.

Johns Hopkins goalie Luke Staudt, who transferred from Loyola Maryland this year, notched 6 saves while allowing 6 goals. At Loyola, he had a 1-2 record against the Hoyas.

Post-game, Staudt said the Hoyas were a formidable matchup for him and the Blue Jays.

“It’s obviously just another win for us, but they’re a heck of a program,” Staudt told The Hoya. “They’re always known to be great shooters. They’re a team, honestly, I’ve struggled with in the past.”

Warne said his team has room for improvement, yet he feels optimistic for the coming season.

“They out-executed us early on,” Warne said, referring to the Johns Hopkins team. “This is a learning experience for us. A lot of new guys got a lot of playing time. They exposed some things we need to work on, which is great.”

“We have got to use this as a positive moving forward, and we will,” Warne added.

The Hoyas will return to action when they host the University of Pennsylvania at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Cooper Field.