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Cavs capture Jays, title
Defense holds off Hopkins
By John Galinsky  / Daily Progress staff writer
May 27, 2003
 

BALTIMORE — Before the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament began, Virginia’s team doctor, Danny Mistry, came up with a motto for the playoffs: Whatever It Takes. The Cavaliers liked it enough to make t-shirts with the initials W.I.T. on the back.
“We thought that encompasses everything we’re about,” said senior tri-captain Trey Whitty. “We’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
On Memorial Day, it took the marksmanship of A.J. Shannon, the unselfishness of Chris Rotelli and the spectacular goaltending of Tillman Johnson to produce UVa’s fifth national championship. It also took grittiness on ground balls, discipline on defense and a lot more of the resolve and dedication that has characterized the Cavaliers all season.
The end result was a hard-fought and well-deserved 9-7 victory over Johns Hopkins before 37,944 at M&T Bank Stadium. It was Virginia’s first NCAA title since 1999 and second since 1972. UVa also won national titles in 1952 and 1970 (shared) before an NCAA tournament was established.
“Once in a while you feel like things work out how they’re supposed to,” said UVa coach Dom Starsia. “And it did with this team.”
The Cavaliers (15-2) had been building toward this moment since losing in overtime to Syracuse in the national semifinals a year ago. They didn’t let a muddy field or the top-ranked Blue Jays (14-2) deny them their ultimate goal.
Shannon scored four goals and Rotelli had four assists as No. 2 Virginia built a 5-0 lead and fended off a comeback bid by Hopkins. Johnson, the tournament’s most outstanding player, made 13 saves in yet another stellar performance.
The Cavaliers also owned significant advantages in faceoffs (12-7) and ground balls (46-32), allowing them to regain momentum at important points of the game.
“We did exactly what we needed to do,” said attackman John Christmas, who scored two clutch goals but also had a late penalty that nearly proved costly. “W.I.T. That’s what we’re all about, doing all the little things it takes to win games.”
Rotelli, the ACC player of the year, did not register a single point in Saturday’s 14-4 semifinal rout of Maryland. But he opened the scoring Monday with a 10-yard shot in the second minute, then contented himself with finding open shooters.
Often, that turned out to be Shannon, who was relatively unaffected by the muddy conditions. In the fifth game held on the field during a wet weekend of lacrosse, the area in front of both goals looked like a moshpit. Both teams had trouble dodging, but Shannon — among the nation’s hardest shooters — set up outside and fired away. His third goal, a 10-yard rip past Hopkins keeper Rob Scherr, gave Virginia a 5-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“Sometimes you have a hot stick,” Shannon said. “I scored my second goal right-handed, which doesn’t happen too often. After that, I thought it might be my day.”
With Johnson in goal, it looked like Virginia might win easily. The junior, who made 18 saves in the semifinals, stopped five shots and allowed no goals in the first 20 minutes. But the Blue Jays scored three times in a three-minute span and drew within 6-4 at the half.
“I believe in this group and when we went in at halftime I believed we had the fortitude and character to battle back and win this game,” said Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, whose team outscored Syracuse 13-1 in the second half of a 19-8 semifinal win.
Not this time. Greg Peyser’s goal made it 6-5, but Christmas answered with an extra-man goal for Virginia. Then, following another faceoff win by Jack deVilliers and a three-minute possession, Shannon scored on a 15-yard rocket with five seconds left in the third quarter.
“That was huge,” said Rotelli, who assisted on both goals. “I felt that was the spark we needed to get control.”
Down 8-5, the Blue Jays tried to rally again in the final period. This time Johnson responded with an incredible 10-second sequence in which he stopped consecutive shots by the Hopkins Killer B’s: Kyle Barrie, Kevin Boland and Bobby Benson. The final two were from point-blank range.
“I just tried to stay focused and have fun,” Johnson said. “I didn’t feel stressed out like I had to win this thing.”
When Christmas scored to give Virginia a 9-6 lead with 1:59 left, the triumph seemed secure. But Christmas, who celebrated by running toward the empty sideline away from the teams’ benches, received a one-minute unreleasable penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Adam Doneger scored 13 seconds later to make it 9-7 and the Blue Jays got the ball again with a man advantage.
Once again, the Cavaliers did what was necessary. Nathan Kenney created a turnover with a huge check, Whitty drew a foul from Michael Peyser and Virginia killed the final 1:17 with a game of keepaway.
When it was over, the Cavaliers rushed the field in celebration. Most mobbed Johnson before exchanging hugs and posing for photos with the championship trophy.
“At the end, I just lost it,” Rotelli said. “All the emotions of reaching the one goal you’ve had all year, it’s just an amazing feeling. It shows that all the hard work, everything we’ve done, was totally worth it.”

 

 

Rotelli, Johnson honored
JJohn Galinsky  / Daily Progress staff writer
May 27, 2003
 

BALTIMORE — Chris Rotelli and Tillman Johnson, the driving forces behind Virginia’s national championship season, were named to the USILA All-America first team Monday.
Rotelli, a senior midfielder, was a repeat selection. He tied for the team lead with 49 points, registering 26 goals and 23 assists while providing strong defense and leadership.
Johnson may have turned in the finest season ever by a UVa goalie. The junior finished with 204 saves, a school single-season record, and had a save percentage of 63.0, best by a Cavalier in 49 years.
Both players were instrumental in Monday’s 9-7 victory over Johns Hopkins. Rotelli scored the first goal of the game and delivered four assists, while Johnson made 13 saves. Johnson, who also had 18 saves in a 14-4 victory over Maryland in the semifinals, was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
“In 29 years of coaching, I don’t think I’ve ever been around a goalie who has played like Tillman has played for us this year,” UVa coach Dom Starsia said.
Three Cavaliers made the second team: sophomore attackmen John Christmas and Joe Yevoli, and junior defenseman Brett Hughes. Senior midfielder Billy Glading was a third-team selection, while senior midfielders A.J. Shannon and Trey Whitty received honorable-mention recognition.
Rounding out the All-America first team were attackmen Kyle Barrie (Johns Hopkins), Ryan Boyle (Princeton) and Mike Powell (Syracuse), midfielders Kevin Caccese (Duke), Adam Doneger (Johns Hopkins) and Chris Fiore (Massachusetts), and defensemen Damien Davis (Princeton), Ryan McClay (Cornell) and Michael Howley (Maryland).

Merry Christmas. It was an interesting day for Christmas, who scored two of Virginia’s final three goals to help fight off the hard-charging Blue Jays.
Christmas also was flagged for a pair of penalties, including one for unsportsmanlike conduct following his final goal with 1:59 left in the game. He ran by himself to the vacant sideline and celebrated apart from his teammates, a no-no in college lacrosse.
“He made some mistakes of enthusiasm and aggression, but they were mistakes,” Starsia said.
“When your adrenaline is pumping and the crowd is going crazy, it’s hard to keep your composure,” Christmas said. “I personally didn’t think it was a penalty, but I guess the ref thought it was too much.”
Christmas received a one-minute unreleasable penalty and had to watch from the sideline as Johns Hopkins scored to make it 9-7, then had the ball with a one-man advantage. Fortunately for the sophomore, the Cavaliers held on to the lead and the game.
“It was the longest minute of my life,” Christmas said, “but also the greatest minute of my life.”

Face it. One key to Virginia’s victory was the play of sophomore Jack deVilliers, who won 12 of 19 faceoffs against the Johns Hopkins trio of Kyle Harrison, Lou Braun and Greg Peyser.
The Blue Jays were among the nation’s top faceoff teams all season, but deVilliers won eight of 12 draws in the first half and the final four of the game. The extra possessions helped UVa control the tempo and often swung momentum back in the Cavaliers’ direction.
“Sometimes it’s a psychological battle,” said deVilliers, who had faced Harrison many times in high school and college. “I think this time Kyle was more worried about what I was doing than I was of what he was doing.”

Dynamite defense. The Cavaliers normally play a man-to-man defense that provides plenty of help if someone is beaten. On Monday, they stuck with the man-to-man concept but changed their overall strategy.
“We were determined not to slide under any circumstances,” Starsia said. “They pass the ball too well.”
The result was the second-lowest offensive output of the season for the Blue Jays, who were averaging 14.1 goals per game, most in the nation. Johns Hopkins relies on ball movement more than dodging to create scoring opportunities, but no slides meant few openings for cutters.
“That was probably our best performance all year,” said Whitty, a long-stick middie who helped hold Harrison scoreless. “It’s unbelievable to end it that way.”

Notable. Five Cavaliers were named to the All-NCAA tournament team: Rotelli, Shannon, Johnson, Hughes and freshman attackman Matt Ward. ... Virginia won Monday despite committing 20 turnovers, eight in the fourth quarter, and six penalties. ... The three-day paid attendance of 108,790 set a record for Final Four weekend.

 

 

Cavaliers erase 'bitter taste'

Second-seeded Virginia, a semifinal loser last year, captures the NCAA tournament for the third time.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   BALTIMORE - When Dom Starsia won his first Division I men's lacrosse championship in 1999, he was carrying 27 years' worth of baggage, not all of his making.

    "I was hoping it wouldn't take 27 years before we won another one," he said Monday.

    Fortunately for Starsia, the Cavaliers seem to be getting the hang of this championship business, holding off top-seeded Johns Hopkins 9-7 before a crowd of 37,944 at M&T Bank Stadium.

    Second-seeded UVa (15-2) previously had won the NCAA tournament in 1972 and 1999.

    "I joke to myself that 'You need to be careful; somebody might actually say that we're well-coached or that we play hard,'" Starsia said. "It's not how people generally describe Virginia.

    "It's almost unfathomable being here right now. You never know if you're going to be here. You're so afraid of coming close and have it not be worth the ride."

    In many ways, that was the case last year, when the Cavaliers had a one-goal lead in the final minute of regulation, only to watch Syracuse send the game into overtime and win 12-11 in the semifinals.

    "We never lost that bitter taste in our mouths," UVa senior A.J. Shannon said.

    It's gone now, thanks in no small part to Shannon, a Canadian-bred midfielder who scored four goals, three during a 5-0 Virginia run to start the game.

    "Pretty much, I was just shooting as hard as I could today," Shannon said. "I just had a feeling of, 'If he stops it, more power to him.'"

    "Pretty scientific, huh," observed Starsia, sitting to Shannon's right in the interview room.

    Johns Hopkins goalie Rob Scherr had 12 saves, but the story of the day - and the story of the final four - was UVa goalie Tillman Johnson. Johnson, named a first-team All-American earlier in the day, had 13 saves and was named most outstanding player.

    "The best day I ever had," said Johnson, a junior who had a career-high 18 saves Saturday in a 14-4 victory over Maryland. "I think this is a time when a goalie really needs to step up."

    Johns Hopkins had some momentum going into halftime after cutting UVa's big early lead to 6-4, and the Blue Jays (14-2) made it 6-5 on an unassisted goal by Mike Peyser with 5:41 left in the third period.

    UVa sophomore Johnny Christmas, scoreless in six straight quarters, ended his drought on an extra-man goal with 3:05 left in the third period. After winning the ensuing faceoff, the Cavaliers held the ball until Shannon scored with five seconds left in the period.

    "We talk about it a lot," Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said. "You never want to give up a goal at the end of the quarter. You want to get one, but today we were on the wrong side of that."

    Hopkins had two chances to get back in the game, the first during a 15-second flurry early in the fourth quarter, when Johnson made three saves, two from point-blank range. Then, with 1:59 left, a mental mistake almost undid the Cavaliers.

    After scoring his second goal of the game to make it 9-6, Christmas celebrated and received a one-minute unreleasable penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Hopkins needed only 18 seconds to score, but UVa won the ensuing faceoff and escaped greater danger.

    "Definitely the longest minute of my life," said Christmas, who felt the penalty was unusually punitive. "When you're in a game of this magnitude and your emotions are pumping, it's hard to keep your composure. I didn't think I did anything" disrespectful.

    Christmas is among a core of younger UVa players who will make the Cavaliers a contender for the foreseeable future.

    "There have been a lot of great players who have come through here and not won it all," Christmas said. "Nothing's a given. When you get an opportunity, you've got to take advantage of it."

    In the space of three days, the Cavaliers avenged both of their regular-season losses, one-goal setbacks to Maryland and Johns Hopkins.

    "I said that might have been the best thing that could have happened for us," said Starsia, who has been to the finals four times in his 11 seasons as UVa coach. "It helped dispel any notion of invincibility."

 

 

On the stick
U.Va. upsets Johns Hopkins for third title
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER May 27, 2003

BALTIMORE - The University of Virginia needed 27 years to win its second NCAA men's lacrosse title. No.3 came much quicker.

On a sloppy field that turned the NCAA championship game into a mudfest, U.Va. upset top-seeded Johns Hopkins 9-7 yesterday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Cavaliers also captured NCAA titles in 1972 and 1999. They won two national championships before the NCAA held its first tournament in 1971.

"Once in a while, you feel like things work out like they're supposed to," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said, "and they really did with this team."

A crowd of 37,944 - 11,000-plus more than the previous record for an NCAA final - watched the second-seeded Cavaliers (15-2) race to a 5-0 lead behind senior midfielder A.J. Shannon, who had three of his game-high four goals in the first 16 minutes, 59 seconds.

The hometown Blue Jays (14-2) battled back, but never could draw even. Hopkins, seeking its first NCAA title since 1987, pulled to 6-5 on Greg Peyser's goal with 5:41 left in the third quarter. But U.Va. answered with two goals - the second, by Shannon, coming at :05 - to take an 8-5 lead into the fourth.

"You can't dig yourself that kind of a hole against this kind of team," Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said.

Not with Tillman Johnson in the cage for Virginia. The junior goalie from Annapolis recorded 13 saves against a Hopkins team that had 19 goals against 2002 NCAA champion Syracuse on Saturday.

Johnson, the tournament's most outstanding player, stopped a shot by sophomore attackman Kyle Barrie 7 seconds into the game yesterday. That set the tone.

"That's key for me," Johnson said. "I feel like if I make the first save, I'm almost in the zone."

Early in the fourth quarter, with U.Va. up 8-5 but a man down because of a penalty, Johnson delivered the game's most memorable sequence. In rapid-fire succession, the first-team All-American blocked shots by Barrie, Kevin Boland and then Bobby Benson.

U.Va. closed its 11th season under Starsia with 10 consecutive victories. Its setbacks came in March to Maryland and Hopkins, each by an 8-7 score.

Stellar goaltending and inspired defense helped the Cavaliers avenge both losses. In Saturday's second semifinal, U.Va. hammered third-seeded Maryland 14-4 despite getting no points from stars Chris Rotelli and John Christmas.

Those two played prominent roles yesterday. Rotelli, a senior midfielder, opened the scoring with a goal 74 seconds in and finished with a game-high five points. Christmas, a sophomore attackman, had two goals and an assist.

His second goal made it 9-6 with 1:59 remaining, but Christmas' joy was short-lived. He was sent to the penalty box for 1 minute for unsportsmanlike conduct after officials ruled that he'd celebrated excessively.

"It was definitely the longest minute of my life," Christmas said with a smile, "but also the greatest minute of my life."

Hopkins closed to 9-7 on Adam Doneger's goal with 1:46 left. But sophomore Jack deVilliers, who won 12 of 19 draws, controlled the ensuing faceoff for Virginia, and after each team lost possession, a Blue Jay was called for a 30-second penalty with 1:17.

U.Va. took possession and ran out the clock.

"It was the greatest feeling in the world," Johnson said.

The all-tournament team included five Cavaliers: Johnson, Rotelli, Shannon, freshman attackman Matt Ward and junior defenseman Brett Hughes.

 

 

Virginia tops Johns Hopkins, 9-7
Shannon has four goals for Cavaliers; Goalie Johnson finishes with 13 saves
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By David Ginsburg
The Associated Press
Originally published May 26, 2003, 3:36 PM EDT


BALTIMORE - They worked diligently for an entire year to earn the right to take this victory lap, and they weren't about to let a little mud ruin the party.

Minutes after Virginia won its third NCAA lacrosse championship with a 9-7 victory over Johns Hopkins on Monday, the Cavaliers celebrated by joyously stomping through the muck.

"To have an opportunity to run around with that trophy was just amazing," said Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson, who had 13 saves to earn selection as the tournament's most outstanding player.

"This is the best day I've ever had," Johnson said. "It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid, to win the national championship. I used to come to every Final Four, and to be out there with the trophy, it's just the best feeling."

A.J. Shannon scored four goals and Chris Rotelli had a goal and four assists for the Cavaliers (15-2), who raced to a 5-0 lead and avenged an earlier 8-7 loss to the top-seeded Blue Jays (14-2).

Virginia, which last won the Division I title in 1999, outscored its opponents 54-26 in four playoff games this month.

Monday's victory was a culmination of a diligent year of work by the Cavaliers, who dedicated themselves to winning the title immediately after being eliminated from the 2002 tournament with a double overtime loss to Syracuse in the semifinal round.

"Every once in a while you feel like things work out the way they're supposed to, and it did with this team," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said.

"This is something we've been focused on for a long time," Rotelli said. "It's very rewarding, given all the hard work we put in."

Hopkins was denied its bid to win an eighth NCAA title and its first since 1987. It was the Blue Jays' first appearance in the championship game in 14 years.

"Virginia played a better game than we did," Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said. "We put ourselves in a hole in the first quarter, and you just can't do that against a team of their caliber."

The game was played before 37,944 fans at M&T Bank Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch the championship. It was the fifth game in three days on the damp field, leaving the area in front of both goals virtually devoid of grass and extremely sloppy.

That hurt the offensive-oriented Blue Jays, whose 11-game winning streak ended.

"A lot of that has to do with Tillman Johnson," Hopkins midfielder Adam Doneger said.

Johnson, who had 18 saves Saturday in the Cavaliers' 14-4 semifinal win over Maryland, repeatedly foiled the Blue Jays. He was at his best early in the fourth quarter, turning away three close-in shots in the span of 15 seconds.

"Tillman Johnson got the better of me today," said Hopkins goalie Rob Scherr, who had 12 saves but struggled in the first half.

Down 6-4 at halftime, Hopkins turned up the defense and cut the margin to one goal when Greg Peyser scored with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Cavaliers responded with an extra-man goal by John Christmas, and Shannon tallied his fourth of the game with five seconds left in the period for an 8-5 lead.

The Cavaliers then went into a slowdown on offense, and Johnson made sure the lead stood up.

Virginia went up 2-0 in the opening four minutes. Rotelli scored on the Cavaliers' first shot, and Shannon began his productive afternoon by scoring from close range after taking a pass from Christmas.

Johnson made four solid saves on the other end before Shannon scored on a one-hopper. Billy Glading scored for Virginia with two seconds left in the period for a 4-0 lead.

It was only the fourth time this season that Hopkins was held scoreless over an entire quarter.

After Shannon's third goal made it 5-0, Joe McDermott finally ended the Blue Jays' drought with 8:17 left in the half. Bobby Benson and Corey Harned then scored in a nine-second span to bring Hopkins to 5-3.

NOTES: Joining Johnson, Shannon, Doneger and Rotelli on the all-tournament team were: Corey Harned (JHU), Benson (JHU), Kyle Barrie (JHU), Matt Ward (Virginia), Tom Garvey (JHU), Michael Howley (Maryland) and Brett Hughes (Virginia). It is the first time since all-tournament teams were selected in 1992 that Syracuse did not have a representative on the team.

 

 

Johnson, Virginia Are Left Standing
Goalie's Early Saves Help Cavs Beat Top-Seeded Blue Jays, Win National Title : Virginia 9, Johns Hopkins 7
By Christian Swezey
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, May 27, 2003; Page D01

BALTIMORE, May 26 -- After Virginia junior goalkeeper Tillman Johnson saved a point-blank shot late in the first quarter of the NCAA title game against Johns Hopkins today, he pumped his fist and two Cavaliers defenders turned, pointed at him and nodded.

From the outset, it was apparent to just about everyone that Johnson would be difficult to beat today and he proved it in Virginia's 9-7 victory before a record crowd of 37,994 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Johnson finished with 13 saves, including six on point-blank shots. His play early in the game helped Virginia to a 5-0 lead, and top-seeded Johns Hopkins (14-2) did not get closer than one goal.

It was the third title for Virginia (15-2) and first since 1999; that also was the school's last title in any sport.

Johnson was a large reason for the victory -- and as soon as Virginia's four captains received the championship trophy, the first player they brought it to was Johnson.

"I was just trying to stay focused," Johnson said. "I knew I had to play a solid game in the championship. I try to just enjoy it out there and have some fun. That's when I play best."

Said Johns Hopkins midfielder Adam Doneger: "Early in the game, our offense really wasn't getting anything going like we usually have all year. A lot of that had to do with Tillman Johnson. He played a heck of a game."

Still, the top-seeded Blue Jays were left to rue that they did not get a couple more chances in the final two minutes.

The Cavaliers led 9-6 following a goal by sophomore John Christmas with 1 minute 59 seconds to play. Following the goal, however, Christmas was called for a one-minute, non-releasable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after he ran about 30 yards toward where some Virginia fans were seated to celebrate the goal.

The Blue Jays closed to 9-7 following a goal by senior Adam Doneger with 1:46 left. Virginia sophomore Jack deVilliers won the next faceoff, but the Cavaliers appeared to lose possession after defensive midfielder Corey Harned stripped the ball from senior Chris Rotelli with 1:30 to play.

Before the Blue Jays could control the ball, however, Virginia sophomore Nathan Kenney hit Harned to force a loose ball; senior Trey Whitty got the ball, and Johns Hopkins defenseman Michael Peyser was called for a pushing penalty on Whitty with 1:17 left.

The Blue Jays did not get the ball back.

"In a game of this magnitude, the emotion was pumping," Christmas said. "It's really hard keeping your composure. I ran because I was so excited, but the referees thought it was too much."

Even if Johns Hopkins had gotten the ball back, it was not a given that it would have been able to get past Johnson.

The Cavaliers led 8-5 early in the fourth quarter but were a man down when the Blue Jays' three leading scorers -- Kyle Barrie, Kevin Boland and Bobby Benson -- each had shots in a 10-second span. Boland and Benson had point-blank shots.

Johnson saved all of them.

In the four-game NCAA tournament, Johnson had 50 saves and gave up 19 goals (.724 save percentage). He was named the tournament's most outstanding player and also was named first-team all-American. He is Virginia's first first-team goalie in 17 years.

There were other heroes today. Kenney, a short-stick defensive midfielder, guarded Johns Hopkins senior attackman Bobby Benson for much of the game and held Benson to one goal on five shots.

DeVilliers won 12 of 19 faceoffs, including all three in the fourth quarter. Senior A.J. Shannon had four goals and classmate Chris Rotelli added a goal and four assists.

Doneger had two goals for Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins tried much of the same things it had used to defeat defending champion Syracuse, 19-8, in the NCAA semifinals on Saturday. It paired Boland, normally the top threat on the second midfield line, with Doneger, a starter.

It tried to put the players who were defended by short-stick defenders behind the goal to have them create plays.

But Virginia's short-stick defenders -- most notably senior Billy Glading -- did not give the Hopkins' players time to set up the offense from behind the goal, and senior David Burman helped hold Doneger in check.

"I think we're a good defense," Whitty said, "with a great goalie."

 

 

Hopkins Rally Falls Short, Virginia Captures NCAA Lacrosse Title, 9-7

Blue Jays Fall in First Title-Game Appearance since 1989

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Junior goalie Tillman Johnson registered 13 saves and senior midfielder A.J. Shannon scored four goals as second-seeded Virginia knocked off top-seeded Johns Hopkins, 9-7 in front of 37,944 at M&T Bank Stadium to claim the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. Johns Hopkins had its 11-game winning streak snapped and ends the season at 14-2, while Virginia claimed its third NCAA title and finishes the season 15-2.

The Cavaliers wasted little time jumping on the Blue Jays as Shannon scored three of his goals during a 5-0 UVa run to open the game. Chris Rotelli opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 13:46 mark of the first quarter and Shannon tallied just over two minutes later off an assist from sophomore John Christmas to push the lead to 2-0.

The scored remained 2-0 for the next eight minutes before Shannon's second goal, a blast from 12 yards in front of the goal, made it 3-0. A Billy Glading goal with just two seconds remaining in the first half and another Shannon tally just 1:59 into the second quarter extended the lead to 5-0.

"We put ourselves in a hole in the first quarter and you can't do that with a team of their caliber," Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala noted at the post-game press conference. "A lot of the credit goes to Virginia. I don't want to take anything away from them, I thought they played a great game. I thought we played much better in the final three quarters, but you're not going to beat a team at this level giving them a five goal lead."

The Blue Jays finally got on the board with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter when junior Joe McDermott scored an unassisted goal. Back-to-back goals pulled Hopkins within 5-3 as Bobby Benson's 41st goal of the season, off an assist from sophomore Kyle Barrie, and Corey Harned's second goal in as many games in a span of just nine seconds gave the Blue Jays life.

Virginia's Matt Ward and Hopkins' senior midfielder Adam Doneger traded goals in the final five minutes of the second quarter to make it 6-4 at the half. Hopkins had trailed entering the half against Syracuse in the NCAA Semifinals and Pietramala believed the Blue Jays could make another comeback.

"I believe in this group and when we went in at halftime we had he fortitude and character to win this game," Pietramala stated. "We've done it before and halftime today was no different. We talked about what we had to do, what we weren't doing and made some subtle adjustments."

The Blue Jays finally pulled to within one at 6-5 on freshman Greg Peyser's unassisted goal with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter, but Virginia would score twice before the end of the period to carry an 8-5 lead into the fourth quarter. Rotelli found Christmas alone on the doorstep and he beat a defenseless Rob Scherr to made it 7-5 and Shannon's fourth goal of the game, also off a feed from Rotelli, gave the Cavaliers what proved to be an insurmountable three-goal lead.

Both teams had chances in the fourth quarter and Johnson was at his best early in the period when he made three point-blank saves in a span of less than 10 seconds. Earlier, he had robbed Barrie from in close and he kept the Blue Jays guessing throughout the game. Still, Hopkins made one final push in its quest for its first NCAA Championship since 1987.

Barrie dodged in from the side with 2:52 remaining and beat Johnson to pull the Blue Jays within 8-6, but Christmas again scored, this time with 1:59 remaining, to push the lead back to three at 9-6. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Christmas for taunting after he scored the goal gave Hopkins a man-advantage, which the Blue Jays promptly cashed in on as Doneger's second goal of the game with 1:46 remaining made it 9-7. The penalty was non-releasable and the Blue Jays could have worked their extra-man unit again, but Virginia won the ensuing faceoff and the Blue Jays never had possession again inside the Virginia zone.

Hopkins was led by Doneger's two goals, while Barrie added one goal and one assist and Conor Ford had two assists. Scherr registered 12 saves, including nine in the second and third quarters combined, when the Blue Jays climbed back in the game.

Shannon's four goals led the way for Virginia, which also got two goals and one assist from Christmas and one goal and four assists from Rotelli. The Cavaliers won 12-of-19 faceoffs and held a 46-32 advantage in ground balls. Still, it was Johnson who stole the show with his momentum-grabbing saves.

Johns Hopkins had four players named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Harned, Benson, Barrie and sophomore defenseman Tom Garvey were all honored for their efforts. Johnson, who had limited Maryland to just four goals in the NCAA Semifinals, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Rotelli, Shannon, Matt Ward and Brett Hughes joined Johnson as Virginia representatives on the all-tournament team. Maryland's Matt Howley was the only player from a team other than Hopkins or Virginia to make the team.

 

 

Johnson, Shannon lead Virginia to national championship
May 26, 2003
A.J Shannon scored four to down Hopkins
By Mike Keegan

BALTIMORE - Standing outside the locker rooms in M & T Bank Stadium Monday afternoon, Virginia attackman John Christmas summed up the Cavaliers’ championship season perfectly: "We beat every team we played this season, but we’re not undefeated."

By storming to a 5-0 lead and holding on for a 9-7 win over Johns Hopkins, the Cavaliers finished the weekend by beating the two teams they’d lost to in the regular season. They beat Maryland 14-4 in the semifinals.

Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson once again dazzled the crowd with some ridiculous saves, totalling 13 for the game, and earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.

On a day where the muddy conditions reduced the amount of crowd-pleasing offensive moves, Johnson became the highlight reel.

With Virginia up 2-0 midway through the first quarter, Hopkins attackman Kyle Barrie stormed in one-on-one with Johnson, faked high and shot off hip. But Johnson unbelievably made the picture-perfect save. Johnson kept Hopkins off the board until midway through the second quarter when Joe McDermott snuck one past him, making it 5-1 in favor of Virginia.

In the fourth quarter, up 8-5 but playing a man down, Johnson stuffed Barrie, Kevin Boland and Bobby Benson all within a 10-second span.

"I made the first save and then I made a bad clearing pass," Johnson said. "Luckily I made the last two saves. They had it right on the door step. I could’ve stopped their momentum, but it’s a long quarter and I just wanted to stay focused."

Virginia led for all but 74 seconds of the final, thanks to a fast-starting offense led by middie’s Chris Rotelli and A.J. Shannon.

Rotelli, who didn’t register a point in Saturday’s win, opened the scoring with a sweeping, right-handed shot into the top left corner of the goal. He then started focusing on setting up his teammates, and finished with four assists.

Shannon had a hat trick early in the second quarter. Christmas, also shutout in the semifinal, drove from up top, drew an early double and found Shannon on the crease for a 2-0 lead. Shannon made it 3-0 with a bouncer than got under Hopkins’ goalie Rob Scherr’s stick with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. And just two minutes into the second quarter, Rotelli found Shannon for a 5-0 lead.

"I was tossing and turning the night before the game," Shannon said. "I was thinking I’ve got to get to [Scherr] early. It’s the best thing you can do because then you kind of start to think you’re invincible."

The Blue Jays rattled off three-consecutive goals to pull within 5-3. They then pulled within 6-4 when Adam Doneger finally broke through. After a scoreless semifinal and several missed open shots early Monday, Doneger beat Johnson with an extra-man goal late in the second.

"Early in the game, our offense wasn’t really getting anything going," Doneger said. "A lot of that has to do with Tillman Johnson, he played a hell of a game."

Hopkins got within 6-5 on a goal from Greg Peyser, but Rotelli assisted Christmas and Shannon for an 8-5 lead to end the third.

Johnson’s three-save flurry early in the third kept Hopkins from closing the gap.

"He didn’t make as many saves as [Saturday]," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "But I think Hopkins was more poised to comeback on us. So he made the big saves when we needed them."

Still up 8-5 late in the fourth quarter, A.J. Shannon tried to draw a slashing call on Michael Peyser by snapping his head back, and the ref called him for illegal procedure. Moments later, Barrie drove hard and scored to pull within 8-6 with 2:52 to play.

Billy Glading found Christmas open for a 9-6 lead with 1:59 to play, but Christmas’ celebration earned an unsportsmanlike penalty, giving Hopkins the ball and an extra-man opportunity.

"I was playing on pure emotion. I just ran," Christmas said. "I didn’t do any hand gestures or anything. I don’t think I did anything wrong."

Doneger scored quickly on the ensuing possession to pull within 9-7, but Virginia closed the game out.