BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior midfielder Michael Kimmel scored three goals and added an assist as Johns Hopkins University (6-7) sprinted out to an 8-0 lead in the first half en route to a 13-6 non-conference victory over the 11th-ranked Tigers (6-6) on Senior Night at the Blue Jays' Homewood Field on Wednesday evening.
Kimmel, who recorded the 11th “hat trick” of his college career, scored two of his three goals in the first half as the Blue Jays defeated the Tigers for the 15th straight game. Johns Hopkins now leads the all-time series by a 35-3 margin.
“Johns Hopkins played better than us in the first half and we couldn't have played any worse in the first half,” Towson Coach Tony Seaman said. “When those two things come together, there's nothing you can do. I think we forgot who we were in the first half.
“Give Johns Hopkins credit,” Coach Seaman added. “They shot the ball well and did what they had to do. We played better in the second half, but I would like to forget the first half.”
Led by two goals and an assist from Kimmel, the Blue Jays erupted for eight unanswered goals in the first half while holding Towson to just 17 shots. Sophomore attackman Tom Palasek also contributed a goal with an assist while freshman goalkeeper Pierce Bassett made nine saves.
With 11:39 remaining in the third quarter, sophomore midfielder Carl Iacona scored an unassisted goal to end a nearly 34-minute scoring drought for the Tigers. However, the Blue Jays quickly answered as Palasek and senior attackman Steven Boyle scored back-to-back goals to extend the advantage to 10-1.
But, the Tigers put together a three-goal run to narrow the margin to 10-4 with 12:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. After senior midfielder Will Harrington scored off a feed from senior midfielder Brock Armour, sophomore midfielder Michael Brashears tallied an extra-man goal with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter.
Sophomore attackman Stephen Norris opened the fourth quarter by scoring his eighth goal of the season off an assist from junior midfielder Pat Britton with 12:01 left.
Junior attackman Kyle Wharton scored with 10:47 remaining to ignite a three-goal run by the Blue Jays, upping their lead to 13-4 with 4:21 remaining. Wharton also contributed an assist during the spurt.
With 3:46 remaining, Norris scored his second goal of the game before graduate student midfielder Christian Pastirik scored with 1:34 left to cut the deficit to 13-6.
While Kimmel led the Blue Jays with his four-point effort, Boyle contributed two goals with three assists. Wharton and Palasek each added two goals with an assist as the Blue Jays outshot Towson by a 35-34 margin.
Norris led the Tigers in a losing effort by scoring two goals while Pastirik contributed a goal with an assist. Junior goalkeeper Travis Love made nine saves.
The Tigers, who had their five-game win streak snapped, will close out the regular season on Saturday night when they travel to Hofstra University for a 7 p.m. Colonial Athletic Association game against the Pride.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays will be idle until May 8 when they travel to Loyola University Maryland for a 12 p.m. game against the Greyhounds.
College Men's Lacrosse: Johns Hopkins University 13, #11 Towson University 6
Towson (6-6) 0-0-3-3 / 6
Johns Hopkins (6-7) 4-4-2-3 / 13
Goals: TOW – Stephen Norris 2, Christian Pastirik 1, Will Harrington 1, Carl Iacona 1, Michael Brashears 1; JHU – Michael Kimmel 3, Steven Boyle 2, Kyle Wharton 2, Tom Palasek 2, Tom Duerr 1, Mike Maydick 1, Matt Dolente 1, Marshall Burkhart 1. Assists: TOW – Brock Armour 1, Pat Britton 1, Christian Pastirik 1; JHU – Steven Boyle 3, Michael Kimmel 1, Tom Palasek 1, Kyle Wharton 1. Saves: TOW – Travis Love 9 (58:43, 13 goals allowed), David Edens 0 (1:17, 0 goals allowed); JHU – Pierce Bassett 12 (56:18, 5 goals allowed), Mike Gvozden 0 (3:42, 1 goals allowed). Shots: TOW – 34; JHU – 35. Extra-Man Opportunities: TOW – 1 for 6; JHU – 2 for 6. Attendance: 1,318.
Post-Game Notes:
• The Tigers were held without a goal in a quarter for just the third and fourth times this season … They had been held scoreless in the first quarter against Loyola on March 27 and in the fourth quarter against Bucknell on February 27.
• The Tigers were held without a goal in a half for the first time since last year at Virginia when they failed to score in the second half of their 11-2 loss against the Cavaliers.
• The Tigers were called for a season-high seven penalties and 5.5 penalty minutes … The Tigers had averaged 3.81 penalties per game entering Wednesday night.
• Norris contributed his second multi-goal game of the season … He also had a three-goal game against Stony Brook on March 6 in the Tigers' 14-11 loss.
• All four goals scored by Brashears this season have come in extra-man opportunities.
• Harrington extended his goal-scoring and point-scoring streaks to 12 straight games … He is the only Tiger who has scored a goal in all 12 games this season.
• Pastirik recorded a point for the 12th consecutive game on Wednesday night and has an assist in each of the last three games … Pastirik and Harrington are the only Towson players with a point in all 12 games.
• With his assist in the third quarter, Armour extended his point-scoring streak to eight straight games.
• Sophomore attackman Matt Lamon had his six-game goal-scoring streak snapped in Wednesday's loss against the Blue Jays … It also snapped a streak of seven straight games with a point.
• Iacona has now scored a goal in four consecutive games while Norris has a goal in back-to-back games.
• Junior attackman Tim Stratton had a five-game point-scoring streak ended on Wednesday night.
• Junior midfielder Peter Mezzanotte had his first career face-off attempt against the Blue Jays on Wednesday evening.
• Redshirt freshman midfielder Matt Thomas tied a season high by winning 14 of 20 face-offs against the Blue Jays.
