Lacrosse storms Philadelphia

The fourth quarter of the second Men's Division-I semifinal began with Johns Hopkins ahead of Virginia by three goals, leading many to believe that the Blue Jays -- who had failed to come through in the clutch in the past decade -- might be on the verge of shaking their stigma as a cursed team. The curse, however, felt differently. The sky turned dark, a gust of wind ripped through the stadium, and trash filled the air as the Center City skyline faded beneath the oncoming deluge. Virginia scored four unanswered goals, assuming the lead and seizing the momentum. "I'm not a guy who believes in curses," said Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, "but the word 'curse' was definitely running through my mind there for a moment." Lightning struck and with 4:45 to play the game was suspended for 46 minutes. After the delay the Blue Jays made the first strike, tying the game. As the clock wound down the Cavaliers gained possession, held the ball before firing off a shot to put them in front 8-7 with less than 10 seconds left. To the more than 45,000 fans in attendance it appeared as though the Hopkins curse had struck again. The ensuing face-off was won by the Blue Jays and they quickly put the ball in sophomore attackman Jake Byrne's stick. Three... two... Silence swept over the stadium as every fan held their breath. Goal! With 1.4 seconds left, Byrne shot and scored the tying goal sending the game to overtime and the crowd into hysteria. Hopkins went on to win the game in sudden death, 9-8, capping off what was quite possibly the most dramatic finish of any Division-I game this season. Moments like this are rare, but they seemed to characterize the entire Championship weekend in Philadelphia. Though the first Division-I semi-final was a blowout in which Duke put on an offensive clinic, destroying Maryland 19-8, the Division II and III finals went down to the wire. New York Institute of Technology took the Division II crown by beating Limestone in overtime 14-13, and Salisbury University won its third consecutive Division III title and record 49th consecutive win by scoring a last second goal against Middlebury College to end the game 11-10. Memorial Day was celebrated with the ultimate matchup between top-seed Hopkins chasing its 8th championship and second-seed Duke fighting for its first. The game was largely controlled by the Blue Devils, but once again the fourth quarter forced the Blue Jays to elevate their level of play. Jake Byrne scored the winning goal with 13:35 left in the game, sealing the championship, ending the 18 year drought, and the first undefeated season since 1984. The win was especially meaningful for local boy and Hopkins senior attackman Kyle Barrie (Haverford School/Narbeth,PA) "It's unbelievable--words can't describe what it means to win the championship here in Philadelphia," Barrie said. The Championship game crowd was a record setting 44,920 strong, and the overall attendance for the weekend of 177,754 also broke the previous record impressing both players and coaches alike. "The crowd has been great and so has the city," Hopkins freshman attackman Garrett Stanwick said, "In the end it seems like having the championship here in Philadelphia -- halfway between the sport's two biggest hot beds -- worked out really well. It's been great." "I knew this was going to be an outstanding Final Four," Maryland coach Dave Cottle said "They really organized everything very well and they chose a first class venue in a first class city." With records broken both on the field and in the stands, it seems safe to say that Face-Off Philadelphia was an enormous success.

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