Gvozden Stops Mids, Gets Blue Jays Started

Johns Hopkins 10, Navy 4

After most of the goals scored by Johns Hopkins this lacrosse season, each player on the field has run to congratulate the person who scored.

Following a goal late in the first half of a 10-4 victory over Navy in an NCAA quarterfinal yesterday, however, several players ran not to senior Kevin Huntley, who scored, but to sophomore goalkeeper Michael Gvozden.

The sequence began with the score tied at 3 with three minutes left in the first half. Following a turnover by Johns Hopkins near midfield, Navy gained possession, and senior Nick Mirabito wound up with the ball and a one-on-one chance against Gvozden.

Mirabito entered as the seventh-leading scorer in Navy history. Yet Gvozden made a save and started a transition.

Huntley got the ball, dodged his defender and scored on a left-handed shot nine seconds after Gvozden's save. The goal gave the Blue Jays (10-5) a lead they did not relinquish. And the defensemen, rather than running to congratulate Huntley, turned and hugged Gvozden.

"Up until that point, I didn't think [Gvozden] was playing that great," Johns Hopkins Coach Dave Pietramala said. "He had thrown away the ball once or twice. I thought [the save] settled him down, and I really thought it ignited our defense."

With the victory, before a record crowd of 17,017 in Annapolis, Johns Hopkins advanced to the national semifinals in Foxborough, Mass.

The Midshipmen (10-6) entered having lost 34 consecutive games in the series. They led 3-2 following a goal by senior faceoff specialist Mikelis Visgauss late in the first quarter. By the time they scored again, however, the game had been decided.

The Blue Jays scored six consecutive goals and led 8-3 following a goal by sophomore Steven Boyle with 1 minute 27 seconds left in the third quarter. In all, Navy went scoreless for 33:12.

"We weren't as sharp as we needed to be to take advantage of their defensive mistakes," Navy Coach Richie Meade said. "And they don't make too many of them. . . . In the first quarter, the game unfolded the way we wanted. We had the lead, we had good opportunities, and us not getting a two-goal lead there changed the complexion of the game."

Boyle and senior Paul Rabil each scored three goals for Johns Hopkins. Meantime, junior Michael Evans held Navy's leading goal scorer, sophomore Tim Paul, to no points and 0-for-4 shooting.

Visgauss won 10 of 16 faceoffs and senior Jordan DiNola had four groundballs for the Midshipmen. But unofficially, Navy finished with 14 unforced turnovers.

In a way, the tone was set on the Blue Jays' second possession. Rabil, a two-time first-team all-American midfielder, was matched against DiNola, the Patriot League defensive player of the year. Rabil raced past DiNola and another two defenders and scored past junior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan for the game's opening goal.

But the play that stuck out for both teams was the goal following Gvozden's save on the breakaway.

"That play where they made it 4-3 from 3-3," DiNola said. "That's a big play."