Before Playing, There's Plenty of Work

Johns Hopkins's Rabil Excels With Talent, Practice

BALTIMORE -- Johns Hopkins midfielder Paul Rabil said his daily shooting routine before lacrosse practice goes like this: He takes 10 to 15 balls, stands at the right hash mark five yards in front of the goal and shoots every ball right-handed. Then he collects the balls and shoots them left-handed. Then he goes to the left hash mark and repeats the drill.

He moves 10 yards from the goal and repeats the routine, first from the right hash mark, then the left, then in the middle.

Is that the workout? Not exactly.

"That's my warmup," Rabil said. "Then I work on shooting stationary. I do that until I'm pleased with what I've done. Usually that means I have to hit eight or 10 in a row into the top corner. That takes around 50 or so shots. Then I work on shooting on the run, since those are the ones I get most in games."

That work will come in handy when the No. 5 Blue Jays (10-5) face No. 1 Duke (18-1) in a national semifinal tomorrow in Foxborough, Mass.

Johns Hopkins is the only semifinalist whose leading scorer is a midfielder. Rabil, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior, enters with 29 goals and 12 assists.

He also has the most career goals in the program among midfielders (104) and is its career leader in NCAA tournament scoring (21 goals, 21 assists).

His work ethic is combined with a rare physical ability -- he can shoot the ball 102 mph, according to published reports.

Opponents know all about him. His prowess is such that one opposing team compiled a three-page scouting report on the Blue Jays' offense. Three-quarters of a page focused on Rabil.

"He's a bear," offensive coordinator Bobby Benson said. "For us, we have to make sure the guys off-ball don't get stuck standing around and watching the 'Paul Rabil Show.' We try to [call a play] for him early in the game, he and [Stephen] Peyser both, because we feel like those guys are a lot better when they can get into a rhythm."

The Blue Jays will need Rabil to be in a rhythm from the outset against Duke. The Blue Devils won the regular season meeting, 17-6, on April 5.

There is a little bit of history, however, on the Blue Jays' side. There have been two instances where the eventual national champion lost a regular season game by 10 or more goals. Both teams -- North Carolina in 1986 and Syracuse in 2004 -- avenged the blowout in the semifinals.