Johns Hopkins–Maryland lacrosse rivalry
As such, the game has often held national championship implications, and twice the teams played to represent the United States in the Olympics.
[6][7][8] Sports Illustrated ranked it among the best all-time college rivalries,[9] and before the teams' 100th meeting, called it "the equivalent of Michigan–Ohio State in football.
[13] Maryland, however, recognizes only games played since the formation of their varsity team in 1924, which puts the all-time record at 64–43–1, also in favor of Hopkins.
Former Terrapins coach Dick Edell said:[12]"To get the juices flowing before the game, [we'd tell the Maryland] kids that it was the blue-collar guys against the future executives—that this was their only chance to get them before they got into the real world.
[15][16] Since that season, the teams have met annually with the exception of a two-year hiatus due to World War II.
[17] At season's end, a single-elimination tournament was held to determine which team would represent the United States in a trial lacrosse competition during the Summer Olympics.
The Terrapins won the 1940 title by beating the undefeated Blue Jays, 7–6, in the series' first game decided by one goal.
[15] Several days before the game in 1947, Hopkins supporters stole "Testudo", a 300-pound bronze statue of a diamondback terrapin, from the Maryland campus.
[21] In the 1950s, the two teams won a combined six national championships, with Maryland dominating the first part of the decade and Johns Hopkins the latter.
The Blue Jays and Terrapins met for the season finale where Hopkins needed a victory to win the national title outright.
That year's Terrapins, led by future Hall of Fame inductee and four-time All-American Frank Urso, are considered one of the all-time best college lacrosse teams and averaged almost 18 goals a game.
Urso scored for the Terrapins to take a 10–9 lead and Maryland goalie Bill O'Donnell made several impressive saves to secure the win.
In the championship game, Hopkins quickly took the lead, led by Hall of Fame attackman Jack Thomas[24] and entered halftime with a 10–4 advantage.
[15] During that game, the Blue Jays were able to limit the Terrapins' second all-time leading scorer and 1979 attackman of the year Bob Boneillo.
By 1987, Maryland's fourth-year head coach Dick Edell had helped revitalize the Terrapins as a national power.
Despite having recorded its first three-loss season in over a decade, and having edged North Carolina in the quarterfinals, the Blue Jays upset the Terrapins, 13–8.
[15] Hopkins, led by goalkeeper Quint Kessenich,[26] advanced to win the national title against then undefeated Cornell in the final.
[15] In 1995, Johns Hopkins narrowly retained an undefeated regular season by winning four one-goal games, which included an edging of Maryland, 16–15.
Edell helped guide the Terps to an early lead, and they ended the half with an advantage, 10–4, with the final result a rout, 16–8.
The performance of Maryland goalie Brian Dougherty earned him the title of the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, despite the Terps' loss in the final against Syracuse.
The teams met again in the tournament quarterfinals, where, playing at home, Hopkins gained a 7–0 lead against heavily favored Maryland.
Maryland, however, won the ensuing faceoff and scored after several shots on goal, never allowing Hopkins to gain possession of the ball.
[7] In 2009, the teams played in the inaugural Day of Rivals double-header, where Hopkins preserved victory, 10–9, when a final-second Maryland shot on the crease was deflected.
The first Big Ten game between the two was an upset for Johns Hopkins 15–12 with a rematch in NCAA semi-finals May 22, 2015 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia which went to Maryland 12–11.
In April 2020, athletic director Jennifer S. Baker announced Hopkins and head coach Dave Pietramala mutually agreed to part ways as the university looked to "move the program in a different direction,"[32] after Pietramala had coached the Jays for 20 years and set a career record of 207–93.
