No. 4 Johns Hopkins showcased its ability to ride a rollercoaster of momentum Saturday afternoon as the Blue Jays held off a persistent No. 2 Virginia side in a 12-11 victory.

John Hopkins jumped out to an early lead and held an 8-3 advantage through the third quarter. Although the Blue Jays would eventually relinquish their lead to Virginia, their persistent offense propelled them to victory.

Despite a five-goal deficit, Virginia battled back. Cavalier’s freshman and San Francisco-native Rob Emery added a goal with nine minutes, 17 seconds remaining to top off a 7-1 run which put Virginia up, 10-9.

Blue Jays sophomore Lee Coppersmith rifled a shot on goal for his first career hat trick and a game-tying score. Subsequently, junior Steele Stanwick added a goal 62 seconds later, again giving Virginia the lead.

A creative move from Johns Hopkins freshman Rob Guida was enough to confuse the Virginia defense and allow Guida to rip a shot from 10 yards out, which knotted the score again. Senior Chris Boland completed his hat trick with a one-timer off a feed from Guida with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Johns Hopkins the 12-11 advantage.

The Cavaliers won the ensuing face-off and controlled the ball in the offensive zone. Johns Hopkins goaltender Pierce Bassett stopped the only shot of Virginia’s last possession, halting its attack and ensuring the victory.

Cornell moves up

With its overtime victory at home versus Pennsylvania on Saturday, Cornell moved into sole possession of first place in the Ivy League conference and into an equally impressive No. 3 national ranking.

Senior David Lau dished out the game-winning assist on a swift cut to the net by junior Roy Lang, who scored the decisive goal for the Big Red.

Also worth mentioning is the second half’s scoring frenzy which saw the teams combine for 16 goals, including 15 straight goals before a save was made by either goalkeeper.

The Big Red’s All-American attack Rob Pannell notched two goals and two assists, accompanied by four point efforts from Lau and Chris Langton.

Sophomore Jason Noble led Cornell on the field, winning five ground balls and 8-of-10 face-off opportunities. Noble’s key contribution was the overtime face-off, which led to Lang’s game-winning score.

Cornell held a significant 39-28 ground ball advantage and stepped up on the face-off with a game-winning 6-of-8 face-offs in the final quarter and overtime despite earlier struggles.

Big Red goaltender AJ Fiore stopped seven shots on goal, but also ailed in the cage, as he stopped a combined four shots in the second half. Quakers freshman goalkeeper Brian Feeney also notched seven saves.

Additionally, Penn saw solid offensive production from Al Kohart (four goals) and Corey Winkoff (one goal and three assists).

Wolf’s 7 points propels Duke

Freshman attackman Jordan Wolf already has an impressive accolade to add to his collegiate lacrosse resume. Wolf led No. 6 Duke to a decisive 14-12 victory over Georgetown with his seven-point (four goals, three assists) effort on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Duke extended its win streak to six games while it remains unbeaten at its home turf of Koskinen Stadium this season. The game was highlighted by the impressive offensive performance of underclassmen, who did the majority of the scoring for both sides.

Freshman Christian Walsh and sophomore Josh Offit each recorded a hat trick for the Blue Devils. Sophomore Davey Emala led the attack for Georgetown, notching five points, including a first half hat trick and an assist.

Duke made a valiant comeback effort overcoming a five-goal Georgetown advantage. The team improved on its second-half play, citing it as a struggle on the young season.

The win for Duke was its first this season that came after trailing at halftime. Playing catch up for most of the contest, the Blue Devils took their first lead with just 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Duke’s 5-0 run included a defensive stand on the Hoyas’ attack, holding them scoreless for a span of 22:49 in the second half.

Sophomore goalie Dan Wigrizer rounded out a team effort for the Blue Devils with 11 saves, his fifth game with double-digit saves.

Matt Strong can be reached at [email protected].