BALTIMORE – Thirty-five seconds into the game, John Greeley wound up and fired a rocket from 20 yards out past Syracuse goaltender Matt Lerman. Arms thrown out, his teammates rushed to meet him, jumping on the Johns Hopkins midfielder.

Nine seconds into the third quarter, Brandon Benn whipped a shot from in close into the top right corner of the net. Again, Lerman was late raising his stick for the save attempt. And again, the Blue Jays celebrated a quick goal.

Lerman knew what was coming each time. He just didn’t have an answer for the explosive Hopkins offense.

‘We expected them to do that. We knew they were going to come after us,’ Lerman said. ‘They have a lot of offensive guns and I let a few in. My defense gave me some good shots and I didn’t come through for them and that’s on me.’

Lerman was overmatched in net in Syracuse’s 11-7 loss to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on Saturday. The SU goaltender made just two saves and allowed seven goals in the first half before giving up two more quick scores in the second half that sealed the Orange’s fate with nearly 26 minutes to play. Lerman finished with eight saves on the day in another tough performance for the first-year starter.

The redshirt sophomore was challenged immediately on the first possession of the game, and the Blue Jays offensive attack was relentless for the rest of the half. But that first goal set the tone as the crowd at Homewood Field erupted.

‘It seems like at the beginning of quarters we’re coming out slow, we’re coming out not very energetic and we have to come out hot right from the get-go,’ SU defender Brian Megill said. ‘… I think if we come out and maybe get the first tally or hold them for a while before they get their first tally. I think it’s a different game if we get a little bit more momentum.’

After Derek Maltz evened the score, Hopkins ripped off three goals in the final seven minutes to jump ahead 4-1.

Greeley scored again, finding the top right corner, this time with a clear shot from the left side. Benn followed with his first of a game-high four goals on the day, scoring easily on a cut to the right side.

Finally, JHU midfielder John Ranagan finished the opening period with another goal. SU midfielder Matt Pratt matched up with him defensively and Ranagan sidestepped Pratt after he lost his footing and fell to the turf. He then bounced one past Lerman with 11 seconds left.

SU didn’t fold. The Orange responded with another goal from Maltz minutes into the second period, and it appeared Syracuse and Hopkins were in for a battle.

‘I thought once we got going, we started to make it competitive in the second quarter and had some opportunities to make it a little closer,’ Desko said.

But whenever SU seemed to cut into the Blue Jays lead, Hopkins always had a response. Three times in the second period, the Orange moved within two goals. But all three times, JHU quickly extended the lead back to three.

The final answer came after Maltz’s third goal got SU within 6-4 with 3:29 remaining. Less than a minute later, Benn found Wells Stanwick from behind the cage moving along the crease. Stanwick caught the pass and deposited it past Lerman to give the Blue Jays a three-goal cushion heading into the half.

Desko said he felt his team was still in good position at halftime. But that changed at the start of the third quarter when Benn found the back of the net.

After battling Hopkins the entire first half, the flood gates opened.

‘Whether it’s me or someone else, I think it’s nice for us to come out of the halftime like that and get the first one,’ Benn said. ‘Kind of bring some life back that maybe we could have lost at halftime or maintained. But I think either way it just brings the life back.’

Benn and the Blue Jays road that energy following the early goals to victory. JHU held the Orange scoreless in the third period and all the momentum rested with the home team.

And Lerman finished out another disappointing performance in which he failed to give his team a chance to get back into the game. Hopkins offense was nearly flawless in the first three periods, but the SU goaltender knows he needs to make more saves between the pipes.

‘I got to expect them to take shots and I’m there to stop them,’ Lerman said. ‘And the opposition, it’s their goal to attack me and I got to be ready for that a little bit better.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on March 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu