Maryland, Johns Hopkins set for the 116th Meeting of “The Rivalry”

College football has Ohio State/Michigan and Auburn/Alabama. College basketball has Duke/UNC. And college lacrosse has Maryland/Johns Hopkins. This Saturday, these two blue bloods will face off for the 116th time in the game now dubbed “The Rivalry”. This game has added some extra juice in recent years, with Bobby Benson and Owen Murphy exchanging the John Hopkins baby blue for the red, black, and white of Maryland. While Benson faced his old team last season, Saturday at 6pm on ESPNU will be the first time Murphy will face his old squad.

Let’s look ahead to the latest installment of this historic rivalry:

Scouting Johns Hopkins

The Blue Jays are led by senior midfielder Garrett Degnon who leads the team in points (40) and goals (33). Joining Degnon on offense are senior Joey Epstein, junior Jacob Angelus, and graduate students Connor DeSimone and Jack Keogh. On defense, they are backed by graduate student Josh Kirson, with Owen McManus being the lone defenseman to start at 13 games this season. Statistically, the Blue Jays are in the bottom half of the Big Ten in every major statistical category.

Keep the Status Quo

On paper, the Terps should be able to take care of business. Maryland has the best #1 offense (18.4 goals per game) and defense (9.82 GAA) in the Big Ten, while the Blue Jays rank 6th (10. GPG) and 5th (12.0 GAA) respectively. Hopkins is going through bit of a rebuild with Head Coach Peter Milliman in his second season in Baltimore, replacing Hopkins legend Dave Pietramala after the 2020 season. However, when it comes to this game, none of those matters. These two programs so not like each other, and Hopkins will want to defend its home turf and carry momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, where these two teams will likely face each other. For Maryland, the key is to keep the status quo and take care of business.

More than Perfection

While the Terps have clinched at least a share of the regular-season title and the number one seed in the Big Ten Tournament, this year’s squad can go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport. There has been talk about how this team compares to some of the all-time great teams such as the 1977 Cornell, 1990 Syracuse, 1991 UNC, 1997 Princeton and 2006 Virginia teams. Last week, the Terps faced the most adversity they’ve had all season when they trailed by three goals to the Buckeyes. But like great teams do, they not only won, but won decisively, 19-12. With one game left of the regular season, Maryland has a chance to continue this historic run with its second undefeated regular season in a row.