BALTIMORE — Call it our first big local rivalry game of the men’s college lacrosse season. A couple of our area’s powerhouse programs get together on Tuesday as the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins host the Towson Tigers.
Peter Milliman is entering his fourth season as Hopkins head coach. His group is veteran heavy in 2024. The Jays boast seven graduate students, 15 seniors and nine juniors on the roster. A bulk of that bunch is back after winning a share of the Big Ten conference regular season title last year. Hop returns 76 percent of their starts from last season. A lot of that experience will shine on offense as they bring back nine of their top ten goal scorers.
The Jays started the season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll but dropped to 13th this week after a tough loss in Saturday’s season-opener. The Jays fell to Denver 13-12 in overtime.
This quick turnaround, against a rival from down the road, presents a great chance bounce back in a hurry.
"I don’t know, in this situation, if anything could be better for us than getting back out on the field," said Milliman. "It is something the guys are excited about. We want to flush it and move forward."
The Blue Jays are picked to finish first this season in the Big Ten.
"It’s different than last year. I think we had more of a chip on our shoulder last year trying to prove ourselves," said attackman Jacob Angelus, who had three goals and three assists against Denver. "As we saw last weekend it’s going to be difficult. But, we’re up for the challenge and I’m excited about this group... we just got to put it together for four quarters and we got to focus on ourselves and that’s our main goal."
Keep an eye on Jays graduate attackman Garrett Degnon. He has a goal in 31 consecutive games. That’s the longest active goal-scoring streak in the country.
As for Towson, this is their season opener. They are unranked to start the year and are picked to finish third in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Opening face-off between the Tigers and Blue Jays is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at Homewood Field.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
