Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse happy to get six goals from Ryan Brown, but looking for more from others
By Edward Lee
April 25, 2015: Johns Hopkins attacker Ryan Brown (4) celebrates with his teammates during an NCAA Men's lacrosse match between the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. (Daniel Kucin Jr. / BALTIMORE SUN)
At the end of the third quarter of Tuesday night's season opener at No. 18 Navy, Ryan Brown had scored three goals. He exploded for three more in the fourth quarter as No. 6 Johns Hopkins outlasted the Midshipmen, 12-11, in double overtime at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
Brown, a senior attackman, recorded his seventh career game of five goals or more with five of them occurring in the last 13 months. The Sykesville resident and Calvert Hall graduate, who also added an assist, credited his teammates with finding him for opportunities.
"I think when our offense was clicking well, I was able to find the openings in their defense," said Brown, who scored shooting right- and left-handed. "So really for us, it's not a one guy thing. It's our offense. I was just the one who was open at that time and able to shoot it."
Six other players posted at least one point, but junior midfielder John Crawley was the only one to score multiple goals, scoring the first two for the Blue Jays (1-0). Coach Dave Pietramala said the offensive showing should reinforce the need for others to be more productive.
"We can't just rely on Ryan to have six," he said. "It's great that he had them, but we need to challenge more with other people. We need other people to contribute a little bit more. That way it takes pressure off of him. What happens if he doesn't have that shooting night? What happens if the goalie does grab a few? I think we faced as good a defense as you'll see. They're well-coached, they're very good in the goal. … We need to get contributions from more guys."
Midshipmen senior goalkeeper John Connors turned away three of Brown's shots, but complimented his accuracy.
"He is a great shooter," Connors said. "He's known to be one of the best shooters in the country – if not the best. He cashed in today. He put it in tough places. I hesitated and when you hesitate on a shooter like that, you're not going to stop that shot."