BALTIMORE, MD.-
No one was sporting dark shades or black leather jackets, and the Wachiowski brothers were nowhere to be seen. Still, I could have sworn that I was watching a lacrosse version of The Matrix in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend, with Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson playing the starring role.Like the Keanu Reeves character in the sci-fi action thriller, Johnson defied the odds over and over again and proved to be "The One" in the Cavaliers run to the NCAA championship.
Johnson had always been considered one of the top goalies in the country, but during the Final Four, he took his game to a whole new level. The junior goalie repeatedly stunned the crowd by performing actions so amazing that I could have sworn they were enhanced by special effects.
In the second quarter of the semifinal against Maryland, Johnson was all alone against charging Maryland attackman Brian Hunt. Johnson responded to the one-on-one battle by revealing his lightning quick, Neo-like reflexes. The Virginia goalie's stick followed Hunt's movement with precision, staying with him through two fakes and deflected his point blank shot away from the goal.
Like Agent Smith in the film, however, the opposition would continue to go up against Johnson one-on-one throughout the game. Johnson still managed to maintain his composure and consistently foil his enemies when they went up against him.
With four minutes left in the second quarter and Virginia only up by two, Johnson blocked a low sidearm bounce shot from the wide-open Maryland midfielder Matt Brock. Midway through the third quarter, junior Terrapin attackman Dan LaMonica's blazing shot on goal found the back of a net, but much to his dismay it was in the pocket of Johnson's stick. Early in the fourth quarter LaMonica was denied again by Johnson, this time, on a point blank shot only a couple feet away from the goal.
When the dust cleared and the entire Terrapin team had pulled every single hair out of their heads in frustration, Johnson tied his career high with 18 saves and held a team some experts had picked to win the championship to a paltry three goals in 57 minutes of play.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to do Johnson proper justice by trying to explain these saves. Like the action scenes in The Matrix, you have to see them in person to truly appreciate their greatness.
Johnson's top-notch performance allowed the Cavaliers to advance to the final, and like The Matrix series, the sequel was even more greatly anticipated than the original. Could "Johnson Reloaded" possibly be as good as the original? The goalie would not disappoint.
The number one seed Johns Hopkins came into the championship as the nation's highest scoring team. Johnson was able to hold them to a single digit goal output, only the second time all season the Blue Jays scored less than 10 goals. And just like the semifinal, he came up with save after impressive save over and over again.
Early in the third quarter with Virginia up by two goals, Johnson stopped a low shot from Hopkins attackman Kyle Barrie, and blocked a blazing 10-yard rebound attempt from Bobby Benson only nine seconds later. Johnson's most spectacular series of saves, however, was still yet to come.
With the Cavaliers up 8-5 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Barrie rushed in a fired a point blank shot the Johnson saved. The Blue Jays recovered a bad Virginia clearing pass and just 11 second after the first attempt; Benson let loose another shot from point range which Johnson stopped. Six seconds after that, Hopkins midfielder Kevin Boland collected the rebound and fired the third Blue Jay attempt from point blank range in 17 seconds and for the third time in 17 seconds, Johnson made the save.
This series of stops took whatever wind the Blue Jays had left out of their sails and only a few minutes later Virginia's championship became official.
Johnson's performance is worthy of no less than superhero status. And like the Matrix series of movies, Johnson's run is not over quite yet. When "The Matrix: Revolutions" opens in November, Johnson will be in the midst of off-season training in preparation for his senior season behind the net for the Cavaliers, and there is no reason to believe the next installment in the series will be any less exciting than the first.
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