Unfortunately for the Virginia lacrosse team, Saturday was Hopkins freshman Kevin Huntley's day to catch the banana.
Thrown by a group of Blue Jay alumni to the player they believe had the best game, the tossing of the symbolic fruit capped a disappointing day for the visiting Cavaliers, who fell to No. 1 Hopkins 9-7 in Baltimore.
Ranked No. 2 heading into the contest, the Cavaliers' perfect season was ended by a sluggish performance and the outstanding play of a few Blue Jays.
All afternoon, Virginia was forced to respond to attacks from unexpected directions. Huntley, a relative newcomer who stepped in for injured Blue Jay attackman Kyle Barrie early in the game, scored three devastating fourth quarter goals to kill the Cavaliers' dream of a comeback.
"Huntley is a quality player," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "He took advantage early like an attackman should, and he made a couple good plays."
Hopkins goalie Jesse Schwartzman, who had only 32 saves coming into the match, also decided to raise his game for the occasion -- recording a formidable 20 saves while facing 44 shots from Virginia's trigger-happy offense.
"It was a great lacrosse game and we played hard," Starsia said. "It wasn't mistake-free by any stretch of the imagination on either side. We were a step slow offensively, and we just didn't get enough quality shots."
Virginia was hurt by the lack of performance from some of its regular contributors. Senior John Christmas failed to notch a single point, while starting midfielder Kyle Dixon routinely missed shots high and wide of the cage.
"It felt like we were moving in sand out there," Starsia said. "It was like we thought it would be a penalty if we moved the ball any faster."
One player that did come through for the Cavaliers was senior attackman Matt Ward, the team's leading scorer and co-captain. Ward seemed to take the ball into his own hands when Virginia needed it most, breaking a scoreless first quarter with a goal in the second, then netting three more over the course of the game to keep the Cavaliers within striking distance.
Although it never led, Virginia refused to concede defeat until the last possible option had been used up. After a scoreless first quarter that allowed Hopkins to rack up three momentum-building goals, the Cavaliers bounced back with a barrage of shots in the second quarter to tie the game at four heading into halftime.
With a chance to take control in the third quarter, Virginia faltered, allowing the Blue Jays to net two unanswered goals to open the second half. The Cavaliers eventually responded with two goals by Ward and one by Dixon, but the damage had been done. Huntley's fourth-quarter target practice sealed the deal for Hopkins and preserved its 30-game winning streak at Homewood field, dating to 2001.
"Playing from behind is a tough thing to do, and we got close," Ward said. "We missed a couple of shots that would have given us the lead and we got some [shots off the] post."
Even though the Cavaliers didn't come away with a victory at Homewood, Saturday's match could serve as a preview for the upcoming NCAA tournament. If they meet again, however, Starsia and the rest of the team hope to play well enough that the Hopkins alumni keep their fruit off the field.
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