May 4, 2008

Complete Bracket in PDF Format

BALTIMORE, MD -- The Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team will host Hofstra in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament it was announced tonight on ESPNU with the release of the 16-team NCAA bracket. The Blue Jays (8-5) are making their record 37th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and earned the number five seed in the tournament. Hofstra is making its 14th appearance in the tournament, including its sixth since 1999. The game is set for Sunday, May 11 at 2:30 pm at Homewood Field. Ticket information will be available on Monday.

The winner of the Johns Hopkins-Hofstra first round game will play the winner of the North Carolina-Navy game at Navy on Saturday, May 17 as part of a quarterfinal doubleheader. North Carolina, which earned the number four seed, will host Navy in the first round.

The Blue Jays rallied to earn their bid to the tournament by winning their final five regular season games. A 10-4 win against Maryland jump-started the season-ending run, which also included wins against Navy (12-5), Towson (16-7), Mount St. Mary's (12-1) and Loyola (9-6). This is the second consecutive year the Blue Jays have rallied late in the season to earn an NCAA Tournament bid as JHU rattled off five straight wins to close the regular season a year ago and went on to win the program's ninth NCAA Championship.

The Blue Jays feature a balanced offense that is paced by seniors Kevin Huntley and Paul Rabil. Huntley leads the team in goals (26) and points (34), while Rabil counts 22 goals and 11 assists to his credit. Six different players have scored 10 or more goals and six players have 17 or more points on the year for the Blue Jays, who averaged 11.8 goals per game during the five-game winning streak to end the regular season.

Defensively the Blue Jays have held their last five opponents to seven goals or less and are allowing just 8.46 goals per game. Spearheading the unit is sophomore goalie Michael Gvozden and defensemen Matt Bocklet, Eric Zerrlaut and Michael Evans. Gvozden fashions a solid 8.29 goals against average and a .574 save percentage. He has allowed just 21 goals and registered 59 saves in the last four games. Bocklet ranks second on the team with 74 ground balls after coming up with a career-high 12 against Loyola in the regular season finale.

Hofstra, which defeated Johns Hopkins 8-7 in overtime earlier this season, won the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pride have won seven of their last eight games and will carry a 10-5 record into the game against Johns Hopkins. Like Johns Hopkins, Hofstra features a balanced offense and a stingy defense under the guidance of head coach Seth Tierney.

Offensively Hofstra is led by Anthony Muscarella and Jay Card, who both count more than 40 points to their credit this season. Muscarella punched home four goals and one assist in the CAA title game against Drexel and leads the team in scoring with 28 goals and 14 assists for 42 points. Card counts 27 goals and 13 assists to his credit and scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the earlier meeting against Johns Hopkins.

Sophomore Danny Orlando has played every meaningful minute in goal for the Pride over the last two years and posted 12 saves in the 10-9 overtime win against Drexel in the CAA title game. He anchors a defense that has held 11 of 15 opponents to nine goals or less this season.

This will be the 21st all-time meeting between Johns Hopkins and Hofstra with the Blue Jays holding a 16-4 lead in the series. Hofstra has won two of the last three, including the victory earlier this season. This will also be the fourth meeting in the NCAA Tournament between Johns Hopkins and Hofstra as the Blue Jays picked up wins over the Pride in the 1974, 1978 and 1999 quarterfinals.

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