Homewood Field has never been kind to visiting teams, and even old friends are no exception. UMBC head coach, and former Hopkins player and coach, Don Zimmerman and the Retrievers were reminded of this fact over the weekend when they dropped a 16-4 decision to the Blue Jays.
The Retrievers faced a Hopkins team dealing with the loss of one of their own. Hopkins freshman defender Jeremy Huber was found dead in his dorm on Jan. 26, just 11 days before the season opener.
Underlying that was the prospect of a personal achievement for Hopkins’s storied head coach Dave Pietramala. The victory added the title of Hopkins lacrosse’s winningest coach to Pietramala’s long list of achievements.
Pietramala played all four years of his collegiate career under Zimmerman, and the pair won a national championship in 1987.
The two found themselves on opposite sides of the penalty box this past Saturday. Hopkins dominated the first quarter with six unanswered goals, and found themselves up 10-2 at the half.
Hopkins freshman Shack Stanwick, the youngest male in the Stanwick lacrosse dynasty, scored back-to-back goals for the Jays in the first quarter, and completed the hat trick with the final goal of the game.
Junior midfielder Pat Young led the Retrievers in goals with two, and fellow junior Jack Glennon led the team in assists with a pair.
Junior attackman Nate Lewnes and sophomore midfielder Dylan McDermott each chipped in a goal for UMBC.
Redshirt-sophomore Conor Gordon started in net for the Retrievers and made eight saves on 21 shots. Zimmerman pulled Gordon after 40:06 of playing time for freshman David Pisanic. In his debut, the Towson native made eight saves on 11 shots.
UMBC did receive votes in the Inside Lacrosse top-20 voting prior to the start of the season. Hopkins entered the game ranked sixth in the nation.
The Retrievers will be on the road again this Saturday when they take on the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.