Game Preview: #3 Maryland vs Johns Hopkins
One of the greatest rivalries in sports is finally back, as the Johns Hopkins Blue Jay’s head to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins. Both teams come into this week’s game off of big wins, for the Terps against Penn State and for the Blue Jay’s against Michigan.
Maryland’s win against the 13th ranked Nittany Lions brought them to a record of 2-0. Maryland’s defense has been absolutely sensational in the first two weeks of the season, allowing less than 10 goals in both games. Along with the stellar defense, Maryland’s offense has been one of the best in the country so far this season. The Terps have the 7th best scoring offense in the country after two weeks.
For Hopkins though, the first two weeks haven’t been rainbows and butterflies like they have been for the Terps. The Blue Jay’s lost their first game of the season 14-8 against the now ranked 12 Ohio State Buckeyes. Johns Hopkins did bounce back last week though, beating Michigan 14-7 for their first win of the year. Local product Joey Epstein led the Blue Jay’s scoring six goals, three of which were on extra-man opportunities.
Maryland shouldn’t have any trouble in winning this game, as they have the first two weeks. There is nothing that jumps out saying that either Hopkins has what it takes to outscore or stop Maryland. The Terps just have too much firepower on all sides of the ball for the Blue Jay’s (or any other BIG10 team) to stop. I’ve got Maryland winning this game 16-7.
The game will be at 1pm on Saturday and broadcasted on BTN+ ($). And while I’m here I’ll complain of how the greatest rivalry in the sport is behind a paywall. You can’t grow a sport when the best game in the sport costs money to watch. For those who don’t want to pay, you can follow along on the main Twitter page @MDSportsBlog. I’ll be at the game with live updates.
