(Photo Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletics)
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are advancing past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
On Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays dominated the Bryant Bulldogs 22-8.
Russell Melendez had a monster day for the Blue Jays, notching nine points off five goals and four assists. Jacob Angelus had two goals and five assists for seven points while Brooks English netted his first career hat trick.
Tim Marcille and Gib Versfeld each saw action in cage and made seven saves apiece. Alex Mazzone led that defense out in front with six ground balls and one caused turnover.
A pair of scores from Timmy Hackett and Aidan Goltz pulled Bryant ahead 3-2 with 7:07 remaining in the first frame. That however, would be the first and only lead the Bulldogs held of on the day as from there on out it was all Johns Hopkins.
Brooks English capitalized on a Jacob Angelus feed at the 5:30 mark of the opening frame to give himself a hat trick and help start what would become a 15-goal Hopkins run that lasted through the early portion of the third quarter and pulled them ahead 17-3.
Russell Melendez put home four of his five goals during that run. The fourth score of his during that dominant stretch came in highlight reel fashion as we went behind-the-back off a feed from Dylan Bauer.
A pole goal from Patrick Deans and a fifth score from Melendez made it a 19-4 game entering the final frame. Stuart Phillips, Koleton Marquis, and Ian Krampf each found the back of the net in the fourth quarter to get Hopkins to 22, which marks their highest-scoring game of the year.
16 of those 22 scores from the Blue Jays were assisted.
Aidan Goltz had a hat trick for Bryant while Nathan Laliberte went 10-for-20 (50%) at the faceoff dot.
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