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NCAA MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS


May 23, 2015


Ryan Brown

Dave Pietramala


PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Maryland  - 12
Johns Hopkins - 11


THE MODERATOR:  We're joined by Coach Pietramala and student‑athletes Ryan Brown and Eric Schneider.
COACH PIETRAMALA:  It's unfortunate the 2015 Johns Hopkins lacrosse team is not going to win a national championship.  But they're champions in my mind.  What an unbelievable group of young men.
Disappointing.  You know, I think our first half cost us the game.  We got outplayed.  I thought we got outhustled and outworked, and I thought in the second half we did what this team always does, they answered the bell.  They fought.  They competed.  And they did what a Hopkins lacrosse team is supposed to do.
So, you know, I go home today and I won't sleep well because we lost, but more importantly I won't sleep well because I don't get to spend any more time with this group of young men.  Pretty special group.  Johns Hopkins family, our alumni, our fans should be proud as hell of this group.  They're pretty special.

Q.  The question was comparing the regular season game against Maryland to this one, did Maryland do anything different defensively to deal with you?
RYAN BROWN:  I think they did a little bit better job matching up and knowing where I was at all times.  But it was really just the same defense.  I don't think I shot the ball particularly well today.  I think I could have‑‑ given the opportunity‑‑ to score a couple more goals.  More doubt in my shooting.  But they're a terrific defense and especially today.
THE MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Questions for Coach.

Q.  What were some adjustments you made as you guys started to make the comeback late in the second half?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  We were more competitive at the faceoff X.  When you look at the stats at halftime we were getting our tails kicked there.  And we were a little more aggressive off the wings.  Hunter Moreland did a terrific job and battled there.  We made it more of a ground ball battle and we were able to come up with a few more of those.  And there was a stanza where we gave up a really big goal down their end, and we played a ton of defense and they scored a goal, I think it was Rambo with time and room, but up to that point I thought we got more stops.  We just played better lacrosse.  Give them credit.  They're a very good team.  They've had a great year.  They're well‑coached.  Their defense is good.  Their offense is better than people think.  And I just don't think we played great lacrosse in the first half.  We made some subtle adjustments in the second half, but at the end of the day we just played sounder, more fundamental lacrosse and we played harder.

Q.  The question was did they do more to get Rambo more opportunities than the last match?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  No, maybe they feel like they did.  Some games guys are assertive and some games they're not.  You ask Ryan today, he didn't have six goals today.  We tried to get him fewer looks.  Sometimes it's the way the game unfolds and Matt Rambo is a very good player and you couldn't think coming home to Philadelphia in a Final Four that he wasn't going to step up and play as one of their leaders.  So I don't know that they did anything special.  You'd have to ask them, but I'm not surprised that Matt Rambo was more assertive coming home and playing in a Final Four.
We expected their whole offense to be more assertive in this game.  We also expected them to do what they did which was put a stranglehold on the ball.

Q.  Can you talk about moving Crawley to the first group and also the shot by Shack with 30seconds left in the end?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  You've got to trust your player and Shack Stanwick is one of our better players.  If we're going to start stifling him we need to let him feel comfortable.  And I'm very comfortable with the way he played and what he did.
We felt like we needed to make a move to midfield, and you know John Crawley is a guy who has been a bit of a guy that's been a jack‑of‑all‑trades for us.  If someone's not doing the job at the attack we can move them there.  If someone's not doing the job or we feel there's a better matchup for us with him whether it's athletically, physically, behind the goal, in front of it, we can make that move for any of the guys in the first midfield, and Bobby felt that was the right thing to do.  We made it and John Crawley really stepped up today.  And I hope that it's something that he's going to carry as we move forward in the future.

Q.  Can you comment on extra man opportunities?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  No disrespect, but have you watched them play this year?  They're pretty darned good.  They're pretty darned good in the goal.  Are there opportunities we'd like to have back, sure.  I'm very happy with what our extra man's done this year.  Do I think that's the reason?  Not at all.
If I had to say anything, I'd just say collectively probably a little nervous at the beginning of the game.  A little anxious.  We've been here before, the staff's been here before with this group of guys hasn't been here before.  You know what, whether you realize it or not, the other three teams have all been here.  And it's been a process for all of them.  And none of them have won it.
It's a process.  And when we won in 2005, it took us getting our teeth kicked in in 2004 by Syracuse and losing in the national championship in 2003.  What this team has done for this program this year is reestablish that culture and we share the Big Ten championship.  We won the Big Ten tournament.  We went to the NCAA semifinals and the Final Four.
We're in no way shape or form satisfied because the goal of Johns Hopkins is to win the championship.  But all our freshmen know is those three things, and all our sophomores know is quarterfinals, Big Ten champs and Final Four.  Moving forward that's going to go a long way for our program.

Q.  Do you think that's going to explain the first half in general?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  If I say that's the reason then I'm making an excuse.  I've never been an excuse‑maker and I never will be.  Do I think it plays a role in it?  Sure.  I'd be foolish not to think‑‑ we tried real hard all week to keep these guys loose, not let them get tight.
We play better when we're like that.  We came out the stretch and we were through stretching before you could snap your fingers.  And, yeah, they were excited.  They should be nervous.  They should be anxious.  They're 17‑ to 23‑year‑old kids that just got back to the Final Four.
Yeah, that had something to do with it.  And I think we settled down in the second half and we went back to playing blue‑collar, hard‑nosed Johns Hopkins lacrosse in the second half.  Unfortunately we didn't do that in the first half.  And the guys we were playing are pretty darned good.  And they should be commended on the way they played and what they did.

Q.  Could you talk about everything that the team's been through on and off the field, the respect it's gotten?
COACH PIETRAMALA:  I'm not a guy that has great perspective.  I'm a coach that's hard to get perspective sometimes.  When you're in it knee deep, it is what it is.
Your question is do I have perspective after this season with this game?  You're darned right I do.  There's a father, a mother and a son sitting in those stands and they were cheering their ass off for us today.  Pardon my language.  That's probably not appropriate.  They were cheering their tail off for us today.  And they've suffered.
And I hope deep in my heart in some way shape or form this group of young men and/or staff were able to give them some comfort, to help them heal.  I know they've certainly helped us they've been bigger than we have.
So, yes, I take a lot of perspective from this.  Like I said, we're not going to win the national championship.  Guys in the locker room and black and blue, they're champions in my mind.  I'm good with them.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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