Johns Hopkins–Princeton lacrosse rivalry

The Johns Hopkins–Princeton lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and Princeton Tigers. The teams first met in 1890 but would not meet again until 1930, after which, it became an annual staple on the schedule. Part of the enmity in the rivalry stems from the two school's similarities in high-level academics and lacrosse prominence, along with competing for a similar body of applicants.[1] Through much of the latter half of the 20th century, Hopkins would dominate the rivalry. The series would resume national importance in the 1990s with the return of Princeton to the game's elite; since 1990, the Tigers have won six national championships and the Jays have claimed two.[2] With the 90th meeting occurring in 2020, Johns Hopkins leads the series 59–31.[3]

Johns Hopkins–Princeton lacrosse rivalry

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays Princeton Tigers
First meeting	1890 Princeton 3, Johns Hopkins 2
Latest meeting	February 29, 2020 Princeton 18, Johns Hopkins 11
Statistics
Meetings total	90
All-time series	Johns Hopkins leads, 59–31
Largest victory	Johns Hopkins, 24–3 (1959)
Longest win streak	Johns Hopkins, 24 (1967–1990)
Current win streak	Princeton, 1 (2020–Present)

Series history

Early years (1930s to 1960s)

While the series was first played in 1890,[4] the teams would not meet for the second time until 1930, as Princeton dropped its team between 1890 and 1921.[5] One of the most intriguing aspects of the early meetings were their influence on the distinctive black and blue colors of Hopkins. The school's original colors were black and gold, but Princeton's orange black uniforms made the two teams indistinguishable on the field, leading to the creation of Blue Jay blue.[1]

After three more games, the series became an annual affair in 1937; its only blip being the 1944 season. In the 1937 contest, Princeton would triumph 7–4, winning their third national championship. Continued meetings would have significant national implications, as the teams competed as historic powers. After 23 meetings, Hopkins lead the series by a narrow 12–11 margin. However, after Princeton's one goal victory in 1956, Hopkins would win nine consecutive games until the Tigers topped the Jays in 1966.[6]

Hopkins dominance (1960s through 1980s)

Hopkins continued to play at a high level in the 1960s, while Princeton began a slow descent after their Ivy League conference championship in 1967. That season, Johns Hopkins routed the Tigers 12 to 2 in Baltimore, the first of 24 straight victories over Princeton.[6] The Tigers would only come within five goals of the Blue Jays once. Simultaneously, Hopkins dominated the new NCAA Division I tournament, winning seven national championships and appearing in nine more Final Fours. In contrast, blue-blooded Princeton had yet to make its first appearance in the 1980s, while failing to win their first Ivy League title since 1967.

National prominence (1990s to present)

After former Hobart Statesmen coach Jerry Schmidt did not succeed in returning the Tigers to their former glory, Bill Tierney was hired for the 1988 season. Despite a 2–13 record in his first season[7] and a shutout loss to Hopkins, Tierney would breakthrough during his third year. The 1990 Tigers made their first NCAA appearance and end Hopkins' streak at 24 games, taking the postseason rematch in the tournament to advance to the quarterfinals.[8] The following year, #5 Princeton would win for the second-straight year in Baltimore. In 1992, Hopkins would get revenge[9] but Princeton would go on to win its first national title in 39 years.[10]

The rivalry had regained its former prominence as the two teams, along with Syracuse and Virginia, would dominate the decade.[11] Princeton would win five in this period, with Tierney grabbing a sixth in 2001.[12] However, Hopkins would be unable to claim a title during the 1990s, their first decade without a championship since the 1880s.[13] The rivalry was often played as the season opener for both teams during this period, described by Dave Pietramala as designed to "find out where you stand" and that "Everyone wonders, Why do you play Princeton the first game of the year? That is crazy. But hey, it's just as difficult for them to play Hopkins the first game of the year."[14]

Princeton gained the upper-hand, winning 8 of 12 meetings between the two perennial Top 5 programs in the 90s, including a second NCAA tournament showdown in 1994. The Tigers would win a tense overtime match by a score of 12 to 11,[15] en route to a second national championship. That victory marked the first for the Tigers in Princeton in 28 years. In 2002, Princeton would again knock the Jays from the tournament, prevailing over #1 Hopkins in the Final Four.[16] However, Pietramala would lead the Jays to its first two national championships since 1987 in the next few years. The series would be relatively even during this era, with the 2000s ending with a narrow 6–5 advantage for Hopkins.

The departure of Tierney in 2009 marked another shift in the rivalry.[17] Since his exit to Denver, Princeton has only managed two NCAA appearances, with none since 2010. Across the field, Johns Hopkins missed the tournament for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2013, a year in which they lost to #12 Princeton in Baltimore.[18] Hopkins would only make it to one Final Four during the 2015 season,[19] the same year that the Jays joined the Big Ten Conference.[20][21] Despite the new conference membership and increasing difficulty in non-conference scheduling, they have maintained the annual rivalry with the Tigers. As of 2020, the programs have split the last ten meetings.[22]

Rival accomplishments

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[3][6][23][24]

Team	Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	Princeton Tigers
Pre-NCAA National Titles	35	6
NCAA National Titles	9	6
NCAA Final Four Appearances	29	10
NCAA Tournament Appearances	47	20
NCAA Tournament Record	71–38	30–14
Conference Tournament Titles	2	1
Conference Championships	1	27
Tewaarton Award Recipients	1	0
Lt. Raymond Enners Award Recipients	11	2
Consensus First Team All-Americans	184	78
All-time Program Record	993–346–15	721–502–18
All-time Winning Percentage	.739	.588

Game results

Johns Hopkins victories

Princeton victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 1890 Princeton, NJ Princeton 3–2 2 1930 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 7–0 3 1931 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 11–1 4 1932 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 11–0 5 1937 Baltimore, MD Princeton 7–4 6 1938 Baltimore, MD Princeton 5–2 7 1939 Baltimore, MD Princeton 4–3 8 1940 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 10–6 9 1941 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 9–3 10 1942 Baltimore, MD Princeton 4–2 11 1943 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 11–4 12 1945 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 18–4 13 1946 Baltimore, MD Princeton 12–8 14 1947 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 8–7 15 1948 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 12–6 16 1949 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 10–4 17 1950 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 8–7 18 1951 Baltimore, MD Princeton 13–11 19 1952 Baltimore, MD Princeton 5–4 20 1953 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 15–11 21 1954 Princeton, NJ Princeton 5–2 22 1955 Baltimore, MD Princeton 6–5 23 1956 Princeton, NJ Princeton 7–6 24 1957 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 19–6 25 1958 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 16–7 26 1959 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 24–3 27 1960 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 8–4 28 1961 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 19–6 29 1962 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 15–9 30 1963 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 15–8 31 1964 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 8–6 No. Date Location Winner Score 32 1965 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 10–6 33 1966 Princeton, NJ Princeton 7–1 34 1967 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 12–2 35 1968 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 11–4 36 1969 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 12–9 37 1970 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 13–7 38 1971 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 13–8 39 1972 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 16–8 40 1973 Baltimore, MD #2 Johns Hopkins 14–6 41 1974 Princeton, NJ #3 Johns Hopkins 21–7 42 1975 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 22–11 43 1976 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 16–10 44 1977 Baltimore, MD #3 Johns Hopkins 15–10 45 1978 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 14–7 46 1979 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 14–2 47 1980 Manhasset, NY #1 Johns Hopkins 8–4 48 1981 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 19–4 49 1982 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 13–5 50 1983 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 12–6 51 1984 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 16–6 52 1985 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 12–6 53 1986 Princeton, NJ Johns Hopkins 19–7 54 1987 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 21–6 55 1988 Princeton, NJ #6 Johns Hopkins 9–0 56 1989 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 11–5 57 1990 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 20–8 58 1990 Baltimore, MD #11 Princeton 9–8 59 1991 Baltimore, MD #5 Princeton 15–10 60 1992 Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins 15–14 61 1993 Baltimore, MD #2 Princeton 13–11 62 1994 Baltimore, MD #3 Princeton 20–11 No. Date Location Winner Score 63 1994 Princeton, NJ #2 Princeton 12–11^OT 64 1995 Baltimore, MD #2 Johns Hopkins 15–14 65 1996 Baltimore, MD #3 Princeton 12–9 66 1997 Princeton, NJ #1 Princeton 7–6^OT 67 1998 Baltimore, MD #1 Princeton 17–10 68 1999 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 12–11 69 2000 Baltimore, MD #4 Princeton 15–11 70 2001 Princeton, NJ #2 Princeton 8–4 71 2002 Baltimore, MD #3 Johns Hopkins 8–5 72 2002 Piscataway, NJ #4 Princeton 11–9 73 2003 Princeton, NJ #3 Johns Hopkins 10–8 74 2004 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 14–5 75 2005 Princeton, NJ #1 Johns Hopkins 9–6 76 2006 Baltimore, MD #10 Princeton 6–4 77 2007 Baltimore, MD #9 Johns Hopkins 7–6^2OT 78 2008 Baltimore, MD #1 Johns Hopkins 14–9 79 2009 Baltimore, MD #9 Princeton 14–8 80 2010 Baltimore, MD #7 Princeton 11–10^OT 81 2011 Baltimore, MD #10 Princeton 8–3 82 2012 Princeton, NJ #2 Johns Hopkins 10–8 83 2013 Baltimore, MD #12 Princeton 11–8 84 2014 Princeton, NJ #5 Johns Hopkins 15–9 85 2015 Baltimore, MD #18 Princeton 16–15 86 2016 Baltimore, MD #13 Johns Hopkins 17–7 87 2017 Princeton, NJ Princeton 18–7 88 2018 Baltimore, MD #19 Johns Hopkins 16–9 89 2019 Princeton, NJ #18 Johns Hopkins 14–12 90 2020 Princeton, NJ #8 Princeton 18–11 Series: Johns Hopkins leads 59–31 Source:[25]

References

1. "Princeton still sucks: why lax rivalries will never die". The Johns Hopkins News-Letter. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
2. "College lacrosse teams with the most national championships | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
3. "Men's Lacrosse Record Book (PDF)" (PDF). Johns Hopkins University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
4. "Johns Hopkins-Princeton Men's Lacrosse Notes". Johns Hopkins University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
5. "Princeton Hosts Johns Hopkins In The 89th Meeting Between The Two". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
6. "Year-By-Year Results". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
7. McPhee, John. "Pioneer". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
8. "NCAA Tournament Results". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
9. "Princeton-Syracuse 1992 Title Game Named Men's Lacrosse Game Of The Decade". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
10. "How Bill Tierney's coaching turned DU Pioneers into lacrosse stars". The Denver Post. 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
11. Wallace, William N. (1998-04-15). "LACROSSE: NOTEBOOK -- JOHNS HOPKINS; Fanatics in Baltimore Have Reason to Cheer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
12. "The man, the myth, the legend: Bill Tierney's story far from over – DU Clarion". Retrieved 2020-04-22.
13. "DI Men's Lacrosse Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
14. "The Johns Hopkins Gazette: February 26, 2001". pages.jh.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
15. Wallace, William N. (1994-05-22). "LACROSSE; Conklin Propels Princeton in Overtime". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
16. Litsky, Frank (2002-05-26). "LACROSSE; Princeton and Syracuse to Meet Again in Final". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
17. Holding, D. "Johns Hopkins vs. Princeton: Princeton Tigers Seek 4th Straight Win in Rivalry". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
18. Lee, By Edward. "No. 14 Princeton knocks off No. 5 Johns Hopkins at Homewood". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
19. "Full tournament schedule, results". ESPN.com. 2015-05-17. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
20. July 2013, Greg Rienzi / Published (2013-07-01). "Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse joins Big Ten Conference". The Hub. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
21. Hersh, Philip. "Johns Hopkins makes Big Ten, lacrosse history". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
22. Twitter, Joe O'Gorman jogorman@trentonian com @j_ogorman819 on. "Princeton, Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse set to square off for 89th time". The Trentonian. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
23. "All-Time All-Americans". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
24. "National Awards". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
25. "Johns Hopkins University Men's Lacrosse Record Book". Retrieved 10 March 2019.