Gertridge Scores in Sudden Death as No. 20 Johns Hopkins Escapes Fordham 12-11 in Eastern Championship First Round

Jeremy Selbst

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Kyle Gertridge (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) flipped a ball off the water and past Fordham goalie Christian Flessner (So., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) with 1:07 left in sudden death overtime as No. 20-ranked Johns Hopkins held on to defeat Fordham 12-11 in the opening round of the 2009 Men's Eastern Championship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Similar to a great boxing match, one team took control of the game early, but the other was able to climb back into the contest by counter-punching, dancing out of danger and controlling the pace of the contest.

Fordham took early command of the game as back-to-back tallies by Ali Arat (Gr., Istanbul, Turkey/Sisli Terakki Secondary/Koc University) at the 5:18 and 3:29 marks of the first period gave the Rams an early 2-0 lead.  The margin expanded to 3-0 at 2:38 as Mikey Edwards (Jr., Walnut, Calif./Rowland/Mt. San Antonio) beat JHU goalie and Player of the Game Jeremy Selbst (Jr., Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) with a rising shot, but Hopkins broke the ice in the period with a marker by Peter Sauerhoff (Sr., St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) at the 1:35 mark to make it 3-1 after eight minutes of play.

The Blue Jays continued to score to open the second period as Antonio Aguilera (Sr., Coral Gables, Fla./Gulliver Prep) put home scores at 7:35 and 1:35 at even-strength and with a man-up advantage, respectively, to pull Hopkins even at 3-3.  JHU took the lead before the end of the first half as Alex Whittam (Fr., Hillsborough, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) buried a penalty shot with 22 seconds left in the period for a 4-3 Hopkins advantage at the break.

Andrew McKernin (So., Riverside, Ill./Fenwick) pulled the Rams even with a man-up goal at 5:49 of the third period, but JHU countered with back-to-back special goals as Gertridge scored on a man-advantage chance at 2:19 and Whittam shipped in a penalty shot score at 1:40 to give the Blue Jays back the lead at 6-4 with 1:40 left in the period.

Fordham began to climb back into the contest 23 seconds later as Daniel Munoz (Jr., Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore) zipped in a score at the 1:07 mark to make it a 6-5 game in favor of Johns Hopkins through 24 minutes of play.

The Rams evened the score two minutes into the fourth period with a man-up goal by Edwards, but JHU responded with back-to-back goals by Whittam and Sauerhoff on a man-up chance (4:04) and at even-strength (3:35), respectively, to give the Blue Jays a 8-6 lead.

The advantage began to melt away as Arat rattled the cage at 3:22, but Ross Schofield (Fr., Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) returned the lead to two goals at 9-7 with 2:57 left to play.

Schofield's goal changed the tone of the game as the Rams returned to action inspired to send the game to overtime.

Edwards started the late comeback bid with a score at 2:16 before Arat connected on a five-meter penalty shot at the 1:22 mark to knot the score at 9-9 and bring on two three-minute overtime periods.

Hopkins went in front in the first overtime period with a natural goal by Schofield at the 1:55 mark and a man-up tally by Whittam with four seconds in the period, while Edwards chipped in a score for the Rams with 21 seconds on the period clock to set the score at 11-10 in favor of JHU after 27 minutes of play.

Only Fordham scored in the second period as Arat beat Selbst at the 1:11 mark to tie the game up at 11-11 and bring on sudden death.

In the sudden death period, neither team could deduce a method to beat the other's defense until the Blue Jays caught a break when a shot clock expiration allowed Gertridge to break free of his defender and sprint down the pool, accept a pass and flip a one-one-one chance over Flessner's right shoulder for the game-winner with 1:07 on the clock.

In cage, Selbst finished with 13 saves, while Flessner stopped 12 shots for Fordham.

The Blue Jays advance to face No. 12-ranked the United States Naval Academy at 4:30 on Saturday, November 21 in the semifinals, while Fordham will meet Iona College at 1:30 p.m. with a berth in the fifth place game on the line.

Fordham Goals: Ali Arat (5); Mikey Edwards (4); Andrew McKernin; Daniel Munoz

JHU Goals: Alex Whittam (4); Antonio Aguilera (2); Kyle Gertridge (2); Peter Sauerhoff (2); Ross Schofield (2)

Saves: Fordham - Christian Flessner (12) ; JHU - Jeremy Selbst (13)

Exclusions: Fordham - 13 ; JHU -10

Advantage Opportunities: Fordham - 5-for-10 ; JHU - 6-for-13

Sprints: Fordham - 2-for-6 ; JHU - 4-for-6

Referees: Michael Goldenberg, Humberto Navarro