Two Johns Hopkins defenders stood to Eric Schneider’s right, another two on his left. None helped him.

Syracuse’s Randy Staats blistered a shot at Schneider from 20 yards out, but Schneider stonewalled Staats, lifting his stick just in time.

A groundball rebound trickled out to Staats and by the time a Blue Jays defender leaked out to cover him, Staats had already given Syracuse the lead for good as Schneider sprawled on the ground.

In the midst of similar struggles early in the season — Johns Hopkins dropped five-of-seven when Schneider allowed 12.4 goals per game — he almost lost his job, according to The Baltimore Sun. But he stopped giving up second chances, like the one to Staats, and got a second chance himself.

The turning point, JHU head coach Dave Pietramala said, came in an 11-10 double-overtime win over Penn State. Since then, Schneider’s changed his approach, stood taller and got a solidified defensive line in front of him, which has translated to allowing 6.8 goals per game in the last five contests. He’ll ride that hot streak into Annapolis, Maryland where Johns Hopkins (10-6, 4-1 Big Ten) will get another chance to stop second-seeded Syracuse (13-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals on Sunday at noon.

“We’ll have to get goaltending,” Pietramala said. “If you play Syracuse, you need double-digit saves. It’s always the way I’ve felt.”

The first step for Schneider is simplification, he said, just worrying about the white ball and nothing else. He used to get too emotional before games — as he did before his game in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse, a 13-10 loss on March 14.

“I hoot and holler,” Schneider said. “Sometimes I get so excited, I forget everything else around me. Your mind is all scattered, your legs are jittery. Being more calm, cool and collected … helped me late in the season. This position is more mental than physical.”

He’s also improved his technique with goalie coach Dave Allan. He’s bigger in goal and “holding his pipe,” which forces opponents to take shots with worse angles, makes him more fundamentally sound, he said.

ESPN lacrosse analyst Mark Dixon said he’s seen marked improvement in Schneider’s form since the start of the season. Schneider’s not dropping as quickly as he used to, Dixon said, and by not dropping his hands, it’s allowed him to make saves by staying taller.

“(Schneider’s) proven to be invaluable,” Dixon said. “In games where he’s struggled, they’ve come up short. When he’s good, Hopkins has a solid chance to win.”

Facing a top-flight offense in practice at JHU has prepared Schneider for the Orange, he said.

Johns Hopkins is No. 9 in the nation in scoring and boasts the nation’s second-highest goals-per-game scorer in junior attack Ryan Brown. Fielding shots from his teammates will give him a look, he said, at a Syracuse offense that’s quick in transition.

As much as Schneider learns from the JHU offense shooting on him in practice, his defenders are the ones he’ll need come Sunday.

“Right now, they’re giving me shots I can make plays on,” Schneider said. “It’s boosting my confidence going forward through the game.”

The defense in front of Schneider was a revolving door all season. Senior defender Robert Enright suffered a season-ending knee injury in February. Then, Eddie Morris, Enright’s replacement, sustained his own season-ending knee injury after his best week of practice in three years at JHU, Pietramala said.

Schneider’s defense solidified when Pietramala moved Nikhon Schuler from long-stick midfield to close defense.

Since the switch, Schneider has been a brick wall and will look to parlay it into a national semifinals berth.

“Looking back at (the first Syracuse) game, we see the mistakes we made,” Schneider said. “But we’ll have to fix that.”

Published on May 16, 2015 at 6:39 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR