Before the season started, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team had a clear goal in mind: Return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. With only four games left in the regular season, they know now is the time when they can fulfill those expectations.
“They bottom line is—and the players understand this—is that you can play your way in and you can play your way out,” head coach David Urick said. “We’ve dropped some games, but we were competitive in all of them … and I think the games have played out pretty much the way we have fully anticipated.”
A 7-3 record may not gel with the Hoyas lofty aspirations, but Urick is probably thankful to have only three losses considering Georgetown’s schedule. All three defeats have come at the hands of teams currently ranked in the top five in the country.
Photo courtesy of Sports Information
The Hoyas are also in good position to contend for the first-ever Big East men’s lacrosse championship. Georgetown is in second place in the conference, which formed this season, with its only loss coming to Syracuse, a 15-12 defeat in early March.
“[We’ve had] a number of close games, something to be expected I guess with the type of teams that we play,” Urick said. “We’re on the road three out of the last four games so that’s an element that’s going to come into play.”
Two of those games are Big East matchups, against Rutgers and at Villanova in the regular season finale. But before the Hoyas can make their push for the inaugural Big East title, they must first travel to face No. 8 Loyola (MD) this Saturday in a game that could have important NCAA Tournament implications.
“In the upcoming game it’s going to be a very tough opponent,” Urick said. “We haven’t beaten them in a couple years, so we’re going to need to play well.”
The key to breaking out of the Hoyas’ two year slump against the Greyhounds will be negating their stifling defense. Loyola ranks second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing fewer than seven goals per game.
Georgetown, however, features a potent offensive attack that has yet to be held under nine goals in a game.
“We’re not looking to do too much different offensively,” Urick said. “This year we’ve simplified the offense and focused on execution. We’ve got an inside presence too with Travis Comeau. He’s an off ball guy that plays around the crease that the defense has to be aware of, and that helps our perimeter players because the defense has to focus on the guy inside in front of the goalie.”
Comeau, a freshman attacker, is the Hoyas’ leading goal scorer, an impressive feat considering he has started only three games this season. The newcomer has opened up an already formidable Georgetown attack led by senior Craig Dowd.
The Georgetown attackers will only be able to do so much against the Loyola defense, though. The outcome will hinge on the Hoyas’ ability to control the nitty-gritty aspects of the game.
“There’s a couple things that we need,” Urick said. “The ground ball part of the game is something we’ve focused on and we’ve been largely successful at it. And obviously the face off and being able to clear the ball is a part of that.”
Indeed, the Hoyas rank second in the country in ground balls per game. A ground ball is simply when a player picks up a loose ball from the ground, a skill Urick compares to rebounding in basketball.
Junior midfielder Brian Tabb leads the Hoyas in ground balls, and is also their face-off specialist. Thankfully for Georgetown, they’ll have a hot hand controlling the most important aspects of Saturday’s game—Tabb was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week for his work in wins against Mount St. Mary’s and Notre Dame.
“Brian’s done a very, very good job,” Urick said. “A lot of that can be attributed to our volunteer assistant who works a lot with him one on one. He’s done everything that we’ve expected of him and maybe a little bit more.”
Thanks to the play of Tabb and his teammates, the Hoyas are on pace for an NCAA tournament berth. And if Urick can get that “little bit more” from all his players, they may even have a shot at their ultimate goal—a national championship.
