Coming off an exciting 17-12 home win this past Friday against Marquette (2-5), the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (4-6, 1-1 Big East) lost 8-6 in disappointing fashion to Villanova (3-6, 2-0 Big East). Facing a 6-5 deficit after the third quarter, the Wildcats scored three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter that helped catapult them to victory.
The Hoyas struggled to contain Villanova’s freshman midfielder John Kluh, who burst on the scene for 3 goals and 1 assist, with 2 goals coming in the second half. Kluh’s speed and quick cuts created numerous problems for Georgetown’s defense.
Head Coach Kevin Warne had nothing but praise after the game for Kluh.
“He was awesome. He’s a really good lacrosse player,” said Warne. “For us, we wanted to put a short-stick on him and slide to him. I’m not sure we slid well. He got a couple of looks from about 10 yards out and he’s right-handed so he’s going to bury them. He’s been their most consistent and one of their best offensive players, especially in the past couple of weeks.
Senior attacker Travis Comeau and sophomore attacker Reilly O’Connor led the Hoyas with 2 goals apiece and sophomore goalkeeper Jake Haley kept the game close with 13 saves despite the Wildcats dominating offensively, outshooting the Hoyas 42-26.
“I thought Jake Haley was awesome tonight. Jake played great. I thought our defense finally came together and did all the right things. We are getting better,” said Warne.
After a goal by Villanova’s Kluh to start the first quarter, the Hoyas rattled off three goals in a two-minute span, with Comeau, junior midfielder Zac Guy, and sophomore attack Bo Stafford all finding the back of the net. Villanova stifled the 3-goal run with a goal by junior midfielder Mark Jackson to end the first quarter. Comeau scored the only goal of the quiet second quarter, and the Hoyas went into halftime with a 4-2 lead.
O’Connor opened up the second half by scoring for the Hoyas, netting his 16th goal of the season to give the Hoyas a 5-2 lead. The Wildcats quickly responded, however, scoring three consecutive goals to tie the game at 5. The Hoyas then regained the lead after another goal by O’Connor, giving them a 6-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter, however, was all Villanova. Kluh scored the game-tying goal and senior attack Nick Doherty netted the game-winner with 8:50 remaining. Villanova senior attacker Will Casertano provided an insurance goal with 2:31 left, which put the game out of reach for the Hoyas.
“I think you saw Villanova’s athleticism take over,” Warne said. “I think they caused a lot of turnovers. They’re a pretty athletic group. We knew that. They got the ball on the ground and we kind of fell into their hands. We did have a couple of open looks. We didn’t really shoot the ball with authority or as hard as I would have liked to.”
The Hoyas were sloppy during parts of the game, marked by 20 turnovers and 5 penalties, allowing the Wildcats offense to control the game’s tempo.
“I think a lack of depth hurts a little bit. I think we got a little tired,” Warne said. “I would say, if you looked at their possessions and our possessions, I would say our possessions were a lot quicker than theirs. They might have played offense for a minute and a half, and then our possessions were 30 seconds and there’s no shot clock right away. That kind of hurt us in the end.”
Despite Georgetown redshirt junior face-off specialist Tyler Knarr coming into the game ranked fourth in the country in face-off win percentage at 65 percent, Villanova junior face-off specialist Thomas Croonquist dominated the Hoyas, winning 10 of the game’s 17 face-offs.
“Coonquist is very good. He did a very good job,” Warne said. “We tried to get our wings at it. [Villanova] did a pretty good job of tying Tyler up. We just got to pick up a couple more ground balls and those things will change pretty quickly.”
The Hoyas now have to regroup and get ready for a tough test this Saturday when they travel north to Bethpage, N.Y. to take on No. 12 St. John’s (7-2, 2-1 Big East) in a crucial conference matchup.
