Two days saw two very different results for Georgetown’s lacrosse teams. While the no. 5 Georgetown men’s lacrosse team’s dominating 16-7 victory over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers helped cement the Hoyas’ postseason hopes, the no. 7 women’s loss at no. 8 James Madison continued their recent slide. The loss significantly weakens their seeding and chances at a bid to the NCAA tournament.
On Wednesday, first-year Attackman Trevor Casey single-handedly put the mens game against Mount St. Mary’s away in its opening minutes. With 3:30 left in the first period, Casey had already scored four goals and added an assist, leading Georgetown to a 5-1 lead. The team would never relinquish the advantage, and the Mountaineers would get no closer than the game’s six-goal final margin. “A lot of people did a really good job getting me the ball in position to score,” Casey, who added another late goal, said. “We did a good job as a team of creating a lot of good looks.”
After the starters put the game beyond reach early, Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick was able to use a variety of younger and less-experienced players against overwhelmed Mount St. Mary’s. The Hoyas logged an impressive 18-4 shot advantage in the first period, and finished with a 47-27 advantage. Senior goalie and co-captain Andrew Owen made his first start in the cage this season, finishing with 10 saves, including a number on point-blank shots after Mountaineer attackmen eluded their inexperienced Hoyas’ defenders.
The Hoyas also finished with a significant advantage in ground balls, recovering 54 to Mt. St. Mary’s 30. Senior face-off specialist Andy Corno was perfect on the restarts, going 11-11 in the first half before giving way to first-year Christian Trunz and sophomore Nick Lukens who combined to go 10-16. Younger defenseman, particularly sophomore Robert Smith and first-year Preston Connell, played most of the game and provided solid man-to-man defense. They were victimized on a few Mountaineer cuts to the crease in the second half, however, as the speed of Mt. St. Mary’s Billy Jautze and Pat Beall provided problems when the defenders were stretched to the perimeters of the restraining box.
The blowout win over the Mountaineers followed a tight contest against Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference rival UMass on Saturday. The 12-10 win was closely contested throughout, and only a number of late defensive stops and a timely goal from sophomore midfielder Peter Cannon ensured that Georgetown would remain undefeated in ECAC play heading into their final conference game against Rutgers. The Hoyas fell behind to the Minutemen early, but responded with a four-goal run to take a 4-2 lead which they would never relinquish. “When they score it’s a two-goal swing,” UMass Head Coach Greg Cannella said. “They used the bodies that they had to push through another couple goals, so it’s frustrating for our guys.”
UMass had beaten Georgetown for the past two years, keeking the team from claiming the conference title, but didn’t have the firepower to pull of the feat for a third straight year. Senior team captain and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week Walid Hajj sent in three goals for the Hoyas, and heady defensive play down the stretch helped Georgetown hold on for the win. Corno’s return to full-time action was also a factor, finishing 18-26 in the game, and adding five groundballs to maintain his national lead in the category.
“We knew they were going to come in with their best game,” Urick said. “UMass is a team that is peaking at just the right time, and we’ve had trouble with them the past couple of years, so it’s good to get a win. There’s no automatic bid for the conference this year, but we’re confident that the ECAC champ will definitely get a bid.”
While the men used two wins to move up the national ladder, the women’s lacrosse team was surprised with a fourth loss, 12-11 at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. The Dukes used an avid home crowd to fuel a come-from-behind win, holding on over the last 1:09 to close out the game.
After using a 7-2 run to jump out to a 7-4 first-half lead, the Hoyas were unable to control the gradual, persistent JMU attack. The Dukes rallied with three straight goals to tie the game at halftime, and pushed ahead to a controlling 12-9 lead with just over seven minutes remaining. The Dukes held the lead with ball-possession offense, and Georgetown was only able to make headway by capitalizing on JMU turnovers. A final offensive rush by junior Sarah Oliphant, who had scored a goal earlier in the game, yielded a close shot that would have tied the game with 19 seconds left, but Dukes’ goalie Livvy King made another big save, ensuring the win. King, who relieved starting JMU goalie Amy Altig, made seven saves while allowing only four goals. Altig stopped only two shots while allowing seven goals.
The women’s team won’t have to wait long to try to rebound from their loss, as they play Stanford on Saturday on North Kehoe Field at 1 p.m. “Right now, all that matters is that we’ll be playing in May. That is when it really counts,” Junior Midfielder Allison Chambers said.
Meanwhile, the men head up the coast to New Jersey, to face ECAC foe Rutgers for the conference title. Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Piscataway, N.j., and the Hoyas enter with big plans. “It’ll be a big game,” Casey said. “But we expect to win.”
