The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team, ranked seventh in the nation, fell to No. 3 Maryland last Saturday, 10-4 in the season opener. The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,107 at the Multi-Sport Field. The teams’ shooting woes thwarted their first-half efforts, while penalties in the second half allowed the Terps to runaway with the win.
The Hoyas led 2-1 after the first quarter thanks to goals by sophomore attackmen Brendan Cannon and Andrew Baird. They had the advantage in shots on goal, 11-7, and converted on an extra-man opportunity. The solid play, however, was unable to hold for the next two quarters, particularly the third.
As the Hoyas seemed to lose some of their composure, Maryland capitalized. The Terrapins took a 4-2 lead into the intermission by netting three more goals against sophomore goalie Miles Kass. In the third, the Terps out-shot the Hoyas by only a margin of 11-10, but the difference was that they converted on five of them, putting the game out of reach.
They played virtually the whole third quarter a man up, thanks to penalties against Georgetown.
“Their extra man was getting shots right on the front door,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick said. “We didn’t challenge enough in the second half. We didn’t face off particularly well, which put the ball on their sticks.”
The Hoyas met a similar fate against the Terps in last year’s meeting. “It was eerie how both games mirrored one another,” Urick said. “We played well enough for a half. We had some looks, but better shooting would have helped.”
There was some upside in the fourth quarter for the Hoyas, as junior Trevor Casey and senior Reyn Garnett put an end to the scoreless streak with a goal each.
For Coach Urick, there were other positives as well. “If you have to look at something, we cleared the ball very well. We were able to convert on extra-man opportunities.”
The Hoyas still remain at the high end of the national rankings and have a positive mindset, despite several key injuries they must overcome. One positive aspect the Hoyas can look forward to is the play of senior defenseman and co-captain Reyn Garnett. He was named to the preseason watch list for the Tewaarton Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top player.
Georgetown looks to get a victory when they host St. John’s in their first conference game of 2006 this Saturday. The Red Storm will come to play with a solid goalie, sophomore David Saccente, and a respectable offense. “They are a very well coached team,” Urick said. “They’ve got a lot of confidence. Our guys need to prepare well and respect every opponent.”
