Besides their New England roots and role as teammates on the No. 17 Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (7-4, 2-1 Big East), Nick Marrocco and Bo Stafford have little in common. Marrocco, a freshman goalie, and Stafford, a senior attack, play very different games. But this season, the two have emerged as an unlikely star duo.
Marrocco’s one focus in his first year on the Hilltop has been protecting the crease, making saves and scooping up ground balls to stave off any threat to his net. Nothing gets past him. Across the field, the veteran Stafford hungers for the back of the net, just as he has on the Hilltop since Marrocco was a high school sophomore. The sharpshooter can take advantage of holes in an opposing defense in more ways than one. He can shoot from a distance and penetrate up near the crease. He makes cuts off the ball and jukes out defenders with flashy stickwork one-on-one. He is the very threat Marrocco eyes with grit and enmity. He just happens to wear the same color jersey.
The two Hoya stars play different games, but they’re both working. After last Saturday’s 9-6 win against Providence, Marrocco was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week and USILA Defensive Player of the Week. Stafford received equivalent honors for offensive players just two weeks ago, and his performance in Rhode Island was good enough to earn an appearance on the weekly honor roll, his second of the season.
“When you get into Big East play, you have to rely on your best players,” Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne said after this past Saturday’s win. Marrocco and Stafford might well be them.
Marrocco’s 18 saves improved his saves per game average to a Big East-leading 13.18, and his save percentage to .553, second in the Big East. The freshman is emerging as a national star, standing third in saves per game and 19th in save percentage in all of college lacrosse.
“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of allowing Nick to see shots that he wanted to see,” Warne said. “When you watch the film, those are the shots we want to give up. Nick’s job is to stop the ball, and he did.”
Stafford contributed to five of the Hoyas’ nine goals, assisting two and netting three of his own. Saturday’s five points brought Stafford to 37 on the season (21 goals, 16 assists) and 3.45 points per game average, fifth in the Big East.
“I was really impressed with what Bo did,” Warne said. “He really fired the guys up.”
The Hoyas drove home from Rhode Island extending their win-streak against Providence to eight, and improving their Big East record to 2-1. Tied with No. 16 Marquette (9-3, 2-1 Big East) for second in the conference, Georgetown lies half a game back from the No. 5 Denver Pioneers (8-2, 2-0 Big East).
With two of the next three games coming against Big East opponents, Villanova and St. John’s, the next three weeks will be imperative if the Hoyas intend to catch No. 5 Denver, who dealt them a humiliating 19-7 loss in Colorado late last month. The good news for the Hoyas is that both Big East matchups will take place in Washington. These two home-turf games will sandwich a quick 120-mile road trip to take on Virginia in Charlottesville.
Better news is that both the Villanova Wildcats (5-5, 0-2 Big East), who the Hoyas play this Saturday, and the St. John’s Red Storm (3-8, 1-1 Big East), who they play April 25, are struggling. Villanova dropped the last four straight games it played, averaging 4.5 goals during its losing streak to sit at a .500 overall record. The Wildcats have yet to win a conference game. Warne’s squad cannot wait to face their biggest conference rival, who they have not beaten since 2011.
“I don’t believe there’s any love lost between the two programs,” said Warne of the Hoyas’ rivalry with Villanova. “Our seniors have not beaten them. I think our seniors are really juiced up to get a crack at them.”
Up in Queens, the Red Storm have dropped two of the last three to fall to 3-8 overall. However, St. John’s may have outperformed Georgetown when they met the Providence Friars, albeit in New York, blowing out their March meeting 17-7. Nevertheless, if the Hoyas manage to take care of business like they should, the Blue and Gray should stand in a good position come the postseason.
As Marrocco repeatedly shatters any notion of a ceiling as he continues to improve throughout his first college season and Stafford pairs veteran poise with refined skills, all the pieces are there. This year’s Hoya squad has two faces. And right now, they’re both smiling.
“They deserve all the credit,” said Warne of his team’s power couple. “They had to make a choice that enough’s enough and we were going to make sure that we do things the right way.”
Face-off against Villanova is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Multi-Sport Field.
