The Georgetown Hoyas men’s lacrosse team (6-0, Big East), remained undefeated on Saturday, dominating from start to finish in a victory against the Towson Tigers (0-6, CAA). Continuing their early season pattern against overmatched competition, Coach Kevin Warne’s squad showed poise on both ends of the field to earn the win.
Opening a three-game road trip, the Hoyas built an early lead that they would never relinquish, jumping out 6-0 before Towson answered to close the quarter at a score of 6-1. Georgetown’s six-goal onslaught was a team effort, with six different scorers and eight Hoyas registering points. Meanwhile, the Tigers had seven turnovers in the first quarter alone and were unable to clear until over thirteen minutes into the quarter, when their first successful clear led to junior midfielder Greg Ey’s goal with 1:07 left. Though Towson actually had a faceoff advantage, winning five of eight in the first quarter, their inability to retain the ball and Georgetown’s strong ground ball play delivered a crucial possession advantage.
After trading goals early in the second quarter, both teams’ offenses went silent, with the Hoyas’ briefly stymied by Towson’s switch to a zone defense. However, strong performances from Georgetown on defense and in the cage prevented the Tigers from taking advantage to narrow the lead. A strong save by Hoyas’ junior goalie Owen McElroy finally initiated a transition breakthrough, as a nice outlet pass and rapid clear enabled a slick feed by senior attackman Jake Carraway to sophomore attackmen Dylan Watson, who deftly scored on the crease to make the lead 8-2 with 6:16 left. The Carraway to Watson connection would strike once more with 1:55 remaining to reach the halftime score of 9-2.
Opening the second half with a seven-goal margin, the third quarter proved a stalemate early. Neither team was able to score until, with 8:14 left, Georgetown sophomore midfielder Declan McDermott made a deft move from behind the crease to bury a low-angle shot for his second goal on the day. Towson responded with 5:56 left when freshman attackman Andrew Milani scored his first career goal to make the deficit 10-3. Yet ongoing possession advantages and strong defense prevented the Tigers from gaining any traction, and the Hoyas extinguished any glimmer of hope with two more goals in the final three minutes of the third quarter – including a strike with a mere 8.9 seconds left by freshman midfielder Graham Bundy Jr.
Despite the yawning lead, the fourth quarter was rife with action. Most significantly, it featured Georgetown sports history, as Carraway scored two more goals not only to seal the win (and a hat trick for the day), but also to tie the great Scott Urick (Class of 2000) for most goals in program history. With three today, his total of 144 career goals matches Urick’s and puts Carraway in the driver’s seat to assume the leading spot over the team’s eight remaining regular season contests. Scott Urick is himself the son of David Urick, another Georgetown legend, who coached the men’s lacrosse team and led the program’s most successful campaigns during his tenure from 1990 until 2012. In addition to Carraway’s record-setting tallies, the fourth quarter also saw two more goals from Graham Bundy Jr. to seal his own hat trick and a final tally by senior midfielder Sean O’Keefe to complete the 16-4 victory.
Six games into the season, Georgetown continues to display a strong, balanced offense, with contributions not only from senior leaders like Carraway (three goals, two assists), midfielder Massimo Bucci (two goals, one assist), and attackman Robert Clark (two assists), but also from underclassman, including Dylan Watson and Graham Bundy Jr. (both with three goals), as well as sophomore midfielder Peter Thompson (one goal). Goalie Owen McElroy again anchored a potent defensive effort, saving nine shots against four goals allowed for a 69% save percentage. Rounding out the contest was strength at the face off dot, where sophomore James Reilly won 13 of 19 draws (and scored one goal) to continue a strong season and deliver crucial possessions.
The Hoyas, dominant so far in their early season matchups, head to a key litmus test next week against fourth-ranked North Carolina (6-0, ACC). Scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm on the road at North Carolina, live stats will be available at guhoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for live coverage and breaking news of all sports at Georgetown.
