A trio of hat tricks led No. 7 Georgetown men’s lacrosse past the Utah Utes on Cooper Field.
This March 19 victory hopefully signals a return to good form for the Hoyas (6-1) after a brief stint in the loss column March 5 against the now No. 2 Princeton Tigers (5-1). Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program weekend brought out the fans, with a healthy contingent of graduates, current students and future Hoyas in attendance.
Georgetown was dominant from the get-go, holding the Utes (3-3) to 1 goal on 8 shots in the first frame. Defensively, the Hoyas benefitted from 5 Utah turnovers, scooped 10 ground balls and went perfect on clears in the quarter.
Graduate goalkeeper Owen McElroy made 3 saves in the frame, en route to earning his fourth Big East Defensive Player of the Week title this season.
The stat sheet may be a bit misleading for the first quarter, as Georgetown was also dominant on the offensive side. Senior attack Dylan Watson and senior midfielder Declan McDermott each bagged a goal, along with graduate midfielder Alex Trippi.
The damage would have been a lot worse for the Utes had their keeper not made an impressive five saves — with some help from the post on an early shot from Trippi.
While the Hoyas continued to pull away on the scoreboard in the second, winning the quarter 4-1, the Utes evened out the momentum. Utah fired a team-high 11 shots, seven of which were on target.
Georgetown’s McElroy had 6 saves in the frame. The Hoyas had their most dominant quarter in the circle, winning faceoffs 5-1. Senior faceoff James Reilly continued the solid performances, going 11 for 18 in the game while scooping a game-high 5 ground balls.
Georgetown put the game to bed in the third quarter, notching 7 goals and gaining an insurmountable lead. Eight different Hoyas found the back of the net, with junior attack Cade MacLeod and senior midfielder Peter Thompson each scoring their first goals of the season. Georgetown scored five unanswered in the frame.
The fourth quarter was much of the same, and with a comfortable lead the Hoyas ended up tying the frame 2-2. With about six minutes left in the game, Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne began spreading playing time out, with 35 Hoyas seeing gametime, including all three netminders.
Offensively, Georgetown’s leading scorer Watson continued his fine form, netting 4 goals in the game. Trippi and junior midfielder Graham Bundy Jr. each contributed a hat trick of their own. Trippi also had a game-high 5 points, posting 2 assists on top of his goals, and was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.
The Georgetown offense spread the love as 11 Hoyas registered points on the scoresheet.
The defense once again had another stellar performance, helping solidify media claims about sporting the best defensive roster this year. The Georgetown defense never faltered, not giving up more than 2 Utah goals in a quarter. Much of the defensive success can be attributed to the Hoyas’ 10 caused turnovers throughout the game.
Graduate defender Will Bowen and senior defender Alex Mazzone each forced three Utah turnovers. McElroy also had another solid game in net, posting a .706 save percentage. Georgetown opponents have averaged 8.28 goals per game this season, a slight decrease from their nation-leading 8.31 goals per game last season.
As the Hoyas prepare to enter Big East play, this dominant showing will hopefully rebuild some confidence after the Princeton loss. Georgetown is currently ranked as the unanimous preseason favorite to win its fourth consecutive Big East title.
Up next, the Hoyas will travel to Pennsylvania in their last game before Big East play to take on the No. 19 Lehigh Mountain Hawks on March 26.
