Charles Nailen/The Hoya Mike Hammer had two goals as the Hoyas remained undefeated.

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team, ranked No. 5 in the nation in the latest USILA Coaches Poll, extended its season-opening winning streak to four games with three victories while the rest of the school was on spring vacation. The Hoyas also improved to 2-0 in ECAC Conference play.

Georgetown opened up its conference schedule Sat., March 8, with an 11-9 victory against Penn State. The game was also the Hoyas’ home opener and was played on Kehoe Field, because Harbin Field, Georgetown’s normal home, was still covered in snow. The Hoyas started out slowly, as the Nittany Lions built a 4-2 lead after the first quarter and held on for a 6-5 lead going into halftime. Junior midfielder Walid Hajj kept the Hoyas in the game in the first half. Hajj scored three of his career-high four goals in the game’s first 17 minutes.

In the third quarter, however, the Hoyas began to take control of the game. Georgetown scored all five goals in the quarter to take a lead that it would not relinquish. Senior attackman Mike Hammer and graduate student attackman Phil Vincenti scored two goals each during the Hoyas’ decisive run. Sophomore midfielder Andy Corno, taking over face-off duties full time in 2003, won 15 of 20 face-offs against Penn State. Sophomore goalie Rich D’Andrea stopped eight shots in the game.

Georgetown faced a quick turn around as it met Head Coach Dave Urick’s former school, Hobart, just three days later on the campus of the Texas Military Institute in San Antonio, Texas. It was the first collegiate lacrosse game played in the state in more than 30 years. The Statesmen never seriously threatened the Hoyas in the game. Georgetown built a big lead before halftime and cruised to a 13-5 victory. Senior attackman Jordan Vettoretti led the Hoya offense with three goals. Nine different Hoyas found the net at least once. Hammer contributed two goals and three assists on the day.

Georgetown returned to the area Saturday with a 12-7 victory over ECAC Conference rival, No. 20 University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Hoyas were in control through much of the game. They outshot the Retrievers 47-22 and Corno helped the Hoyas win 13 of 21 face-offs. Once again, Georgetown put together a balanced scoring effort. Nine different Hoyas scored, led by junior attackman Neal Goldman, who dumped three goals into the back of the net. D’Andrea stopped eight shots for Georgetown. Senior defenseman Pat Collins anchored the Hoya defense, which held UMBC to only two goals in the second half. He was named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

Three wins in the space of seven days are impressive given the often-grueling nature of the sport. All three of the Hoyas’ wins, however, came against teams on the fringes of the top 20. When the Hoyas return from a week layoff this Sunday, things get more difficult. Georgetown will play host to the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils at Harbin Field. Along with Syracuse, Duke is probably the Hoyas biggest non-conference rival on the schedule. The two teams have met in each of the last 11 seasons.

The Blue Devils dominated the rivalry in the beginning, winning every year between 1992 and 1998. Finally, in the NCAA Quarterfinal in 1999, the Hoyas broke through for a 17-14 victory to clinch the only Final Four appearance in the program’s history thus far. After a 13-12 loss in Durham, N.C. in 2000, Georgetown rolled to a 14-7 victory on Harbin Field in 2001.

Last year’s battle at Koskinen Stadium in Durham featured much of the hard-fought lacrosse fans of the rivalry have come to expect, including a bench-clearing brawl right before halftime. The score was tied at five going into the final quarter before Georgetown scored four unanswered goals, including two from attackman Steve Dusseau (COL ’02) to break the game open. It was the Hoyas’ first ever victory against Duke on Duke’s home field.

In last year’s game, Georgetown’s All-American senior long stick midfielder, Kyle Sweeney, matched up against Duke’s All-American and top offensive threat, senior midfielder Kevin Cassese. Sweeney got the best in 2002, limiting Cassese to his lowest offensive output of the season, no goals and just one assist. The two All-Americans will likely be matched up again Sunday.