Senior Andy Corno won 15 of 16 faceoffs, enabling No. 6 Georgetown to dominate time of possession and secure a 16-6 win over Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon at North Kehoe Field.

Behind Corno’s success at the “X,” the Hoyas scored their highest point total of the season and sent the Black Knights packing after one postseason game for the third straight year.

Corno’s faceoff wins quickly paid dividends for Georgetown, which held a 4-0 lead after one quarter of play and added a fifth score just 18 seconds into the second period.

“We just wanted to go out and win those first 15 minutes,” Head Coach Dave Urick said.

Georgetown got several fast-break opportunities even though senior Brodie Merrill was moved off the wing during faceoffs to cover Army junior attack John Walker. Walker, who leads the Black Knights with 69 points on the season, was held scoreless for the first time in 41 games.

Army Head Coach Jack Emmer said that Walker was plagued by a fracture in his lower back, as well as another injury to his index finger.

“Brodie Merrill beating the hell out of that index finger didn’t help him,” Emmer said. “He’s a great player. You didn’t see that from him today.”

The Hoyas also did well at slowing down senior attack Jim Wagner, who had 41 goals coming into Sunday’s contest. The Georgetown defense held Wagner to one goal and senior Rich D’Andrea saved three of Wagner’s shots on goal.

In all categories, the Hoyas dominated the Black Knights. Georgetown outshot Army, 58-22, and nearly tripled the Black Knights’ recorded groundballs, 51-18.

Despite falling into a five-goal hole, Army mounted a small rally late in the second quarter to close the Hoyas’ lead to 6-3 by halftime.

“When you play a service academy you know they’re not going to quit. Otherwise, we’re all in trouble,” Urick joked during a postgame press conference.

Army began to show signs of desperation in the second quarter, as Emmer swapped starting freshman goalie Adam Fullerton for senior att Darak. With 11:11 to go in the first half, Fullerton let by a single-handed shot from freshman attack Brendan Cannon, his third goal of the afternoon, which gave Georgetown a 6-1 advantage.

“Adam should have played better,” Emmer said. “I thought there were three or four goals that he should have saved.”

Darak started the second half, but the senior and the freshman switched between the crease and the sideline several times before third-string sophomore Eddie Clark entered to play out the game’s final three minutes.

Emmer said he had hoped that the team would rally around its senior co-captain, who had been 5-0 in an injury-ridden year.

“Clearly, it didn’t work,” he added.

Any momentum the Black Knights had hoped to gain during halftime was lost as the Hoyas came out strong, adding five more goals while holding Army scoreless in the third quarter.

Emmer said that his team’s dropped balls were its “Achilles’ heel.” The Black Knights struggled on clear attempts all game, making just two of five in the third quarter and 15 of 25 in the contest.

Georgetown also took advantage of its own depth on the front lines and at midfield. Four attackmen saw significant playing time and the Hoyas cycled through three full midfield squads.

Despite a women’s lacrosse home game on Thursday and heavy rainfall on Saturday night, the field conditions were firm for North Kehoe’s last use of the season.

A loud Army contingent made up a substantial portion of the 1,328 spectators on hand for the match. But for the fourth straight year, the Hoyas defeated their first-round opponent to advance to the quarterfinals.

Georgetown will face Maryland at Princeton, N.J., on Sunday, May 22. The Terps routed the Hoyas, 13-6, in both teams’ season opener. The only previous meeting between these two programs in the tournament was a 14-10 Maryland win in the first round in 1997.

Georgetown has lost in the quarterfinal round each of the last three years – in 2002 to Princeton, 2003 to Virginia and last year to Syracuse.