Moving up Syracuse to early in the season paid huge dividends for the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team Saturday night, as the Hoyas stole their first win from the Orange in six years with a 10-7 victory at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Georgetown had lost eight straight to Syracuse dating back to 1999, when the Orange knocked off the Hoyas in the NCAA semifinals. Syracuse also derailed Georgetown’s championship hopes last season, beating the Hoyas with a last-second shot in the NCAA quarterfinals en route to the national title.
But a 4-0 Hoya run late in Saturday’s game relegated those defeats to the distant past, giving Georgetown seniors their first win over fifth-ranked Syracuse (1-2) in five tries.
The senior captains each played a part in the victory. Attack Nick Miaritis notched two goals, while defenseman Brodie Merrill tallied a game-high seven groundballs and caused four turnovers. After sitting out last week’s win over St. John’s, midfielder Andy Corno rebounded from an ugly performance in the season opener, taking 13 of 19 faceoffs. Rich D’Andrea performed well in the crease, posting 12 saves while allowing only seven goals.
It was sophomore attack Trevor Casey, however, who was named the game’s most valuable player. Casey paced both teams with three goals, a game high. Freshman attack Matt McBride added two scores and six groundballs in the win.
The Hoya defense held Syracuse junior attack Brian Crockett, who came in leading the Orange with seven goals on the year, to two scores despite his six shots on goal. Junior midfielder Greg Rommel and sophomore attack Steven Brooks each tacked on two goals to the Syracuse total.
Georgetown junior midfielder Pete Cannon opened scoring midway through the first quarter, though Syracuse answered back and ultimately took a 3-2 advantage into the second quarter.
The No. 11 Hoyas (2-1, 1-0 ECAC) dominated the rest of the first half, with Merrill, Casey and McBride getting on the board. cBride’s man-down goal gave Georgetown a 5-3 lead at the half.
The teams traded goals out of intermission, and Crockett later erased Georgetown’s lead with one goal at 10:31 and another on an extra-man opportunity at 3:03, following a pushing foul on junior defenseman Rob Smith.
The turning point of the contest came with two seconds to go in the third quarter. Out of a timeout, junior attack Sean Denihan fired past Syracuse senior goalie Jay Pfeifer, breaking a 6-6 tie and propelling Georgetown into a 4-0 run.
McBride netted his second goal of the day early in the closing stanza, and Casey and Miaritis added insurance scores to put the contest out of reach.
Georgetown and Syracuse have traditionally met on the final weekend of the regular season every year since 1998, but an invitation to the inaugural First Four, a showcase of men’s lacrosse national powerhouses in front of an Orange County, Calif., audience, required a schedule change. The Hoyas had only defeated the Orange twice before, in the second week of 1997 and at the end of the regular season in 1999.
After beginning the year with a 13-6 loss to crosstown rival aryland, Georgetown came back in week two to defeat new conference rival St. John’s 16-6. The Hoyas jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Red Storm (1-3, 0-1) could retaliate.
Georgetown, up 8-3 at the half, went on another 4-0 run in the third quarter to secure its first victory of 2005 and improve its all-time record against St. John’s to 5-0.
The Hoyas next visit Delaware on Wednesday before traveling to Hobart on Saturday. Georgetown will open its shortened 2005 home schedule on Saturday, March 26, against No. 4 Duke (6-0, 1-0 ACC).
Georgetown faces off against Delaware (4-2, 0-0 Colonial) at 7 p.m.
