After a disappointing season that left the Hoyas fighting for a .500 record, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team begins the 2012 campaign with a blank slate when they take on Maryland at MultiSport Facility tonight.

This year’s game will be the seventh time in eight years that the Blue and Gray will open their season against the Terrapins. Although their meeting last year was not the season opener, Maryland had Georgetown’s measure and won, 20-8, in College Park.

The Hoyas dropped tough one-point losses at Harvard, Syracuse and Notre Dame and lost at Duke by two points. But those close defeats were the difference between what could have been — an NCAA tournament bid — and what was: a disappointing effort that limped to the end of the season..

But while the Blue and Gray carried great expectations at the beginning of last season, these Hoyas are not ranked in the national polls and were tabbed to finish fourth by Big East coaches behind Syracuse, Notre Dame and Villanova.

This season, the Hoyas will have to contend with the loss of six starters. Among those, defenders Barney Ehrmann and Dan Hostetler now play in Major League Lacrosse.

To help replace these players’ contributions, the Hoyas will need strong efforts from senior defensive midfielder and co-captain Gerry Reilly and junior defender Chris Nourse.

Reilly was an eighth-round draft pick for the MLL last sprint but returned to the Hilltop for his fourth season. Nourse, a close defender, had 36 ground balls and forced 35 turnovers last year.

On offense, Georgetown will look to junior attack Travis Comeau and senior midfielder Zack Angel. Junior attack Zac Guy, who played only one game last season before sustaining an injury, will return to complement Comeau on offense.

Comeau, who hails from Canada, grew up playing indoor lacrosse and is an opportunistic player known for salvaging goals. Comeau finished last year on a strong note, scoring 30 goals on the season. Angel also has a chance to help the Blue and Gray rebound from the loss of Reilly. Angel has started in all three of his seasons at Georgetown and scored 15 goals last season.

Comeau and Angel were both named to the preseason all-Big East first team. Nourse joined Comeau on the watch list for the Teewaraton Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top male lacrosse player.

The Blue and Gray also hope for help from two freshmen attacks, Bo Stafford and Reilly O’Connor. O’Connor, another Canadian, was coached in high school by former Georgetown standout Brodie Merrill, which might help him fit into Head Coach Dave Urick’s program.

Urick, the winningest active coach in Division I college lacrosse, is beginning his 23rd season with the Hoyas. Former Georgetown assistant coach Matt Kerwick, who was most recently head coach at Jacksonville, returned to the Blue and Gray’s coaching staff in July as associate head coach.

Lining up across the field from Urick will be Maryland second-year head coach John Tillman. He guided the Terps to a 13-5 record last season, when they lost to Virginia, 9-7, in the national title game.

While some teams would be expected to slide backwards after such a stellar season, Maryland hasn’t so much rebuilt as reloaded, adding seven high school Under Armour All-Americans to its squad this season.

The Terrapins won their opener at Hartford last Saturday and showed off their deep rotation, with nine different players scoring. However, Maryland’s strength is in the midfield, where junior honorable mention All-American Curtis Holmes stands out. They are also strong on defense, though, and the incoming freshmen class strengthens the Terps’ attack.

With such a deep squad, Maryland will give the Hoyas everything they can handle. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. tonight at MultiSport Facility.