Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Enters Win Column With Second-Half Spurt Against Harvard

Senior goalkeeper Jack Davis made his first start of the season in the Hoyas' 13-12 win over Harvard.
Senior goalkeeper Jack Davis made his first start of the season in the Hoyas’ 13-12 win over Harvard.

Even without one of the nation’s top defenders, the Hoyas kept Harvard at bay long enough to notch their first win of the season.

Georgetown scored nine second-half goals to break open a five-goal fourth-quarter advantage and held off a late Harvard rally for a 13-12 victory Wednesday.

Playing without Big East Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Barney Ehrmann, the Hoya defense contained a dangerous Crimson offense for 58 minutes. A four-goal rally in the final minutes saw No. 11 Harvard (1-1) pull within one with 15.1 seconds to go before junior midfielder Brian Tabb won the faceoff for No. 14 Georgetown (1-1) to seal the victory.

“We closed it out and that’s fine but we have to learn from every game,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick said. “Obviously we learned from the Maryland game and we have plenty of things to learn from this game. It’s 13-10 and everybody’s looking to hit the tailgate party. I don’t think Harvard [was] quite done yet.”

Ehrmann, Georgetown’s star senior defender who played on an injured ankle all last year and through the season-opening loss to Maryland – in which he was severely limited – did not dress Wednesday, and after the game Urick revealed that Ehrmann would have season-ending ankle surgery Friday and redshirt, meaning he will maintain his senior year of eligibility next season.

The Georgetown defense was boosted by the return of senior goalie Jack Davis, who is finally back to 100 percent following a herniated disk. Davis made 12 saves, several of them spectacular stops, on 24 shots in his season debut and drew the praise of Urick.

“Jack I thought played very well,” Urick said. “The clearing part has come a long way for him. He hasn’t arrived yet, but to his credit I thought he played very well [and] made some big saves for us.”

Georgetown’s clearing was a bit shaky in the first half, in which the Hoyas turned the ball over four times in nine clearing attempts. One of those turnovers, an errant pass from Davis following a save, immediately led to a Harvard fast-break goal. In the second half, Davis and the rest of the defense settled down and cleared the ball successfully on all nine attempts, a major factor in the Hoyas taking the lead and control of the game.

oving forward, freshman Brennan Bicknese – younger brother of senior defender Eric Bicknese – appears to be the main candidate to replace Ehrmann, having earned the bulk of the minutes alongside his brother, senior Chris Nixon and sophomore Dan Hostetler. Sophomore Patrick Schmitz and freshman Chris Nourse also saw time on defense, and Davis expressed full confidence in the younger defensemen.

“Barney’s an awesome player; he’s one of the best in the nation,” Davis said. “But everyone’s going to back him up, and we’re going to play as a team, and everyone understands that. Guys will have to step up, and I’m more than confident that they will.”

A second strong offensive performance in as many games was again characterized by Georgetown’s balance. Ten Hoyas found the back of the cage Wednesday, with three attackmen, senior Rickey Mirabito, sophomore Zack Angel and freshman Travis Comeau, notching two goals apiece.

The Georgetown offense started slowly in a sloppy, rainy first half, scoring only four first-half goals en route to a 5-4 halftime deficit following a 10-goal outburst Saturday, but the Hoyas ran deeper at midfield and attack on Wednesday and eventually wore down the Crimson defense.

“Obviously it was a hard-fought game and maybe a little ragged in that respect, and I think that’s indicative of the intensity out there – although in the first half I thought we really just didn’t take very good care of the ball,” Urick said. “But at halftime, I gave the guys credit, they got themselves together [and] reasserted themselves a little bit.”

A large part of that second-half output was due to Comeau and two fellow freshmen – midfielders Zach Guy and Dan McKinney – stepping up and making an impact.

“I think some of our freshmen started to play with a little more confidence,” Urick said. “I think that goal that McKinney got [midway through the third quarter] is going to help us a lot. He’s been a little reluctant . But in the second half I think he started to assert himself .We’re going to live and die with some of these freshmen early on in the season. They’ve got to mature pretty quickly.”

But the biggest impression on Urick was made by senior midfielder Chris Schuville, who picked up six groundballs, scored one goal and made an impact all over the field.

“[Schuville] is playing his tail off. He’s getting grounders, he’s getting a lot of minutes,” Urick said.

“He’s one guy that I can tell is playing like it’s his last year, and he realizes that.”

The influence of a veteran like Schuville on these freshmen could be invaluable as Urick increasingly calls on them in the coming games.

The Hoyas wrap up their three-game season-opening home stand Saturday at 1 p.m. against St. John’s (2-0). Then Georgetown faces its toughest test of the season a week later with a trip to the Carrier Dome to face top-ranked defending national champion Syracuse (2-0).

With such top-flight opposition rapidly approaching, that maturation process can’t come quickly enough.

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