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The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Men’s Lacrosse | After 11-5 Win, Hobart Awaits

CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA
Freshman attack Stephen Quinzi is tied for first on the team in goals with nine so far this season. Quinzi has started all four games for Georgetown.
CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA Freshman attack Stephen Quinzi is tied for first on the team in goals with nine so far this season. Quinzi has started all four games for Georgetown.
CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA Freshman attack Stephen Quinzi is tied for first on the team in goals with nine so far this season. Quinzi has started all four games for Georgetown.
CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA
Freshman attack Stephen Quinzi is tied for first on the team in goals with nine so far this season. Quinzi has started all four games for Georgetown.

After a slow offensive start and some defensive mistakes in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (2-2) reversed the momentum with a six-goal run in an 11-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1-3).

After dropping its first two games of the season, Georgetown fought back against Hofstra (1-3) on Feb. 28 and Mount St. Mary’s to bring its record up to .500.

The Hoyas’ game against the Mount was the first midweek game on Georgetown’s schedule. From here, its games will continue to be close together, giving the team shorter windows of time to prepare for the next opponent.

Despite facing a 3-1 deficit early in the second quarter, Georgetown renewed its intensity and made several changes on both ends of the field to quickly overcome Mount St. Mary’s two-goal lead.

“I think in the beginning of the game, we were a little sloppy with the ball offensively. Defensively, we made a couple poor decisions that led to goals [from Mount St. Mary’s]. So we knew that everything was correctable, but we just needed to actually focus and make sure that we corrected those mistakes,” senior midfielder and co-captain Joe Bucci said.

On offense, the Hoyas scored five goals throughout the rest of the second quarter and added another after halftime to stretch their run to six unanswered goals. The Mount finally responded with their first goal to end their 22-minute scoring drought to make the score 7-4, but the Hoyas tallied two more to enter the final period with a 9-4 lead.

The final quarter was slower — neither team scored a goal in the first half of the period — but Georgetown outscored Mount St. Mary’s 2-1 in the last stretch of the game to make the final score 11-5.

Head Coach Kevin Warne credited better positioning and execution as driving forces behind Georgetown’s game-reversing run of offensive success.

“I think we just shot better and dodged harder. … We got to good spots on the field, and we started finishing our shots, which was most important,” Warne said.

Standout contributors for the Hoyas included freshman attack Stephen Quinzi, who notched three goals, marking his second consecutive hat-trick. Senior attack Bo Stafford added another two goals and freshman midfielder Ryan Hursey and freshman attack Matt Behrens each scored a goal apiece. Senior attack and co-captain Reilly O’Connor contributed three assists to the effort.

On the defensive end, freshman goalie Nick Marrocco had 15 saves in the net for the Hoyas.

Though Georgetown has only played four games this season, several freshmen, particularly Quinzi and Marrocco, have been making significant and consistent contributions on the field. While their statistics may stand out, Warne sees their strong performances as a sign that they are blending into the team dynamic.

“I think we’re starting to have that brotherhood where nobody really cares about who gets the credit as long as everybody is working hard,” Warne said. “If the seniors are doing a good job getting the ball to the freshmen, and they finish, then that’s great — everybody wins. If Nick [Marrocco] does a great job in the cage, that’s probably because he’s seeing shots that we want him to see because the defense is doing a good job.”

Looking ahead, Georgetown will continue to address the challenges of short weeks of practice. Evening out its record against Mount St. Mary’s was the first step for Georgetown as it looks to build momentum as it prepares for the slate of tough opponents in coming up on its schedule.

Warne believes that hard work and concentration during the limited practice time between games will lead to success in the future.

“It puts a little more stress on us to get everything ready and be prepared,” Warne said of the condensed practice schedule.

“When you have a shorter week … you need to concentrate a little bit more on what you need to do because that’s what you’ll fall back to.”

Georgetown still has a few days to practice before it faces Hobart (2-1) in a home game on Saturday. Though the Hoyas will shape a game plan around addressing their opponent’s strengths, they are more focused on executing their own style of play.

“Offensively, we know that if we play our game we’ll do well and defensively, the same sort of thing, too,” Bucci said. “In these short weeks, it’s really important to make sure we know what they want to do and are executing on our end.”

Opening faceoff is scheduled for noon at MultiSport Facility.

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