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

MEN’S LACROSSE | Hoyas Sink Midshipmen, Win Boyle Cup

3820289970After a second-half collapse against Duke last Saturday, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (4-4, 2-1 Big East) survived a late rally by Navy (4-6, 2-3 Patriot League) and won the Boyle Cup, 9-8, Friday night at MultiSport Facility.

While Georgetown has won six of the last seven Boyle Cups, the Georgetown-Navy matchup so called in memory of a late lacrosse official, the game has always been a close affair.

“History has got a way of repeating itself,” Head Coach Dave Urick said. “This has been a one- or two-goal game for as long as I can remember. It’s just a great rivalry, and it seems like we bring out the best in one another.”

Strong play by both goalies, Georgetown senior Jack Davis and Navy junior RJ Wickham, defined the opening minutes of the game. Both teams remained scoreless for the first 11 minutes until graduate student attack Rickey Mirabito finally found sophomore attack Davey Emala, who gave the Hoyas the first goal of the game.

Less than a minute later, Georgetown senior midfielder Max Seligmann scored an unassisted goal, but the officials waved off the score for an illegal stick. After a Navy turnover, Georgetown got the ball back and sophomore attack Brian Casey took advantage of a scrambled Navy defense to score and make it 2-0 in favor of the Hoyas.

Navy sophomore midfielder Jay Mann put the Midshipmen on the board with 51 seconds to go, leaving Georgetown with a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Blue and Gray got in gear in the second quarter when sophomore attack Travis Comeau, en route to a career-high four goals, scored on an assist from graduate student defender Barney Ehrmann.

“[Ehrmann’s] tremendous presence out there does help clear the ball. He doesn’t have a problem carrying it against anybody,” Urick said.

With the half winding down, Comeau scored again, this time unassisted. But just as in the first quarter, Navy scored in the final minute of the second to narrow Georgetown’s halftime lead to 5-2.

“We knew at halftime [Navy] wasn’t going to go anywhere,” Urick said.

As expected, Navy opened the second half with a flurry of shots on goal and scored twice in succession, first on an unassisted goal by Mann and then another by freshman attack Tucker Hull.

With the Georgetown lead standing tenuously at 5-4, Comeau came to the rescue again, scoring on another assist by Mirabito. A beautiful save by Davis — who had nine saves in all — kept the Hoyas in front by two with five minutes to go, but Hull scored again for the Midshipmen with 2:15 left in the third.

Comeau then came up with another goal to give Georgetown back its breathing room, this time off a Seligmann assist. The Blue and Gray hung tough on defense in the closing seconds of the period and held a 7-5 lead at the end of three.

“I’m always in front of the net. It’s part of my role, being there and picking up the trash,” Comeau said. “And that’s something I’ve been trying to focus on this year.”

The Hoyas maintained their momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring twice: first on a goal by junior midfielder Zack Angel and then on another Casey goal, this time off a Mirabito assist.

But the Midshipmen had some fight left in them, and Wickham’s career-high 20 saves kept the visitors in the game. Navy freshman attack Sam Jones scored off an assist from Hull, and only 10 seconds later, Hull scored off a Jones assist with 4:15 left.

Up by two, Georgetown gave up a goal with 24 seconds left to Navy freshman defender Pat Kiernan. But the Midshipmen failed to tie it in the closing moments, and Georgetown sealed the 9-8 victory.

“Both teams had their backs against the wall a little bit. We have several games ahead of us where we can play our way into the [NCAA tournament] discussion,” Urick said. “It’s more important for us to try to get better and play a full game.”

The Hoyas return to action when they face Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md., Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

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