The No. 15 Georgetown men’s lacrosse team beat the University at Albany Great Danes 16-8 on a warm, sunny Hilltop afternoon March 10 to end a 3-game losing skid.
While the Connor brothers once again dominated the scoresheet, contributions from young players and veterans alike helped propel the Hoyas to their first win since the season opener against the University of Pennsylvania (3-3) over a month ago.
The Hoyas (2-3) and the Great Danes (2-4) met for the first time in program history last season, with Georgetown prevailing 12-5. With this year’s win, the Hoyas lead the all-time series 2-0.
Georgetown opened scoring three minutes into the game when junior attacker Jack Schubert recovered a ground ball and scored off of a turnover from Albany goalkeeper Brady Smith. Midway through the first period, Schubert added a second goal to double the Hoyas’ lead.
Albany attacker Ryan Doherty scored late in the first period after recovering a rebounded shot off the crossbar to leave the game at 2-1 going into the second.
Just 12 seconds into the second period, first-year midfielder Evan MacFarland broke through the Great Danes’ defenders to score and give Georgetown a 3-1 lead. Albany countered with a goal of their own six minutes later to keep the score close at 3-2.
The Hoyas took advantage of multiple opportunities and openings, scoring 3 unanswered goals to bring the half to a close. Junior midfielder Pax Marshall scored his first goal of the season midway through the period, and sophomore attacker Jack Ransom scored a point-blank goal just a minute later to make it 5-2 Georgetown.
In combination with the offensive effort, junior goalkeeper Anderson Moore made several key stops to preserve the Hoyas’ lead.
Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne said he was incredibly thankful for Moore’s stellar play in crucial moments.
“Albany is a high-energy team. Moore does an awesome job,” Warne told The Hoya. “Having a goaltender that bails you out, or having a goaltender that steals a few off the scoreboard, is very advantageous for us.”
Graduate attacker Rory Connor put Georgetown up 6-2 with 2:06 left in the half, assisted by his younger brother, junior attacker Liam Connor. Albany scored with just 35 seconds left in the half to remain within striking distance at 6-3 going into the break.
Georgetown came out strong from the locker room. Amid chaos in front of the Great Danes’ net early in the second half, senior defender George Acton scored his first goal of the year to give the Hoyas the 7-3 advantage. Rory Connor then scored 2 goals just 4 seconds apart and added another just over a minute later with 9:53 on the clock to give Georgetown a 10-3 lead.
The goals continued to pour on as Ransom scored his second goal of the game, and senior midfielder Jordan Wray exploited an opening in Albany’s defense to score a wide-open goal and put Georgetown up 12-3 with 7:55 remaining in the third period.
Warne said he was extremely pleased with the Hoyas’ third period scoring streak.
“I think what we saw in the third quarter, that’s the kind of team we’ve envisioned,” Warne told The Hoya. “Our guys were really, really unselfish. And I thought that was important for us as we move forward.”
Late in the period, the Great Danes rattled off 3 goals to cut the Hoyas’ lead to 6. With only 4 seconds remaining, Schubert completed his hat trick to give Georgetown a 13-6 lead into the final period.
Albany showed some life early in the fourth period, scoring 2 early goals to cut their deficit to 13-8. However, Georgetown’s defense settled in shortly after. Schubert and Liam Connor each scored midway through the period, extending the Hoyas’ lead to 15-8 and effectively putting the game out of reach for the Great Danes. First-year midfielder Johnny Price scored the final goal of the game with 3:31 remaining — his second of the season — to cap off Georgetown’s 16-8 win.
The game marked the Hoyas’ best offensive performance of the year, with 16 total goals spread between 9 different goal scorers. Warne credited the team’s explosive and persistent offense, saying a new scheme better shifted players into open spaces.
“We moved some personnel around,” Warne said “We moved different people into different spots, to change up some things. And I thought we got really good shots with our hands free, which is really important for us.”
The Hoyas will travel to Baltimore next Tuesday, March 17, to take on the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds (4-2) in a matchup rescheduled from Jan. 31.
