Unphased by a tough loss to the University of Denver last week, the No. 11 Georgetown University men’s lacrosse team bounced back to secure a 14-9 road win against the Providence University Friars on Saturday, March 20. 

Georgetown (5-1, 4-1 Big East) faces the challenge of remaining level-headed throughout this 2021 season with a schedule heavily dedicated to talented Big East opponents. Amid their second away match in a row, the Hoyas retained their reputation as a dominant force this season against the Friars (3-4, 2-3 Big East). 

With nine minutes left in the first quarter, Friar attacker Ryan Zimmerman put Providence on the board first, firing in a goal near the top of the twelve-meter fan. Georgetown graduate attacker Jake Carraway immediately responded with a goal less than two minutes later, tying the score at 1-1. 

Although Providence had more chances on the offensive end because of the success of face-off specialist RJ Romeo, the Hoyas maintained a back-and-forth offensive battle against the Friars. Aiming to alternate the pace of the game with 2:40 left in the quarter, Head Coach Kevin Warne initiated a swap in face-off specialists on the Hoyas’ end, replacing junior James Reilly with sophomore Carson Milburn. 

Despite the slow start from both teams, the Hoyas gained momentum heading into the second half. With 24 seconds left in the second quarter, junior midfielder Zachary Geddes initiated an unassisted goal to instigate a 6-4 lead for the Hoyas. 

Following an early third-quarter goal in favor of the Friars, Georgetown’s defensive unit locked in, denying Providence multiple scoring opportunities; there was still limited room, however, for mistakes for the Hoyas as they attained only a three-goal lead by the end of the period. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Hoyas built a significant offensive lead while using strong defense tactics to stop Providence from scoring. By the match’s close, Georgetown clinched a 14-9 lead, with notable efforts from first-year attacker TJ Haley and sophomore midfielder Graham Bundy Jr. 

Bundy led the team with a career-high four goals. Having teammates who grant him the opportunity to put more numbers on the board this season is important, according to Bundy. 

“I just like to go in [open-minded] and do what I can,” Bundy said in a postgame interview with The Hoya. “Recently I’ve taken a good amount of shots but not putting as many on cage as I’d like to, so I felt like starting to put them on cage was a good step in the right direction. Obviously it’s very easy when you have guys like TJ Haley who can just find you wherever you are, or guys like Jake Carraway who are capable of drawing multiple guys even if he has the ball or not. Having them on the field allows me to isolate defenders and get as many shots as I can on net.” 

The Hoyas’ win over Providence secured another successful Big East win for the team. Georgetown must stay focused, however, focused for upcoming matches like Saturday’s matchup against Villanova. 

“Regardless of the win, we put that game behind us,” Bundy said. “I don’t think Villanova would say that they had their best game, and I know that they’re going to give us all they got in this next one. It’s a new game, so we just have to come out and do what we’re capable of doing.” 

The Hoyas will return to Cooper Field on Saturday, March 27 to face the Villanova University Wildcats (3-1, 3-1 Big East), looking to maintain the dexterity they had in their previous matchup earlier this season, a 16-1 win in Villanova, Pennsylvania.