In a tense, back-and-forth game that came down to the final seconds, the No. 17/15 Georgetown University men’s lacrosse team (6-3, 1-0 Big East) executed a dramatic 14-13 victory against the Providence College Friars (4-6, 0-1 Big East).
A sun-soaked Cooper Field crowd watched the Hoyas fend off the Friars in what turned into an offensive showcase and defensive grind March 29.
Before the opening faceoff, Georgetown honored its senior class with a pregame ceremony. They celebrated the leadership and contributions of players like Aidan Carroll, who was team captain for the 2024-25 season and last season’s Big East Tournament most outstanding player.
Sophomore defender Ty Banks said Georgetown’s victory was aided by the team’s knowledge of Providence’s playing style.
“Now that we are into Big East play, every team is very familiar with each other, so we knew there were some areas of the field we could exploit,” Banks told The Hoya. “Providence is a great team and we always have close games against them, so the key for us was just staying consistent and limiting self-inflicted mistakes down the stretch.”
Providence struck first with a long outlet from their goalkeeper in the first three minutes of the game. Georgetown quickly responded with a goal from first-year midfielder Ben Firlie.
The Friars dominated the remainder of the opening quarter, heading into the break up 4-2.
After falling behind 5-2 early in the second quarter, Georgetown surged with 4 unanswered goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime.
The Hoyas maintained their rhythm into the third quarter with first-year midfielder Kevin Miller’s bounce shot, which gave them a 7-5 lead with just over a minute into the half. However, the Friars refused to fold and added one of their own to make the score 7-6.
After back-to-back Georgetown goals from junior midfielder Jordan Wray and first-year attacker Jack Ransom, the Hoyas racked up their largest lead of the day at 9-6.
Providence stormed back with 3 straight goals, leaving the game tied 9-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter of the game was pure back-and-forth chaos. After Providence pulled ahead with a goal from midfielder Parker Kennedy, Georgetown quickly responded to tie it at 10-10, after which the teams traded goals to tie it at 11-11 before sophomore midfielder Pax Marshall and Wray gave Georgetown a 13-11 lead.
Banks said the two goal stretch secured their win.
“We were exchanging goals throughout the whole game, but I felt there was a 4/5 minute stretch in the fourth where our offence was clicking and gave us a little bit of a cushion defensively, which allowed us to close out the game and get the win,” Banks said.
Both teams traded goals in a lightning sequence with 3 scores in under two minutes, capped by graduate attacker Fulton Bayman’s lone goal to make it 14-12 to Georgetown. Providence attacker Jack Horrigan’s goal at the 2:42 mark set up a nail-biting finish.
Junior attacker Joe Cesare said shifting focus in the latter half of the game gave the team confidence to win.
“We focused on the fundamentals and making the simple play for the second half, and that really caused the momentum shift,” Cesare told The Hoya in a post-game interview. “We played unselfishly and stuck to our identity of lacrosse.”
From then on, Georgetown’s composure proved decisive. Winning the ensuing faceoff, the Hoyas managed to burn the clock with two shot clock resets and resisted heavy defensive pressure before calling a timeout with just 39 seconds left.
Following the break, graduate attacker Aidan Carroll shaved 17 more seconds before a failed Providence clear, which sealed Georgetown’s victory.
Georgetown’s defense quietly carried its weight amid a high-scoring game. First-year defender Robert Plath and Banks each recorded 2 caused turnovers.
Reflecting on the team’s strategy, Banks said that supporting the ball would open up skip lanes in their defense.
“I just kept that in the back of my mind and when the opportunity presented itself, I was able to make a play,” Banks said.
Plath now has 21 caused turnovers this season, which ties him for the 13th most in a single season by a Hoya.
Bayman was the catalyst of Georgetown’s offensive drive, recording a career-high 6 points on 1 goal and 5 assists. Additionally, Bayman and Banks combined for 9 total ground balls. Marshall also lit up the stat sheet, tallying a personal best of 4 goals, which included a crucial fourth-quarter strike that helped the Hoyas pull away late.
Wray scored twice and added an assist, too. Carroll put up 1 goal and 2 assists, which improved him to 26th place on Georgetown’s all-time scoring list at 113 points. This game marks Georgetown’s eleventh straight win over Providence, giving the Hoyas meaningful momentum heading into the thick of conference play.
Banks said the Hoyas must focus on their mistakes and develop new ideas.
“It’s definitely nice to start off the Big East play with a win and get our feet under us, but we still have a lot of work to do and things we need to clean up on our end,” Banks said. “At the end of the day, a win is a win and we just need to keep stacking good wins and continue to learn from our previous games and keep the momentum going as we head up to Marquette next weekend.”
With the win, Georgetown improves to 1-0 in Big East play and will look to continue this positive momentum next weekend as they travel to Milwaukee to face Marquette University on Saturday, April 5. If Saturday was any indication, Big East lacrosse fans are in for a wild spring, and the Hoyas are here to make some noise.