The No. 1-seeded Georgetown University men’s lacrosse team captured its 8th straight Big East Tournament championship May 2, with a 14-6 win over the No. 2-seeded Providence College Friars. The Hoyas will go into their first round NCAA tournament matchup on a 7-game win streak.
This was the second meeting this season between Georgetown (10-4, 5-0 Big East) and Providence (8-9, 3-2 Big East). The top two Big East teams first met April 4, when the Hoyas won 15-8.
The Friars struck first, winning in the opening faceoff and taking a 1-0 lead at 11:51, when attacker Christ Matia caught a pass and found himself alone in front of the net. Junior defender Ty Banks responded at 7:57, running down the field after a Friars turnover and scoring a long-range shot to tie the game. The remainder of the period was a defensive battle, as goalkeepers made key saves and both teams missed the net wide on opportune chances.
The scoring picked up in the second period, when Providence attacker Jay Wilkerson retook the lead for the Friars less than 30 seconds into the quarter, slipping through the Georgetown defense and scoring off a bouncing shot.
At 13:38, junior attacker Liam Connor found sophomore midfielder Kevin Miller flying in from the right to catch the pass and bounce the ball through the legs of Providence goalkeeper Cam Sterritt. The Hoyas took their first lead of the day just under two minutes later, when graduate attacker Rory Connor ripped a shot past Sterritt for his 50th goal this season.
At 9:54, Rory Connor assisted junior attacker and midfielder Jack Schubert’s first goal of the game to put Georgetown up 4-2. The Hoyas continued their scoring streak as first-year attacker and midfielder Natty Mason caught a pass from senior midfielder Joe Cesare and capitalized on the Friars goalkeeper’s exposed five-hole.
Providence midfielder Sam Brazell ended Georgetown’s 5-goal run at 8:26 when he caught a pass from behind the net and scored to bring the Friars back into the game. Rory Connor assisted Miller’s second goal of the day before Cesare snuck a low shot through Sterritt’s five-hole to secure the last 2 goals of the half and put Georgetown up 7-3.
At the start of the third period, sophomore attacker Jack Ransom pump-faked a shot before finding Liam Connor, who put the shot away. Midway through the quarter, Providence midfielder Owen Finetto recovered a turnover from Schubert and ran down the field, finding the back of the net to cut the Friars’ deficit to 4. Schubert was penalized for a slash on the play, but Providence failed to capitalize on its man-up opportunity.
With 2:11 remaining in the period, senior midfielder Lucas Dudemaine skirted around defenders before scoring top-shelf. Just over a minute later, first-year midfielder Jake Bickel assisted Schubert’s second goal of the game.
Chaos erupted in the last moments of the period, when Cesare scored with just 13 seconds remaining and Providence midfielder Cam Mesh picked up the groundball off the ensuing faceoff before plowing through the Georgetown defense to score on a behind-the-back shot.
To open the fourth period, Liam Connor found Miller wide open in front of the net, helping him complete a hat trick and give the Hoyas a 12-5 lead. Two minutes later, Dudemaine caught a pass from Liam Connor, then dodged a defender to find himself wide open in front of the net, scoring through Sterritt’s five-hole.
The Friars’ first goal of the period came at 10:12, when Providence attacker Richie Joseph dove in front of the net to avoid a crease violation and scored in midair. With just under five and a half minutes remaining in the game, Ransom caught a pass from Liam Connor and scored off a sidewinder shot to put Georgetown up 14-6.
The Friars pressed late on a man-up opportunity after sophomore midfielder Alexander Sotirhos was called for a tripping penalty, but it was too little, too late.
As a conference champion and automatic qualifier, Georgetown’s first round opponent and game time will be announced May 3. The Hoyas have won their first-round game of the tournament each of the past three seasons, but have failed to make the semifinals since the 1999 season.
