The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team fell short of its upset bid last Saturday, falling 12-7 to the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils at home, halting its winning streak at just two games.
Georgetown (2-5) entered the matchup fresh off its first two wins of the season against Robert Morris (5-3) and Hobart (4-4) over spring break. Duke (7-2) was able to dissipate that momentum, however, as it maintained a commanding lead starting from the opening minutes of the game.
Five minutes into the first quarter, the Blue Devils put in back-to-back goals, but the Hoyas responded promptly with a goal from freshman attack Jake Carraway. Duke left little time for Georgetown to celebrate, banging in four consecutive goals and giving it a 6-1 advantage with 9:33 left in the second quarter.
Georgetown’s senior midfielder Devon Lewis stopped the bleeding with a goal off an assist from sophomore attack Daniel Bucaro. The Georgetown defense gave up one more goal on a man-down penalty before halftime, allowing Duke to go up 7-2.
To start the second half, junior midfielder Craig Berge scored an unassisted goal that was countered almost immediately by a goal from Duke. Carraway then scored two straight goals to bring Georgetown back to within three.
Carraway, who was named Big East Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week, finished the game with three goals along with three ground balls. The hat trick puts him at 11 goals in the season. Though a young player, Carraway possesses the ability to turn the corner and place the ball, which makes him a valuable offensive contributor. He received high praise from Head Coach Kevin Warne.
“I don’t think we can really consider him a freshman at this point,” Warne said.
The Blue Devils punched back by going on a four-goal scoring streak, however, and the game quickly grew out of reach. Georgetown’s Bucaro capped off the match by scoring his 21st and 22nd goals of the season, but the deficit proved too great in the end.
The Hoyas struggled all afternoon to find a consistent flow on offense, finishing with eight fewer shots and one more turnover than their opponent. Coach Warne stated that he would have liked his offense to be more unselfish with its shot selection.
“It’s okay to take smart shots. When you watched us play, I feel like we just held onto the ball too much,” Warne said.
Georgetown will have little turnaround time, as it returns to play on Wednesday, facing No. 18 Loyola Maryland (4-3) on the road.
Heading into the game, the team hopes to recapture the flow that it possessed in its two big wins last week.
“We weren’t who we were the past couple of weeks, and we’ve got to get back to that quickly,” Warne said.
The Hoyas are set to face off against the Loyola Greyhounds at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md., on Wednesday. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m.
