The Georgetown men’s and women’s lacrosse programs are two of the best in the nation. Last year both teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, and this year they expect no less. As elite programs, both teams attract talented and experienced recruits, which in 2004 has translated into one of the finest freshman classes Georgetown has seen.
On the men’s side, 12 freshmen have joined the squad for the upcoming season. With a preseason ranking of sixth in the nation, according to the Face-Off 2004 Preseason Coaches Poll, and the departure of 13 seniors from last year’s team, these freshmen have big shoes to fill. Playing all positions, experience and size seem to be the common traits that unite this capable group.
The freshmen this season bring to the table a long list of awards and achievements. Five of the new additions were high school All-Americans, one was an Academic All-American, three played in state championships games as seniors and five come from high schools with lacrosse teams ranked in the Top 75 in 2003, according to the National Coaches/Computer Rankings at laxpower.com. Two of the freshmen were also asked to try out for the 2003 U.S. Men’s U-19 team.
Leading the freshman class is attackman Trevor Casey, who should see considerable playing time this season. Casey, one of the many incoming All-Americans, hails from nearby Georgetown Prep, the second-ranked boy’s high school program in the nation in 2003. As a senior, Casey was named to the All-Metro Second Team by The Washington Post and as the captain of his lacrosse team last year he played a vital role in securing the first outright Interstate Athletic Conference title for the Little Hoyas.
Other freshmen who should see playing time this year are midfielder Garrett Wilson and defenseman Matt Heiderman. Wilson attended Episcopal Academy in Pennsylvania and was named to the First Team All-League as both a junior and a senior in lacrosse. Heiderman went to Worchester Prep in Maryland and was named an All-American and Player of the Year for his conference in 2003, to go along with being asked to try out for the national U-19 team.
Other All-Americans include attackman Dave Bauer, midfielder Ryan Still and defenseman Preston Connell. Goalie Phil Spinella was an Academic All-American in 2003, and was asked to play on the same U-19 team as Heiderman.
While this experience and ability does not translate directly into collegiate success, it is a huge help for these players trying to make the leap from high school to Division I play.
“Every team has the unique challenge of bringing in some freshmen each year that are arguably the best players on their high school team the year before and probably never left the field,” Head Coach David Urick said. “Now they come into a program like this where their roles change significantly. And how they adjust to that new role, and how they adjust to not playing the same number of minutes, but also approach our games with some enthusiasm and support for the other guys is kind of important.”
Part of the formula that will make the transition from high school to college lacrosse easier is size and strength. Each year the players that have joined the Georgetown lacrosse team have gotten bigger, and this year is no exception. All of the freshmen are hovering at six feet and 190 pounds, an impressive size for such young men. One of the focuses during recruiting in recent years has been on athletes with a solid weight training background, which has helped in creating bulk. Almost all of the freshmen are also multi-sport athletes, most in high school, but even some here at Georgetown. These players have backgrounds in everything from soccer to swimming to ice hockey, which translate to greater athleticism on the lacrosse field.
“Obviously you need to recruit good lacrosse players,” said Urick, “but we are looking for the best athletes we can find. We really tried to get more and more interested in those guys that play more than one sport. You need to have the skill guys that can put it in the back of the net, but the thing for us is the athleticism.”
With the addition of these 12 capable freshmen to an already talented team, the Hoyas look to have nowhere to go but up.
On the women’s side, the freshman class is smaller, but just as talented as the men by any measure. After finishing atop the Big East last year at a perfect 6-0, the women were selected in the preseason conference coaches poll to again finish first, as well as being slated as the sixth team in the nation in the 2004 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division I Preseason Rankings. So the freshmen women join a team with high expectations and great potential.
Leading the freshmen will be defender Laura Cipro and attacker Coco Stanwick. Both local talents, Cipro and Stanwick, had very accomplished high school careers.
Cipro, a two time All-American and an Academic All-American, helped lead the No. 1-ranked Mt. Hebron Vikings to back-to-back state championships. She was also named First Team All-Metro by The Washington Post in 2002 and 2003. Stanwick, the most experienced player joining the team, led No. 13 Notre Dame Prep (Md.), to the Interstate Athletic Association of Maryland A Championship in 2003 with five goals and eight assists. Named an All-American in 2003, Stanwick captained the U.S. U-19 national team and had 21 goals and 13 assists in seven games of international competition during the World Championship tournament over the summer. Stanwick continues a family tradition by attending Georgetown, following her sisters Sheehan (MSB ’01) and Wick (MSB ’03) onto the Hoya lacrosse team.
Although both Sheehan and Wick were standouts at Georgetown, Head Coach Kim Simons insists Coco will be treated as an individual player.
“Coco does have some added pressure in being a Stanwick, but the pressure is only what she puts on herself,” Simons said. “She’s very different in terms of her style and her personality than her sisters. Whereas Sheehan and Wick were definitely scorers first and passers second, Coco tends to be the opposite. The one similarity I always see in the Stanwicks is that they work incredibly hard and Coco’s no different than her sisters in terms of that.”
Joining Cipro and Stanwick on the roster this spring are All-American midfielders Allison Rogers and Schuyler Sutton. Both Rogers and Sutton trained with Stanwick on the U.S. U-19 national team over the summer. Like Cipro, Sutton was also named to the All-Metro First Team by The Washington Post in 2003. Other players include defender Rachel Mech, Stanwick’s teammate at Notre Dame Prep, and midfielders Sara Zorzi, the point and assist leader at No. 9 Roland Park Country School, and Chloe Asselin, a walk-on, who helped lead Edgemont to a sectional title in 2002.
Like the men, the women graduated many of their top players last year, and are looking for these freshmen to step up and fill vital roles.
“This is one of the stronger freshman classes we’ve had in a while, both in terms of size and of talent, and also in terms of mentality,” Simons said. “They are a very competitive group, they work very hard, and they’ve brought a new and necessary element to the team, in which they’re pushing upperclassmen because they’re challenging for a lot of playing time.”
Yet despite the youth of the team, Simons is confident the team can repeat the success of last year.
“The youth that we have has a lot of potential,” Simons said. “They’re going to develop rather quickly. I’ve already seen them take huge strides. A lot of times, coaches use the phrase youth as an excuse for why they’re not very good, but I do think we’re going to be very good despite being on the young side. The biggest thing is going to be for us to hold strong and have our upperclassmen hold us together in the first few weeks while the underclassmen and the freshmen get their legs under them and get some experience.”