The school year may be coming to a close, but for both of Georgetown’s lacrosse teams, the postseason is just beginning to heat up. The No. 5 men (11-2, 6-1 ECAC), seeded eighth out of 16, are set to oppose unseeded (in both the men’s and the women’s bracket, only the top eight teams are officially seeded) Navy (11-3, 5-1 Patriot League) this Sunday at the ulti-Sport Facility in the first round of the NCAA tournament, while the women (13-3, 5-0), who are ranked fourth nationally but seeded third, will head to unseeded Monmouth (13-6, 10-0 Northeast Conference) on Sunday to do battle with the Hawks in the first round.
Men Play Host to Navy
Though they come into the playoffs ranked fifth in the nation, winners of three straight and champions of the ECAC, the Hoyas enter the tournament as the eight seed. No. 5-seed Syracuse (8-4), a team that Georgetown defeated 10-8 on March 10, No. 4-seed Johns Hopkins (8-4), No. 7-seed Princeton (11-4), and No. 2-seed Maryland (10-4) were all seeded ahead of Georgetown.
“We kinda question it a bit. [We think] maybe we deserve a different spot.But you don’t want to question it too much.We just have to go out and take care of business,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick said.
Georgetown took the league title last Saturday, May 6, with a close 10-9 win over Penn State. Senior midfielder Pete Cannon led a balanced Hoya attack with two scores.
Georgetown will enter the match with a good idea of how Navy plays the game. Earlier this year, the Hoyas made the trip to Annapolis to battle the Midshipmen and came away with a 9-5 victory. Sophomore attacker Andrew Baird led Georgetown with three scores and senior goaltender Rich D’Andrea, who before an injury to sophomore goalie Miles Kass was a midfielder, made 11 saves.
“We have a pretty good idea of what Navy is all about. Our coaches are familiar with what their guys do, and it probably goes both ways. [Georgetown and Navy] are pretty equal teams,” Urick said.
Throughout the year, it has been another Cannon, Pete’s younger brother Brendan, who has led the Georgetown offense. A sophomore attacker, Brendan leads the team with 41 points, 19 more than second-place Dave Paolisso, a fifth-year midfielder who has 18 goals and four assists. Brendan has scored thirteen goals and chipped in 28 assists on the year. No one else on the team has more than eight assists.
The Georgetown attack has not been limited to the Cannon brothers and Paolisso, however. Junior attacker Trevor Casey has found the back of the net 17 times, while sophomore attacker Baird has done so on 13 occasions. Senior attacker Sean Denihan and fifth-year midfielder Mike White each have eight goals to their name.
“We haven’t been a juggernaut on offense, but we have scored enough to be successful,” Head Coach Dave Urick said. “We have five guys playing attack right now, which is more than most teams. Against Penn State, each scored at least once. It’s nice not to have to rely on one guy on offense.”
As balanced as the offense has been, it is the defense that has been an anchor for the Hoyas. Led by senior Tewaaraton Trophy-nominee Reyn Garnett, senior Rob Lemos, senior Rob Smith, senior John Trapp and junior Jerry Lambe Georgetown ranks 12th in the nation in scoring defense. The Hoyas have held their opponents to five goals or fewer four times this season and figure to need another strong performance this weekend against a tough Midshipmen attack.
“The defense has been a big part of the success we’ve had,” Urick said. “We’re blessed with a fair amount of depth down there.”
Goalie is another position at which the Hoyas have uncharacteristic depth. Kass began the year as the starter, but an injury before the first Navy game forced him out of the lineup. D’Andrea stepped up and performed well in Kass’ absence, allowing just 7.15 goals per game. Now, with Kass ready to return to the lineup, Urick will have to make a tough choice as to who to will start. As of Thursday, he was still undecided.
Navy has a stout defense of its own. The nation’s top scoring defense, the Midshipmen boast several all-Patriot league selections. Senior Ward Hackett was selected to be a first team defender, and was joined on the first team by sophomore defender Jordan DiNola. Junior Andrew Dow and sophomore Brendan Teague both were named as defenders to the second team.
Not to be outdone, Navy also starts the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Senior attacker Jon Birsner scored 16 goals and dished out 35 assists to earn the honor. He is joined on the attack by junior attacker Ian Dingman (30 points, 10 assists) and sophomore attacker Nick Mirabito (22 points, 11 assists).
“Ian Dingman presents a different kind of challenge,” Urick said of the 6-foot-4, 260 pound attacker. “He’s a handful.”
The opening faceoff is set for 3:30 on Sunday at the Multi-Sport Facility.
Women Travel to Monmouth
It has been a wild season for three-seeded Georgetown – the Hoyas have set a record five overtime games and they have been a part of two other one-goal games – but it has been a very successful 2006 campaign as well. This Sunday the Hoyas look to extend their season as they take to the road against Monmouth.
Prohibited from playing host to a playoff game because of an undisclosed administrative issue during last year’s tournament, the Hoyas will have to play the visitor against onmouth. And though the Hawks are riding an 11-game winning streak and won Northeast Conference in undefeated fashion, Georgetown should enter the game as the clear favorite.
“They are a good offensive team, they look to push the ball in transition,” Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Friend said of the Hawks. Still, for the Hoyas, their opponent’s strengths will not be the focus of their preparation.
“The big focus is on us, not them,” Fried said. “We have to make sure we execute.”
Each team has one defined leader on attack. For Georgetown, it is junior Coco Stanwick, a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee with 52 goals and nine assists to her name. For Monmouth, it is senior Jeanette Stott (51 goals, 41 assists) that leads the way.
Stanwick is supported by junior attacker Sara Zorzi (8 goals, 25 assists), senior midfielder Lucy Poole (25 goals, 5 assists), junior attacker Schuyler Sutton (19 goals, 10 assists) and Paige Andrews (17 goals, three assists). Georgetown’s strength on offense has not been sheer output, but rather its ability to slow the game down and make the most of each offensive set.
Monmouth, on the other hand, is a team that prides itself on scoring early and often. In addition to Stott, the Hawks boast four 30-goal scorers. Junior attacker Carolyn Raveia, junior midfielder Katie Degen, sophomore attacker Megan Nutter and senior attacker Erica Evangelisti have all reached the prestigious plateau.
While Monmouth has scored 69 more goals than Georgetown, it has also allowed 78 more than the Hoyas’ staunch defensive corps. Led by junior goalie Maggie Koch and her 56.6 save percentage that ranks third in the nation, Georgetown has the nations second-best scoring defense. Senior captain Stephanie Zodtner, junior Chloe Asselin, senior Kristin Smith and junior Laura Cipro have all been key components of the Hoyas’ defensive corps.
Georgetown certainly gets the check-mark in the experience category. Not only have the Hoyas appeared in the tournament in each of the last four years, they have faced eight of the 16 teams in this year’s tournament, finishing with a record of 5-3. Highlighting the wins is an 8-4 victory over second-seed Virginia on April 19, while the most prominent loss came early in the year against top-seed Duke. Georgetown fell 10-8 to the Blue Devils on arch 18.
Monmouth, conversely, has faced only unseeded Richmond among tournament teams. The Hawks fell 18-5 on March 10. Against Rutgers, a team that Georgetown defeated 17-7, Monmouth fell 13-5 on March 22.
Still, despite what appears to be an obvious edge, the Hoyas are preparing diligently. “We’re focusing on us as a team,” Zorzi said. “We’re focusing on our attack, our defense, and we’re treating Monmouth just as we would another opponent.”
Should Georgetown advance, they will face the winner of six-seeded Notre Dame (a team that the Hoyas beat 11-10 in three overtimes) against Cornell.
The opening draw against Monmouth is set for 1 p.m. at Kessler Field in Monmouth, N.J.
