Keeping a streak alive is never easy, and for the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team it will become even harder to keep their 13-game home winning streak going as they face No. 11 Duke on Sunday.
The last home loss suffered by the No. 4 Hoyas came at the hands of the Blue Devils themselves on March 27, 1999. Since then, the Hoyas have yet to lose at home and are 5-0 in 2001, having most recently beaten No. 10 Univeristy of Maryland Baltimore County.
The Hoyas’ impressive start to this season has been mainly due to their tenacious defense, which has allowed an average of only 6.6 goals in five games. Recently the Hoyas have also been getting help on the attack end of the field, which was a question mark when the season started. Several new players have gotten the opportunity to score, such as freshman attack Neal Goldman, who has six goals on the season.
Spreading out the scoring is important for the Hoyas, who have several stars on attack that opposing defenses will always focus on. Against Duke, who has played Georgetown for the past nine years, getting the ball to new attackmen will be important.
The Hoyas will be thankful that defense is their strong suit as they face the strong Blue Devil attack. Duke’s lineup includes senior attack Greg Patchak, who was named Atlantic Coast Conference player of the week for the week of March 19. In the week’s action, Patchak had five goals and two assists in Duke’s 16-10 win over No. 16 Brown and two goals and four assists in a 19-5 victory over Radford. As he leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 25 points, Patchak will certainly be a focal point for Hoya defenders.
Duke is coming off a big matchup against ACC foe and perennial rival No. 12 North Carolina Wednesday night, coming away with an 11-8 victory despite a late five-goal rally by the Tar Heels. Because the Hoyas have had the week off since Saturday’s 11-5 win over UMBC, they will have the advantage of rest over the Blue Devils.
Although the Hoyas lost to Duke in the 1999 regular season, they bested the Devils 17-14 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. However, in the 2000 regular season, the Hoyas fell 12-13 in Durham, N.C.
Face-off between the Hoyas and Blue Devils is on Sunday at 1 p.m. on Harbin Field.
