Most top teams would kick off the season with a comfortable game against lower-tier competition. Not so for No. 13 Georgetown, whose season-opener against No. 7 Maryland is one of the hottest local rivalries in the country.
“If you just used the word `intense,’ you’d be putting it pretty mildly,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick said. “It’s obviously a very physical game in general, but in this particular case when these two teams play it seems the intensity meter goes way up.”
Leading the way for Maryland is a group of physically imposing offensive players. Junior Grant Catalino, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound attack who topped the Terps’ scoring charts with 25 goals and 22 assists last season, notched two goals and four assists in a season-opening 12-7 win against Bellarmine. Junior attack Ryan Young (19 goals, 21 assists last year) also returns, as does senior Will Yeatman, who has moved his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame from attack to the midfield this season.
Maryland boasts a strong defense as well, anchored by Preseason Honorable Mention All-American senior goalie Brian Phipps. The four-year starter saved 59.3 percent of the shots he faced last season and made 10 saves against Bellarmine. Junior defenders Brett Schmidt and Max Schmidt – no relation – both do an outstanding job limiting the number of shots Phipps faces, and redshirt junior Brian Farrell – who played only three games last season due to a pair of broken ribs – is a long-stick midfielder who can get the transition game going in a hurry.
Urick is excited for the challenge.
“They’re a very good team,” he said. “It’s a good test for us, to see where we’re at. I think that first game can never come soon enough.”
And for a senior class that Inside Lacrosse hailed as the nation’s top recruiting class, a chance to make amends for missing the NCAA tournament the last two years cannot come soon enough either. A season-opening win over their top-10 rival would be the perfect way for the Hoyas to start.