Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MEN’S LACROSSE | Hoyas Remain Undefeated for Best Start Since 2003

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team continued its strong start to the season with a 12-10 victory at No. 19 Towson on Saturday, followed by a 16-6 win against Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday. With these victories, the No. 17 Hoyas move to 4-0, their best record to begin a season since 2003.

Against Towson (1-3), junior attacker Dan Bucaro stole the show for Georgetown. Bucaro, who scored a career-high six goals in last year’s loss to the Towson Tigers, continued his dominance with four goals and two assists Saturday, a stat line that gives him over 100 total career points.

The game was close throughout: Each team’s offense went on a run just as it seemed their opponents were pulling away. Entering the final quarter, the score was even at 9-9, but strong defense and goals from junior midfielder Craig Berge, sophomore attacker Jake Carraway and Bucaro ensured the Hoyas’ victory. Senior Nick Marrocco was strong in goal with eight saves and four ground balls.

The win snapped the Hoyas’ streak of losses to the Tigers over the last four seasons. Last year, Georgetown fell 11-10 to a Towson team that eventually reached the NCAA Final Four. Although Towson lost some of its talent to graduation, the victory nevertheless demonstrated that Georgetown can compete on the national stage.

AMANDA VAN ORDEN FOR THE HOYA
Junior attacker Austin McDonald scored one goal against Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday. McDonald has started all four games this season, scoring four goals and tallying two assists.

Head Coach Kevin Warne applauded upperclassmen leadership as vital to the victory over a strong Towson team.

“Our seniors have done an unbelievable job of preparing our team,” Warne said in an interview with The Hoya.

“Those guys do an awesome job just reiterating our message and believing in our message. Right now, there’s just a bunch of guys that want to prove a lot of people wrong.”

While the Towson game was close, the matchup with Mount St. Mary’s (1-4) was far from it, with Georgetown taking the lead early in the first quarter and never letting it go.

With the Hoyas leading 4-2 after an early second quarter goal by the Mountaineers, it seemed the game could remain close. Yet, just 30 seconds later, Bucaro struck back with a goal of his own, setting off a 9-1 Georgetown run that lasted throughout the third quarter.

During this offensive onslaught, the Georgetown defense held strong through lengthy Mount St. Mary’s possessions. Although Mount St. Mary’s scored three goals in the final quarter, Georgetown matched that total to secure the landslide victory and its 4-0 season start.

Bucaro, Berge and Carraway continued to lead the offense Tuesday with four points each. Senior attacker Matt Behrens added three goals — his first career hat trick — and six other Hoyas contributed goals as well.

The team’s offensive strength was matched by its defense, which was stifling for the majority of the game. Mount St. Mary’s consistently attacked the cage with its midfielders, but strong play by senior defenseman Kieran Jenkins and midfielder Greg Galligan forced the Mountaineers to settle for outside shots.

Freshman defenseman Gibson Smith could not be contained to his half of the field, scoring his first career goal on a coast-to-coast run after a strong defensive stand in the second quarter. Marrocco continued his strong play in goal with 11 saves.

Warne again cited the strength of senior leadership as the main source of success and a distinguishing factor this season.

“I really believe when you have a special senior class like I’ve been fortunate to have, things are just different,” Warne said. “When you have a group of 13 guys who believe the same thing and care about each other, that permeates throughout the entire locker room, and it’s been great so far.”

Georgetown is set to take the field again Saturday when the team travels to Hempstead, N.Y., to face Hofstra (1-2) as the Hoyas look to continue their undefeated start to the season.

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