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

No. 9 Blue Devils Pull Off Win Over No. 4 Hoya Men

No. 9 Blue Devils Pull Off Win Over No. 4 Hoya Men

By Karen Travers Hoya Staff Writer

In a game that had six lead changes and a tied score going into the final period, the Duke men’s lacrosse team was able to pull out a 13-12 squeaker victory over Georgetown Sunday in Durham, N.C.

The loss was the first of the season, dropping their record to 6-1 overall. Duke improved to 5-2 for the season.

“It was a really good lacrosse game,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Urick said. “As an impartial spectator, it was a great event to watch.”

Blue Devil brothers Nick and Chris Hartofilis connected on the game-winning goal with 2:38 remaining in the game. Chris fed a pass to Nick, who put it past Georgetown sophomore goalie Scott Schroeder for what ended up being the game winner.

Georgetown had a chance to tie the game in the final minute when the Hoyas called time out. With the ball in front of the Blue Devil cage, sophomore midfielder Steve Dusseau beat out a Duke longstick defenseman and took a stab at the cage from about 15 feet out. The shot was saved and Duke preserved the win.

“We had a good shot at the end, a good look at the goal, but it didn’t exactly materialize,” Urick said. “I was glad to see a sophomore was willing to take that chance.”

Georgetown started off the game slowly, falling behind 4-0 in just over nine minutes. Duke dominated the ball for most of the first period, and the Blue Devils defense held off the Hoya attack.

“We dug a hole in the first quarter,” Urick said. “I’m proud that we got out of it, though.”

Senior midfielder Art Price broke the scoring drought for Georgetown with a goal with 3:53 left in the first quarter. Senior attackman and captain Scott Urick followed up with another goal to cut the Duke lead to a pair of goals, 4-2.

But Duke’s offensive momentum kept rolling, as Jared Frood found the back of the net before the end of the period and senior T.J. Durnan put in a goal just 20 seconds into the second period to give the Blue Devils a 6-2 lead.

If the first period was Duke’s quarter, then the second period belonged to Georgetown. Facing a four-goal deficit, the Hoyas responded in grand style, scoring five goals before the half and only allowing one goal to leave the game tied at seven at the break.

The Georgetown offense was spread out over a host of scorers. Five different players stepped up for the Hoyas, as junior midfielder Jamie Sharpe, sophomore midfielder Brett Wagner, junior midfielder Mike Henehan and freshman midfielder Trevor Walker each chipped in a goal. Urick rounded out the scoring barrage of the second quarter with his second goal of the day.

The score bounced back and forth in the third quarter, and the Hoyas were able to take their first lead of the day after senior attackman Peter Velepec scored a goal just 1:20 into the second half to put the Hoyas ahead 8-7. The Hoyas were also ahead 10-9 with 7:56 left in the third period and 11-10 with 12:59 left in the game, off goals by senior attackman Andy Flick and junior midfielder Tom Tamberrino.

Duke took a 12-11 lead with 9:04 left in the fourth period on a man-up situation, after Wagner was called for a one-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Dusseau evened the scored at 12, but it was Duke who had the final word with Nick Hartofilis’ game-winning goal.

“A lot of little things done differently would have made a big difference in a close game,” Coach Urick said. “But I am confident these guys will respond in the way we expect them to.”

Flick finished as the high scorer for the Hoyas, with two goals and two assists. He was also named the ECAC player of the week for the second consecutive week. Flick scored two goals and had five assists in the Hoyas win over Dartmouth last Wednesday. He currently leads the ECAC in scoring with 5.43 points per game and in assists per game with 2.86.

Velepec notched a goal and two assists for three points. Duke was led by Durnan and Patchak, who each had four goals. Duke dominated Georgetown in the face-off circle, winning 22 of 27.

“Face-offs came back to haunt us,” Coach Urick said. “We didn’t face-off well, and we really had to make up for that.”

With a poor performance in the face-off circle, Georgetown needed to dominate Duke on the ground but again the Blue Devils were too much for the Hoyas, picking up 46 groundballs to the Hoyas 24.

One bright spot for Georgetown was on man-down situations. The Hoyas held the Blue Devils to just one goal on six extra-man attempts.

Georgetown returns to action Saturday against ECAC rival Navy. The Midshipmen are 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the ECAC, after a 16-4 victory over Stony Brook last Saturday.

Last season, the Hoyas lost a nail-biter to the Midshipmen, 12-11 in overtime. The win was enough to propel Navy into the NCAA Tournament. This season’s game is a similar situation for both Georgetown and Navy.

“It’s a big game with Navy. We have to get this one behind us,” Coach Urick said. “It’s a league game, and it will determine a lot about the league championship.

“Navy’s a very good opponent that we’ve developed a good rivalry with over the last few years. We have to play with intensity.”

Related Links

 Men’s Lacrosse Page-Men’s Lacrosse Schedule

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