Six-Goal Run Leads Hoyas Over Maryland
by Andy Krauss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Georgetown goalie Jack Davis made seven saves in the
Hoyas 13-10 win. |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Since 2004, the final
Saturday in February has been reserved for the budding rivalry that
is Maryland and Georgetown lacrosse. It has become a traditional
early-season barometer for both teams in what is usually their
first game against a ranked opponent.
The third-ranked Terps had dominated these meetings, winning five
of six before this season. However, this cold, sunny Saturday
afternoon belonged to the eighth-ranked Hoyas as they got the best
of their local rivals to the tune of 13-10.
Georgetown used a third quarter in which it outscored Maryland,
5-1 and forced six Terrapin turovers to break open a back-and-forth
game at Ludwig Field.
In all, the Hoyas scored six straight goals to turn a 7-6 deficit
with 11:47 left in the third quarter into a 12-7 lead with 9:42
left in regulation.
“We got caught playing zone a little bit and played a lot
more defense than we wanted to,” said Maryland head coach
Dave Cottle. “I thought the old adage that good offense lends
itself to good defense and bad offense lends itself to bad defense
applied today.”
The Hoyas, playing their season-opener, were successful on all
five of their clear attempts during the third quarter while the
Terps (2-1) cleared just one of four attempts. The Hoyas seemingly
dominated the time of possession in the third stanza and Terp
frustration built increasingly.
“They (the Terps) were in a zone and then had to get away
from that,” said Georgetown head coach Dave Urick.
“When they had to pressure us a little bit, I think that we
handled that pretty well. (Assistant Coach) Scott (Urick) did a
pretty good job of preparing our guys for that kind of
pressure.”
As Georgetown shut down Maryland’s relatively young attack
unit, Maryland depended on its senior-laden first midfield line to
provide the offense. Seven of Maryland’s 10 goals were scored
by midfielders Jeremy Sieverts, Jeff Reynolds and Dan Groot.
“Our attack is better than we showed,” said Cottle.
“You’ve got to give Georgetown credit. 43 (Georgetown
junior defenseman Barney Ehrmann) got every meaningful groundball
on their defensive end of the field. They won the matchup between
our attack and their defense today.”
Cottle’s sophomore attackman Grant Catalino, reiterated the
sentiment. “Every game, the offense feeds off the defense and
vice versa,” said Catalino. “We never really got that
going in this game. We have a lot of things to work on.”
Georgetown junior attackman Ricky Mirabito scored two of his three
goals during the third quarter dominance. Sophomore attackman Ryan
Shuler also netted three scores for the Hoyas.
The first half couldn’t have been played more evenly. All
statistics down both columns were almost identical in a half that
featured three lead changes and saw no team go up by more that two
goals.
2,530 fans packed Ludwig Field to catch the first meeting of top
10 teams for this young season. The Terps are planning on playing
their entire home slate at the field used primarily for soccer and
track & field, while Byrd Stadium continues to undergo
renovations.
