MacDonnell Lifts Loyola Over Georgetown
from press release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attackman Cooper MacDonnell
matched his career-high with five goals--four coming during a 6-1
Loyola spurt which spanned both the third and fourth periods-- and
goalkeeper Jake Hagelin made two critical saves in the waning
seconds as the No.15 Greyhounds held on for a dramatic 8-7 win over
No. 18 Georgetown on Saturday in ECAC play at Multi-Sport
Field.
After Georgetown's Andrew Brancaccio scored to propel the Hoyas to
a 3-1 lead just 4:27 into the third period, Loyola scored six of
the game's next seven to a take a 7-4 advantage with 12 minutes
remaining.
The Hoyas would threaten, scoring two straight goals by Craig Dowd
and Dan D'Agnes to close within one, 7-6. MacDonnell gave the
Greyhounds some breathing room with his fifth goal of the
day--matching his career-high from just two games ago against
Syracuse--to extend the lead back to two.
Brancaccio's third score of the game cut the Loyola advantage to
one with 2:17 remaining. But the Greyhound's defensive unit made
some impressive efforts to successfully run out the clock. In the
last-minute alone, long-stick middie P.T. Ricci blocked an effort
from the top of the arc.
Then, Hagelin made two excellent saves--one with 12 ticks left and
then another from just inside midfield as the horn expired--to
preserve the road win and push the Greyhounds (7-4 overall) to a
4-1 record in conference play, maintaining their second-place
position in the league standings behind only Massachusetts.
"It's great to get a win in such a tough and physical matchup,"
said Loyola Head Coach Charley Toomey. "We got great efforts from
everyone, and Jake's saves at the end were unbelievable. It's a
shame that one of these two had to lose this one."
For the second straight game, Loyola's face-off John Schiavone put
forth a dominant performance at the X, going 13-of-19. He went
16-of-19 in last week's win over Rutgers.
"John has really come into his own lately," said Toomey. "We don't
win this game without him."
The Greyhounds and Hoyas played to a scoreless draw after a
physical first period in moist conditions.
Midfielder Jake Willcox commenced the scoring 1:04 into the second
period, a 20-yard bullet from the right-side of the arc. Georgetown
(5-6, 1-3 ECAC), though, would score two unanswered to take a 2-1
lead into halftime.
Scott Kocic scored the first and then, Zack Angel converted a feed
from Craig Dowd with 4:38 remaining. The Greyhounds appeared to
even the game three seconds before halftime on a Matt Langan goal,
but the referee called an apparent crease violation to omit the
score.
Throughout the half, both teams clogged alleys, especially in the
transition game, to limit each other's opportunities. Loyola
outshot the Hoyas, 14-12, in the half.
A goal by Brancaccio extended the deficit to two, 3-1, 3:27 into
the third period but the Greyhounds answered with a 3-0 spurt.
Willcox got the run started with 8:47 left, as he drove into the
alley and beat Hoyas' goalie Jack Davis low. MacDonnell would score
Loyola's next three goals in the period, all coming in less than a
six-minutes span.
He got his first goal of the game a minute after Willcox's, getting
into the lane and sending his effort high. He would again find the
net off a feed from Chris Basler to give Loyola its first lead of
the afternoon, 4-3. Georgetown's Brancaccio would briefly half the
momentum with a putaway, but MacDonnell would again have the
answer. Coming off a double-team, the attackman converted a
bounce-shot into the lower right-side of the goal to push Loyola to
a 5-4 lead going into the final period.
A goal by Langan, coming off a forced turnover deep in Georgetown
territory, extended the Loyola advantage to two 2:24 into the
fourth. Just 30 seconds later, off a hidden-ball play, MacDonnell
took a feed from Basler, who was standing behind the goal, to give
the Greyhounds their largest lead of the game, 7-4, with 12 minutes
remaining.
Georgetown outshot Loyola 38-24, while the Greyhounds won the
groundball margin, 39-35. Ricci scooped a game-high nine
groundballs and caused six turnovers. Hagelin made 10 saves in the
win.
