Brancaccio, Comeau Lead Georgetown Past Providence
from press release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior Andrew Brancaccio
(Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) and freshman Travis Comeau
(Alberta, Canada/The Hill Academy) scored three goals apiece and
No. 9 Georgetown opened up an 8-0 lead at the half en route to a
14-4 BIG EAST Conference win over Providence at the Friar Field
Hockey & Lacrosse Complex Sunday afternoon. It was the fourth
win in the last five games for the Hoyas, who improve to 4-2
overall and 2-1 in league play. Providence falls to 0-5 overall and
0-1 in the BIG EAST Conference.
Nine different players scored goals and 14 players scored at least
one point and it was the 26th time since the 2000 season that
Georgetown has limited an opponent to five goals or fewer in a game
and the 53rd time under Head Coach Dave Urick.
Brancaccio and Comeau scored a goal apiece in the first quarter as
the Hoyas took a 3-0 lead and then each added two goals in the
second quarter as GU extended its lead to 8-0. Freshman Zac Guy
(Tully, N.Y./Tully) scored two goals and senior Craig Dowd (East
Northport, N.Y./Northport) added a goal and two assists. Junior
Brian Tabb (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) won 12-of-16 face-off
attempts and had eight ground balls while sophomore goalie C.T.
Fisher (Chevy Chase, Md./Landon) played the full 60 minutes and
made eight saves.
Georgetown jumped out quick with a 1-0 lead just over a minute in
when junior Ryan Shuler (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) sent a pass
through the box to Comeau, who rifled a low bouncer past PC goalie
Tim Finnegan at 14:04. Just over a minute later, Brancaccio scored
the second goal, taking a feed from senior middie Scott Kocis
(Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) on the near sideline and rolling out
in front of the goal. He unleashed a shot that bounced past
Finnegan, giving the Hoyas a 2-0 lead. The lead grew to 3-0 at the
10-minute mark of the first quarter, when sophomore Zack Angel (Bel
Air, Md./St. Mary Ryken) blistered a shot past PC goalie Frank
Cicero off a feed from Dowd.
The Hoyas continued to pepper the PC goal and took five more shots
before the end of the quarter, with one from junior Dan Hostetler
(Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) hitting the post.
Georgetown wasted listed time in the second quarter, with Tabb
winning the opening face-off, racing downfield and passing to Dowd
on the far side of the crease. Dowd sent a pass to Comeau, who
rifled a shot past Cicero from the right side of the crease. GU
forced a turnover after Providence won the next face-off and after
a successful clear, Guy scored the first of his two goals at 12:26,
making it 5-0.
The lead grew to 6-0 after a tripping penalty on the Friars gave GU
an extra-man opportunity. Brancaccio scored his second of the game,
rifling a low liner from the far side at 11:07. Tabb won the next
face-off and a slash was called on Providence, giving the Hoyas
another EMO. Kocis started the chance at the top of the box near
midfield and sent a pass to the far side to Brancaccio. The senior,
who possesses one of the hardest shots at the collegiate level,
scored from 10 yards out with 9:25 left, giving the Hoyas a 7-0
lead.
Providence had a chance to break through with a score midway
through the second quarter after a Hoya turnover, but Fisher saved
a trio of point-blank shots, the final resulting in a ground ball
for senior Chris Schuville (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor).
Freshman defenseman Brennan Bicknese (Ridgewood, N.J./Delbarton)
forced a turnover with 4:41 left and after a shot from Kocis hit
the crossbar, Comeau picked up the ground ball and fired a low shot
past Cicero, giving GU an 8-0 lead at the break.
Georgetown limited PC to one shot in the first quarter and five in
the second. The Friars scored their first goal of the game with
just over four minutes into the third quarter, but the Hoyas
responded with a goal two minutes later.Junior middie Max Seligmann
(Essex Falls, N.J./Delbarton) forced a turnover in the PC offensive
end and sent a pass to Hostetler near midfield. Hostetler threw a
long pass to Francis McDonough (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City), who
was streaking down the right side and the sophomore struck a low
grounder past Cicero to make it 9-1.
Providence scored at 6:09 to make it 9-2, but freshman defenseman
Chris Nourse (Erieville, Pa./The Hotchkiss School) forced a
turnover, picked up the ground ball and fed sophomore middie Gerry
Reilly (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), who raced toward the goal and
beat two defenders at 5:56, making it 10-2.
Guy added his second goal of the game two minutes later (3:57) and
an unassisted goal from Dowd gave GU a 12-3 lead after three
quarters.
Senior Eric Reinhardt (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) scored his
first goal of the season off an assist from freshman Jason McFadden
(Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) midway through the fourth quarter and
sophomore Tucker Stafford (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) scored his
first career goal on an assist from sophomore Brian Will (Olney,
Md./Bullis).
Georgetown out-shot Providence 46-21 and owned the ground ball
battle, 42-20, while committing only 11 turnovers, and scoring on
2-of-3 extra-man opportunities.
