After Cold Start, Hoyas Pipin' Hot in Playoffs
by Brian Delaney | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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| Logan McCraw's smooth transition to defense -- she was named first team All-Big East -- has helped the Hoyas to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they'll meet a familiar foe: Syracuse. |
Taking a short trip down memory lane, Georgetown women’s lacrosse coach Ricky Fried identified the hours after a 15-14 four-overtime loss to Princeton as season-changing for the Hoyas.
That loss, against a Princeton team that ultimately finished with a sub-.500 record, was Georgetown’s fifth in eight games against a loaded schedule. The losses that piled up were against the likes of Northwestern, Duke, Maryland and North Carolina.
But the Princeton loss, which came days before a meeting with talented Notre Dame, hit hard.
“What really changed there was a clear sense of urgency,” Fried said. “It was obvious we were going to have to do very well in conference play to have a shot going into the NCAAs. Our approach to each game from the players' perspective changed, and we looked at each game as a must-win.”
Said senior attacker Molly Ford: “After the Princeton loss, we had our backs in a corner. All we could do was win.”
All they did was win.
Georgetown enters this weekend’s NCAA tournament on a 10-game winning streak, including two-goal victories over Loyola and Syracuse last weekend to secure the program’s first Big East tournament championship in four tries.
“It was definitely a huge accomplishment,” Ford said. “The past three years we’ve been in the championship and basically fallen short every year.”
That streak started with a 12-10 victory over Notre Dame on
April 3, a game in which nine different Hoyas scored and one where
the score was knotted 10-10 with under 10 minutes to play.
Kelly Barnes and Dina Jackson ripped the nets down the stretch,
igniting the Hoyas’ season-saving run.
Georgetown received the No. 4 seed and a first-round game against Syracuse on Saturday. It’ll be the third meeting this month between the two programs. A big 14-save day by senior goalie Caitlin Fromby helped the Hoyas to a 10-9 victory in Syracuse on May 1.
“We know Syracuse as well as they know us,” Ford said.
Georgetown had questions on defense entering 2010. In the fall, Fried decided to move junior Logan McCraw from the midfield to defense, which at first was a difficult position change to accept.
“I knew right away that I was going to miss running up and down the field playing attack,” she said.
Georgetown wouldn’t be where it is without her.
McCraw earned a place on the all-conference first team with a breakout season. She led the Hoyas in caused turnovers (32) and ground balls (38), and ranked second in draw controls (37).
“She really just epitomized our team this year,” Fried said. “She is a great one-v-one player, a great off-ball player, and she understands our defensive scheme and improved our entire defense throughout the year.”
Fried initially wasn’t planning on making the change, even though the Hoyas returned no defensive starters. One week of practice changed his mind.
Fried also believes the team’s mental buildup, combined with the production of its second midfield line, has paid significant dividends.
The Hoyas have 10 players with double-digit goals, led by Ford’s 47. They are tough to defend because of their variety of scoring options.
They’ve also been winning must-win games for over a month now. Their last four games were decided by two goals or less, and ever since the Princeton loss, the team has closed out games with methodical precision.
“It’s a mentality and a confidence we have right now,” McCraw said. “Our whole team had a lot of pressure, but we just were able to stay strong and it took us playing together to do it.”
