May 9, 2008

Washington, D.C. - The 2008 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship returns to the nation's capitol on Sunday, May 11 when the No. 6 seed Georgetown Hoyas (12-6) host the Duke Blue Devils (11-7) on the Multi-Sport Field at 2 p.m. Live stats and live audio & video with Chuck Timanus performing the play-by-play duties can be seen at www.guhoyas.com.

Eight NCAA Tournament First Round games will be played on Sunday with the eight winning team advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal games set for campus sites on Saturday, May 17.

Georgetown returns to the NCAA Tournament this year after missing out on the dance in 2007. The Hoyas have qualified for the NCAAs in nine of the last ten seasons dating back to 1999, advancing to the quarterfinals in eight of those campaigns.

GU comes into Sunday's game after winning three of its last four games with its lone setback coming against No. 5 Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament Championship Game.

Georgetown's strength of schedule ranks No. 1 in the nation accoring to www.laxpower.com. The Hoyas SOS is percentage points ahead of Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.

Sunday's will mark the second time this season that the Hoyas and Blue Devils have faced each other. Duke slipped past the Georgetown, 12-11 on March 15 in Durham. That game saw five ties and three lead changes. Georgetown led 10-9 with 14 minutes to go but Duke scored the game's next three goals over a four-minute span for a 12-10 advantage with 10 minutes remaining and held on down the stretch. The Blue Devils were able to control the pace of the play in the second half, winning eight of the period's 12 draw controls, including the last five.

The Georgetown - Duke Series ... Duke leads the all-time series, 9-6 and the Blue Devils have won four straight games. The schools have squared off against one another in every season since 1996.

The Hoyas were victorious in two NCAA Tournament meetings over the Blue Devils in 2002 and 2004.

Georgetown is 3-4 vs. the Blue Devils here in Washington, D.C.

Winning the Close Ones ... Georgetown has been great at home and in close games. The Hoyas are 6-1 at home this season and 24-6 in home games under fourth-year head coach Ricky Fried.

The Blue & Gray has played eight one-goal games this season, the most of any team in the NCAA Tournament field. Georgetown has posted a 6-2 record in those games, including a 2-0 mark in overtime games (at Denver, vs. Notre Dame [BE Semis]).

Since 2005, Georgetown is 14-7 overall in one-goal games under Coach Fried and 7-2 in contests that extended into overtime.

In the NCAA Tournament ... Georgetown is making its tenth appearance in the NCAAs. The Hoyas have a 13-9 overall mark with Final Four appearances in 2001, 2002, 2004. The Blue and Gray advanced to the NCAA Championship Game in 2001 (14-13, 2OT loss to Maryland) and 2002 (12-7 loss to Princeton).

Quick Hits ... Sophomore All-BIG EAST first teamer Ashby Kaestner (Trappe, Md.) leads the team with 50 goals, 63 points, 45 draw controls and 32 caused turnovers. The midfielder has accounted for almost 27 percent of the team's goals (50 of 186). Of the 16 NCAA Tournament teams, only Notre Dame's Jillian Byers has accounted for more (67 of 245).

-- All BIG EAST first team selection, sophomore Molly Ford (Reisterstown, Md.) ranks second on the team with 42 goals, 21 assists and is tied for the team lead with 63 points. Ford has posted at least four points in a game nine times this season while totaling 11 goals and seven assists in the last four games.

-- Junior defender Jordan Trautman (Mystic, Conn.) also earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST first team. Trautman has started in every game during her Hoya career (54 games) and leads the team with 45 ground balls while ranking second on the squad with 27 caused turnovers.

-- Freshman attacker Jordy Kirr (Baltimore, Md.) garnered All-BIG EAST second team accolades. Kirr leads the nation's freshmen with 36 assists. The 36 helpers is the second best single-season mark in school history (40 by then senior Sheehan Stanwick Burch in 2001). Kirr also ranks third on the team with 21 goals and 57 points.

-- Sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Formby (Towson, Md.) earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST second team. In her first full season as the starting goalie, Formby ranks 11th in the ation with an 8.8 goals-against-average while ranking 19th with a .486 save percentage. Formby is averaging 8.0 saves per games and has seven double-figure save outings this season.

-- Senior Zan Morley (Philadelphia, Pa) (14 goals), senior Patty Piotrowicz (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) (12 goals) and junior Megan Bloomer (Paoli, Pa.) (12 goals) have all posted double-figure goals.

Bloomer (23 GB, 32 DC, 22 CT) and Piotrowicz (18 GB, 31 DC, 19 CT) have been terrific in the midfield.

-- The Hoya defensive line of senior Amelia Wesselink (Exeter, N.H.) and juniors Katie Burton (Catonsville, Md.), Bridget Noon (Annapolis, Md.) and Jordan Trautman (Mystic, Conn.) have started as a unit in all 18 games.

The winner of the Georgetown-Duke game will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals against the Temple - No.3 Maryland winner.