WASHINGTON – Georgetown University’s 19th-ranked men’s lacrosse team heads west to take on No. 9 Denver in BIG EAST action on Saturday. The Hoyas (7-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) are looking to rebound after a tough one-goal loss in their league opener last weekend.
Saturday’s game is set for a 1:30 p.m. ET opening faceoff. Live stats and a video link will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
Georgetown dropped a 9-8 decision to visiting Marquette in the BIG EAST opener for both teams last Saturday. The Hoyas rallied from a seven-goal deficit to pull within one but couldn’t complete the comeback attempt. Daniel Bucaro (East Setauket, N.Y. / Ward Melville) and Lucas Wittenberg (Kennesaw, Ga. / Harrison / Mercer) both tallied three goals and an assist to lead the Hoyas while Jake Carraway (Annapolis, Md. / St. Mary’s) chipped in a goal and an assist. Declan McDermott (Pleasantville, N.Y. / Pleasantville) added a lone goal for the Blue & Gray as well.
With his four-point performance, Bucaro moved into a tie for third place all-time at Georgetown in career points with 188 (124G, 64A). He passed Andy Flick (’00) to move into a tie with Paul Murphy (’85) and is now just one goal shy of second all-time on the Hilltop with Chris Remington (‘95).
Defensively, the Hoyas were credited with 11 caused turnovers with three coming from Gibson Smith (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial) and two each from Patrick Aslanian (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) and Zachary Geddes (Winchester, Mass. / Belmont Hill / Phillips Andover). In goal, Owen McElroy (Ridgewood, N.J. / Ridgewood / Avon Old Farms) collected 14 saves between the pipes. Georgetown held Marquette scoreless for the final 26:30 of the game.
On the season, Bucaro (32G, 17A) leads the Hoyas with 49 points while Carraway (27G, 18A) is right behind him with 45. Wittenberg adds 29 points (12G, 17A), Robert Clark (Cooksville, Md. / McDonogh) chips in 24 points (16G, 8A) and Massimo Bucci (Ithaca, N.Y. / IMG Academy) and McDermott round out the Hoyas in double figures with 12 points (8G, 4A) and 11 points (6G, 5A), respectively.
Defensively, Smith leads the Blue & Gray with a BIG EAST-leading 51 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers while Patrick Aslanian (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) has 17 CTs. In goal, McElroy has collected 94 saves on the season with a .550 save percentage and a 9.84 goals-against average.
Denver (5-3) is coming off a 14-13 loss at Princeton on Tuesday night. Austin French led the Pioneers with three goals while Ellis Geiss added two goals and an assist. Five other DU players tallied two points in the game.
Ethan Walker leads Denver with 24 points (18G, 6A) on the season while Geis adds 21 points (14G, 7A). Jack Hannah, Colton Jackson, Ted Sullivan and French each have at least 10 points as well. Dylan Gaines has been credited with 19 caused turnovers while Matt Neufeldt chips in 16. In goal, Alex Ready has started all eight games for the Pioneers and has 66 saves to go with a .504 save percentage and an 8.51 GAA.
Georgetown is 1-6 all-time against Denver, earning its first victory with an 8-3 win in the BIG EAST Championship game last season. Wittenberg led the Hoyas with three goals and two assists against the Pioneers in the title game while Carraway added a hat trick, including the game-winner.
Following Saturday’s game, Georgetown continues its road trek as it travels to face Providence on Saturday, April 6.