Wittenberg Sets Single Game Assists Mark; Hoyas Advance to BIG EAST Championship Game
[MEDIA RELEASE]
DENVER – Georgetown University’s second-seeded men’s lacrosse team defeated third-seeded Providence 13-12 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep to advance to the finals on Saturday afternoon. Lucas Wittenberg (Kennesaw, Ga. / Harrison / Mercer) set the Georgetown single game record with eight assists in the victory.
Wittenberg led all players with nine points (1G, 8A), breaking the single game assists record set by Jim Nagle in 1987 and tied by Chris Remington in 1993. He also set the facility record for assists at Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Jake Carraway (Annapolis, Md. / St. Mary’s) had three goals while Dylan Watson (Guelph, Ontario / The Hill Academy), Robert Clark (Cooksville, Md. / McDonogh) and Massimo Bucci (Ithaca, N.Y. / IMG Academy) each added a pair. Carraway became just the second Georgetown player to score 50 goals in a season and is now two goals shy of tying the single season record.
Daniel Bucaro (East Setauket, N.Y. / Ward Melville), Declan McDermott (Pleasantville, N.Y. / Pleasantville) and Austin McDonald (Olney, Md. / Georgetown Prep) each had a lone goal while McDermott added two assists and Bucaro chipped in one.
Defensively, Chris Brandau (Timonium, Md. / Boys’ Latin) took control of the cage at the start of the second half and hauled in six saves. He held the Friars to just three goals including a shutout in the fourth quarter. Patrick Aslanian (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) and
Joe LiCalzi (Rockville Centre, N.Y. / South Side) were both credited with three caused turnovers from the defensive midfield while James Reilly (Berwyn, Pa. / Conestoga) and Gibson Smith (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial) had seven and five ground balls, respectively.
Georgetown opened the game with a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, netting a goal from Bucci just 97 seconds into the game and another from Clark at the 11:26 mark. The Friars responded with five-straight goals over the next 10 minutes to lead 5-2 before Carraway found the back of the net with just over a minute to play to cut the deficit to two after 15 minutes of action.
In the second, PC tallied back-to-back goals early to make it 7-3 but the Hoyas answered back with a 3-0 run to pull within one. Carraway opened the scoring with a diving goal for his 50th of the year before Wittenberg and McDonald followed suit. The Friars added two late goals in the final 33 seconds to take a 9-6 lead going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Georgetown used a 3-0 run to knot the game at nine apiece before PC responded. With Brandau holding the Friars scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game, Providence put together a 3-0 run of its own to close out the frame and take a 12-9.
The final stanza was all Georgetown. Goals from Watson and Carraway, both assisted by Wittenberg, pulled the Hoyas within one, 12-11, at the 9:28 mark. Bucci tied things up with a goal from the doorstep courtesy of a Bucaro assist before Wittenberg’s record-setting assist on McDermott’s goal with 7:06 remaining proved to be the game winner.
Matt Grillo led the Friars with three goals and an assist. Tate Boyce had 10 saves in the loss.
Georgetown advances to the BIG EAST Championship Final on Saturday against the winner of the Denver/Villanova semifinal. Saturday’s BIG EAST Final will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden calling the action and Steve Panarelli providing color commentary. Live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.