Feb. 20, 2009
WASHIINGTON, D.C. - 2009 Men's Lacrosse Preview
Some of the names have changed, but for the Hoya lacrosse program, the goals and the vision each season have stayed the same.
The 2009 Georgetown teams once again enters the season as the preseason favorite to win the ECAC Lacrosse League and is ranked No. 6 in the country in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 25.
The Hoyas will look to reclaim the ECAC League title - which the program has won six times since the league was formed in 2000 - and qualify for the NCAA Tournament with the hope of winning a national championship.
They are lofty goals, but after falling short in its quest to win the ECAC League and having a string of 11-straight NCAA Tournament appearances broken in 2008, Georgetown enters 2009 determined to not let that happen again.
Despite the loss of two key seniors on the offensive side - Brendan Cannon and Andrew Baird - as well as a two-time league Defensive Player of the Year (Jerry Lambe), Head Coach Dave Urick and his staff are hopeful that with a lot of hard work and determination they can win their seventh ECAC title in 10 years and make a run for the program's second Final Four appearance.
This year's team returns six starters from last year - led by senior captains Jake Samperton and Chris Taylor - and has 39 letterwinners back from a team that went 9-4 and finished 5-2 in the ECAC. Eight of the team's top 10 point scorers are back and many of the players on the team experienced big wins last year, such as the win over previously unbeaten and then-No. 1 Duke.
In its last year in the ECAC League before the start of the BIG EAST Conference in 2010, the Georgetown men's lacrosse team hopes to make a run at another league title and contend for the national championship.
Attack
The front line of the attack will be without the services of three-time All-American Brendan Cannon, who was one of the top scorers in Georgetown history, as well as Andrew Baird, who graduated as the No. 15-ranked goal scorer in program history.
Urick will turn to a pair of juniors to lead the attack this season in Craig Dowd and Rickey Mirabito. Dowd finished second on the team in scoring last year, tallying 37 points on 14 goals and a team-high 23 assists. He gained valuable experience playing alongside Cannon last year and during the summer was named the Attackman of the Year as he led the United States Under-19 National Team to the World Championship.
Mirabito, a two-time ECAC Rookie of the Week, selection, emerged as a big threat on the offensive end last year, finishing fifth on the team in points with 20. Mirabito, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime at Navy last year, finished fourth on the team with 15 goals.
Sophomore Ryan Shuler, who had a strong fall season, will push for a starting spot after appearing in 10 games last year and registering three assists.
Sophomore transfer Brett Weiss will compete for a starting spot on attack and will be pushed by sophomore David Shriver and freshman Zack Angel. Weiss appeared in 16 games as a freshman at Maryland, scoring four goals and adding four assists for eight points.
Providing additional depth at attack will be freshmen Adam Donahue, C-Jay Engelke and Colby Wilson.
Midfield
The midfield should be one of the most experienced and productive units for the Hoyas entering the 2009 season.
Last year, Samperton made a smooth transition from the attack to the midfield. A smart and steady player, he will provide valuable leadership as a captain and finished with five goals and five assists for 10 points a year ago.
Taylor, who enters his second season as a captain and was the first junior to lead a GU team since 1999, is one of the best defensive midfielders in the country and will lead that unit.
Senior Todd Cochran, who was named the team's Most Improved Player last year, is coming off his best season, when he scored 10 goals and had one assist for 11 points. A hard-nosed player, Cochran ran with the first team midfield in the second half of the 2008 season.
Junior Andrew Brancaccio has been among the top goal scorers in his first two years. He was an honorable mention All-American as a freshman after scoring 20 goals, and he followed that up by earning first-team All-ECAC honors after starting all 13 games and finishing with 20 points in 2008. Senior Dan D'Agnes, who returns for his fifth season, will help to anchor the unit. D'Agnes finished sixth on the team in scoring with nine goals and three assists for 12 points.
Junior Chris Schuville is one of the best defensive midfielders on the team and he will be a big part of the Hoyas transition game in 2009. Schuville scored six goals during the 2008 season. Another junior, Eric Reinhardt, is coming off a strong fall season and plays well at both ends of the field.
Junior Scott Kocis, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, should be able to make a significant impact upon his return. He had a strong freshman season in 2007, scoring seven goals and an assist for eight points, and will compete for a starting spot in 2009.
Sophomore Max Seligmann is a smart and steady player who plays well at both ends of the field. He had a solid freshman season - appearing in 13 games and starting eight times while scoring five goals and four assists for nine points - and will play a major role this season.
Senior Cullen Molinari will add depth at midfield. He appeared in 13 games last year, scoring one goal and adding three assist for four points.
Senior Stoddie Nibley will push for minutes this season, while sophomore Stu Shannon will also be available to contribute when needed.
Freshmen Francis McDonough, Neil McGroarty, Gerry Reilly, Henry VanWagenberg, Kurt Watkinson and Brian Will will look to contribute at the midfield and gain experience in 2009.
Specialists
Georgetown will turn to senior Dan Vinson and sophomore Brian Tabb at the face-off 'X' this season. The duo split time at that spot last year and Vinson finished the season as the primary face-off man.
Vinson, a fifth-year senior, walked on to the team and is one of the hardest workers on the team. He saw limited action in 2007, but his hard work and effort paid off in 2008, as he finished the season taking 161 face-offs. Vinson won 51.6 percent of his face-offs (83-of-161) and will push for the starting spot once again.
Tabb, a former two-time All-Met selection out of Georgetown Prep, will battle for the starting spot with Vinson. He won 43.7 percent of his face-offs last season (45-of-103).
Senior Michael Shotwell, a former football player, saw limited action last season and will push for time in 2009.
Defense
One of the biggest spots to fill will be the shoes left vacant by the graduation of First Team All-American and two-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Year Jerry Lambe.
The coaching staff is confident the Hoya defense will again rank among the best in the country with senior Stevie Bauer and a contingent of juniors who have gained valuable playing experience the last two years.
Bauer appeared in every game last season and started the final seven games of his sophomore season and the final three games of his junior year. An athletic defenseman with good stick skills and a solid one-on-one defender, Bauer will look to expand his role in 2009. Last year, he picked up 20 groundballs.
Also back will be honorable mention All-American and First Team All-ECAC selection Barney Ehrmann. Ehrmann had a standout freshman season and continued that last year, when he led the team with 52 groundballs.
Starting alongside him will be junior Chris Nixon, who was selected as the Preseason ECAC Rookie of the Year in 2007. Nixon started every game last season and finished third on the team in groundballs with 31. Both Ehrmann and Nixon can play up top or down low and will be major factors in the Hoya defense.
Junior Eric Bicknese will battle for a starting spot this season and will see time on the man-down unit.
Sophomore Bobby Boyle, coming off a 2008 summer in which he was a member of the United State U-19 World Games gold medal team, will compete for time as a close defenseman or long-stick middie.
Sophomore Dan Hostetler, who appeared in 12 games last season and had three assists, made the switch from midfield to defense and he will look to contribute at long-stick middie or close defense.
Senior Phil Muffarij, sophomores Jon Schoen and Andrew Walls, as well as freshmen Robert Koger and Patrick Schmitz will look compete for time.
Goalie
After turning to Miles Kass the previous two years in the pipes, the Hoyas will feature a new look with junior Jack Davis taking over the starting role in goal. Davis is a very athletic goalie with good ball-stopping ability and quickness.
A strong core of capable players will be waiting in the wings to back up Davis in senior Christian McCormack, sophomore Matt Winter and freshman C.T. Fisher.
Schedule
Georgetown's 2009 slate features many of the same names as it has in recent years, along with many of the same challenges. The schedule for 2009, like in recent years, features games against six teams ranked in the top-20 in the country, three at home and three on the road.
The home slate at the Multi-Sport Field includes games against No. 2 Syracuse, No. 11 Navy and No. 19 Loyola, as well as a non-league mid-week contest against Harvard and ECAC conference games against Fairfield, Rutgers and Penn State.
The Hoyas are also slated to appear on television several times during the season. The season opener at Maryland will appear on ESPNU, contests at the Multi-Sport Field against Navy (March 28) and Loyola (April 11) will be broadcast by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, while games against Rutgers and Penn State will appear on Verizon FiOS.
2009 Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook Preseason Poll
Rk. School (2008 Record)
1. Virginia (14-4)
2. Syracuse (16-2)
3. Maryland (10-6)
4. Cornell (11-4)
5. Johns Hopkins (11-6)
6. Georgetown (9-4)
7. Duke (18-2)
8. North Carolina (8-6)
9. Notre Dame (14-3)
10. UMBC (12-4)
11. Navy (10-6)
12. Albany (8-8)
13. Brown (11-3)
14. Princeton (7-6)
15. Hofstra (10-6)
16. Denver (10-7)
17. Colgate (11-6)
18. Bucknell (10-5)
19. Loyola (7-7)
20. Delaware (9-7)
2009 Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll
Rk. School (2008 Record)
1. Virginia (14-4)
2. Syracuse (16-2)
3. Maryland (10-6)
4. Johns Hopkins (11-6)
5. North Carolina (8-6)
6. Cornell (11-4)
7. Notre Dame (14-3)
8. Duke (18-2)
9. Princeton (7-6)
10. Navy (10-6)
11. Georgetown (9-4)
12. UMBC (12-4)
13. Brown (11-3)
14. Ohio State
15. Hofstra (10-6)
16. Loyola (7-7)
17. Denver (10-7)
18. Albany (8-8)
19. Colgate (11-6)
20. Bucknell (10-5)
20. Delaware (9-7)
