Feb. 15, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown men's lacrosse team enters the 2011 season determined to make the NCAA tournament and win the BIG EAST title.
The Hoyas, who have missed the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons, after advancing to at least the quarterfinals for eight of the nine previous years, will also be tasked with replacing five All BIG EAST caliber performers. The Hoyas will not be without the talent to do so, as senior long pole Barney Ehrmann, who returns from injury and sophomore Travis Comeau, the leading freshman goal scorer in Georgetown lacrosse history, were both preseason All BIG EAST selections.
The squad also features a strong corps of senior captains, including Dan Hostetler, Rickey Mirabito, Max Seligmann, David Shriver and Ryan Shuler, for a team that went 5-1 and finished in second place in the first year of BIG EAST men's lacrosse.
Dave Urick returns at the helm for his 22nd season on the Hilltop. Urick, who is the all-time winningest active coach in NCAA lacrosse has compiled 331 wins overall and 209 at Georgetown through his storied career.
Attack: Georgetown will have some firepower in its attack unit with two of its top three goal scorers returning, in graduate student Rickey Mirabito (24 goals, five assists) and sophomore Travis Comeau (25 goals, 5 assists) coming back to the Hilltop.
Comeau, an All BIG EAST Preseason Team selection will look to build on a rookie season that saw him become the leading freshmen goal-scorer in Georgetown lacrosse history, with 25 goals. Comeau, a left-handed goal-scorer, started seven games last season and should be a mainstay at attack.
Mirabito returns for his final season after scoring 24 goals last season and 62 over his last three. Last season, Mirabito finished second in the conference in goals per game (2.40) and points per game (3.20) in five BIG EAST games.
Sophomore Zac Guy will move to attack after tallying 11 assists as a midfielder during his freshman year. The Hoyas will hope for Guy's playmaking abilities to shine through while on the field with scoring threats Comeau and Mirabito . Sophomore Davey Emala, who scored six goals and proved to be a well-rounded player as a freshman, is expected to see minutes at attack.
The Hoyas will have depth in the form of David Shriver, who will also compete for time on the extra-man unit, as well as junior Adam Donahue and freshman Jeff Fountain.
Midfield: GU will be tasked with replacing All BIG EAST middies Andrew Brancaccio, Scott Kocis and Chris Schuville, but will able to do so with a mix of experience and youth. Max Seligmann, an athletic, two-way midfielder scored 14 goals last season and is the Hoyas third-leading returning scorer. Seligmann brings experience to what will be a young midfield unit.
Sophomores Brian Casey, the younger brother of former Hoya standout Trevor Casey, and Dan McKinney will compete to fill out the rest of the starting midfield line. Junior Zack Angel, who scored seven goals last season and was the team's 2009 freshman of the year, will also compete to fill out the rest of the starting midfield line.
The Hoyas second line will include senior Stu Shannon, whose shooting range and hard shot will also earn him time on the Hoyas' extra-man unit. Ryan Shuler will again move from attack to midfield and sophomore Jason McFadden will compete along with senior Brett Weiss, who will move between attack and midfield throughout the season. Depth in the midfield will be provided by juniors Brian Will and Henry Van Wagenberg.
Junior Gerry Reilly and graduate student Matt Sutherland, a transfer from Cornell, will be counted on to be leaders at defensive middie. Junior Kurt Watkinson will also see time, while junior Neil McGroarty and freshman John Wujciak will also compete for playing time. Junior Francis McDonough could also become a factor at defensive middie as he recovers from surgery in the offseason. .
Defense: The Hoyas have traditionally had one of the most athletic defenses in the country. The 2011 edition should be no different, as the unit should be experiences and physically imposing with seniors Barney Ehrmann (6-6, 230), Dan Hostetler (6-2, 205) and Bobby Boyle (6-2, 210)
Ehrmann returns as one of the best long-stick players in the nation. Ehrmann, a 6-6, 230 pound former All- American is an exceptional athlete, who will play close defense and long stick middie (LSM).
Hostetler, one of the most athletic players in the country, will play close defense and could also see time at long stick middie. Boyle returns after sitting out 2010 due to injury and could be a key part of the defense becoming a cohesive unit. Boyle has proved to be a very good off-ball defender and team defender.
Sophomore Brennan Bicknese also returns after gaining valuable minutes as a freshman on close defense. Chris Nourse also gained experience as a freshman and is poised to earn minutes at close defense and LSM.
Patrick Murray, Tyler Knarr, Robert Koger, John Schoen and Pat Schmitz will also provide depth on defense.
Goalie: Senior Jack Davis returns with a clean bill of health, after being hampered by injury during the 2010 season. Despite playing hurt through the better part of last season, Davis led Georgetown to six wins, playing in nine games. In 2009, Davis started all 14 games, finishing the season with an 8.49 goals against average.
CT Fisher and Matt Winter will both compete with Davis to start and earn the backup role. Fisher started five games and played in nine during the 2010 season, holding opponents to 9.66 goals per game and recording three victories.
Specialists: Senior Brian Tabb, returns to the face-off circle and could establish himself as one of the best in the nation. Tabb, whose .549 face-off percentage was second in the BIG EAST and 22nd in the NCAA, also led the BIG EAST and tied for seventh in the nation averaging 6.14 ground balls per game. Tabb is currently seventh in Georgetown history with 219 career face-off wins.
Georgetown will have the luxury of depth at the face-off X, with redshirt freshman Tyler Knarr providing another strong face-off option, as does sophomore Patrick Murray. Both long pole players, along with Matt Sutherland will push to be the first or second face-off option for the Hoyas.
Schedule: Georgetown will play five road games to open the season, a task that could prove daunting, but one the Blue & Gray are looking forward to.
During that opening stretch, the Hoyas will play two games in NFL Stadiums, opening the season in the Sunshine Classic on February 20 with second-year program Jacksonville at Everbank Field, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Georgetown will also host Syracuse as part of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. on March 12, which will be broadcast on ESPNU. Nine of the Hoyas' 14 games in 2011 will be played against opponents that finished the 2010 season ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll, giving fans a look at some of the top competition in the country. The Hoyas first home game is slated for March 19 against BIG EAST opponent Providence College. Georgetown's home schedule will also include three games under the lights of MSF, including Navy (Friday, April 1), Loyola (Md.) (Saturday, April 16) and Villanova (Saturday, May 7). They will also host Yale (Saturday, April 23), and Villanova (Saturday, May 7). Once again, Georgetown will have each of its home games televised during the 2011 season, playing Yale on MASN, while each of the remaining games will be broadcast on Verizon Fios1.
Two of the Hoyas eight road games will appear on the ESPN family of networks. The annual game with local-rival Maryland (Feb. 25) will appear on ESPNU, while they will also appear on ESPNU when they travel to South Bend, Ind. on April 10 to take on Notre Dame. Georgetown will also travel to face St. John's (Saturday, March 5), Harvard (Tuesday, March 8), Duke (Saturday, March 26) and Mount Saint Mary's (Tuesday, April 5).
