March 18, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's lacrosse team (2-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) opens its home schedule on Saturday, March 19 when they take on Providence College (2-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Multi-Sport Field, beginning at 1 p.m. It will be the fifth time the schools have met, with the Hoyas holding a 3-1 series edge.
The Hoyas and Friars will be broadcasted on Verizon Fios1 in the Washington Metropolitan area. Fans can also view a live broadcast via HoyaVision on - www.GUHoyas.com - with Chuck Timanus providing the play-by-play.
Georgetown will look to bounce back from consecutive losses to Harvard and No. 1 Syracuse. The Hoyas fell to the Orange 9-8 in overtime in last week's Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Sophomore attack Davey Emala (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) scored five goals against the Orange, while junior midfielder Gerry Reilly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Xavier) scored a game-tying goal with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Senior goalie Jack Davis (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) made 13 saves in the loss, holding the Orange to a season-low nine goals.
Offensively, the Hoyas have been led by Emala, who is first in the BIG EAST and second in the nation, averaging 3.40 goals per game. Emala has scored three or more goals in four of five games this season, including his last three games. He is one three-goal game away from tying Mark Murphy's school record of four consecutive games with three or more goals. Junior middie Zack Angel (Park Hall, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) and sophomore Travis Comeau (Alberta, Canada/The Hill Academy) each have eight goals on the season for GU.
The Hoyas man-up offense has also been among the nation's best converting at a .414 clip (12-for-29) through five games.
Through five games the Hoyas lead the BIG EAST in ground balls per game (34) and caused turnovers per game (10.40). Junior middie Brian Tabb (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) is second in the conference, averaging 5.20 ground balls per game.
ABOUT PROVIDENCE: Providence will play its fifth game of the season, also entering Saturday's action with back-to-back losses, falling 9-3 to Quinnipiac and 14-6 to No. 10 UMass.
The Friars are a youthful team, dressing 21 freshman, compared to just 20 sophomores, juniors and seniors combined. Freshman Ryan Shaw has been among the nation's best in the face-off circle, winning .721 (49-of-68) of his face-offs. He has also picked up 8.75 ground balls per game, the top number in the conference and the fourth best in the country.
Freshman Andrew Barton leads the squad in goals (5) and assists (5).
