WASHINGTON – Georgetown University's men's lacrosse team opens the 2021 campaign at No. 16/18 Villanova on Sunday at 1 p.m. The No. 8/9 Hoyas face the Wildcats in the BIG EAST opener, the first of a home-and-home round robin conference schedule this season.
ABOUT GEORGETOWN
• Georgetown returns 35 letterwinners from 2020 and brings 12 new faces to the roster.
• The Hoyas open the season ranked No. 8 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll and No. 9 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• Five Hoyas were named Preseason All-BIG EAST, including attackman
Jake Carraway and defenseman
Gibson Smith as Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
• Long-stick midfielder
Alex Mazzone, goalie
Owen McElroy and faceoff specialist
James Reilly also garnered Preseason All-BIG EAST team recognition.
• Georgetown went 6-0 last year before the season was canceled because of COVID-19.
• Three returning Hoyas scored at least 10 goals last season, including Carraway (23G, 11A),
Dylan Watson (23G, 2) and
Declan McDermott (10G, 4A).
• In 2020, the Hoyas led the nation in scoring defense (6.33) and scoring margin (10.17) while ranking second overall in clearing (.934). Georgetown's defense allowed just one team to score more than 10 goals on the season and held opponents to under five goals three different times.
ABOUT VILLANOVA
• Villanova opens its season against the Hoyas after its scheduled opener against Delaware was canceled because of COVID-19 related issues with the Blue Hens program.
• The Wildcats open the season ranked No. 16 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll and No. 18 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• Villanova was selected to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, behind Denver and Georgetown.
• Midfielder Matt Campbell and defenseman Pat Kennedy were both named Preseason All-BIG EAST.
• Villanova returns four double-digit goal scorers including Keegan Khan (14G, 12A), Patrick Daly (14G, 8A), Corey McManus (13G, 2A) and Campbell (12G, 9A) from a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Georgetown vs. Villanova rivalry is one of the longest in program history with its 36th showdown taking place on Sunday.
• Villanova holds a 20-15 all-time advantage but the Hoyas have won the last three and four of the last six dating back to 2015.
• Georgetown topped the Wildcats 16-13 in the last meeting in 2018 at Cooper Field while winning twice at Villanova Stadium in 2018.
HOW TO WATCH
• Sunday's game will be streamed live on Nova Nation All-Access.
• Links to the video and live stats are available on
www.GUHoyas.com.
NEXT FOR THE HOYAS
• Georgetown continues BIG EAST play as it welcomes St. John's to the Hilltop on Saturday, February 27 at noon. The Red Storm are currently receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse media poll.
--
All Georgetown men's lacrosse home games are currently scheduled to be played at Cooper Field. In accordance with Washington, D.C. regulations which limit the size of in-person gatherings, fans are regrettably not permitted to attend home games at this time.
