Box Score PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Georgetown University's top-seeded men's lacrosse team defeated fourth seed Denver 11-8 on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2026 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championship, presented by JEEP. The Hoyas improve to 9-4 on the year and advance to Saturday's title game while the Pioneers fall to 6-8 overall.
 
Hoya Highlights

• Jake Bickel and Jack Schubert led the Hoyas with three goals each while Liam Connor had two goals and two assists.
• Joe Cesare and Lucas Dudemaine both had a goal and an assist, Rory Connor Scored once and Evan MacFarland, Natty Mason and Kevin Miller each had lone assists.
• Defensively, Robert Plath had two caused turnovers and four ground balls, MacFarland had four and both Ty Banks and Charlie McGurrin collected three.
• Ross Prince went 13-for-19 (.684) on faceoffs with seven ground balls.
• In goal, Anderson Moore (8-4) posted a .619 save percentage after collecting 13 saves on the night.

How it Happened

• Georgetown struck quickly to open the game, taking advantage of a scrum off the faceoff for a Rory Connor goal just 18 seconds in. A slow-paced quarter ensued before the Pioneers scored goals at the 9:02 and 4:26 marks to take a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes of action.
• Scoring continued to be at a premium in the second. Georgetown knotted things up at 2-2 at the 9:43 mark courtesy of Bickel's first goal and added another five minutes later to retake the lead 3-2. Denver kept the pace, evening the score at 3-3 with 1:18 to play but the Blue & Gray scored with 16 seconds remaining in the half to take the 4-3 lead into the break.
• Coming out of the break, Georgetown's offense came alive as the Hoyas outscored DU 5-1 in the third. Four different Hoyas scored in the frame, including a pair of goals each from Bickel, to take a 9-4 lead after three.
• Two goals from GU in the fourth, 44 seconds apart at 11:50 and 11:06 put Georgetown up 11-4. Denver mounted a late comeback, scoring four unanswered goals in the final nine minutes of the fourth but it wasn't enough as Georgetown secured its eighth BIG EAST Finals appearance in as many seasons.

Denver Notes

• Marek Tzagournis led the Pioneers with two goals and two assists on the night.
• Luke Smeader went 9-for-20 (.450) on faceoffs with four ground balls.
• Defensively, Russell Overly had two caused turnovers and five ground balls.
• In goal, Grayson Manning (6-8) had 13 saves in the loss.

Georgetown Notes

• Liam Connor moved into 11th-place all-time in single season points, passing Mark Murphy ('90), Fulton Bayman (MiM'25), Dylan Watson (B'22) and Scott Urick (C'00) with 66.

Up Next
The Hoyas advance to Saturday's title game in the 2026 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championship, Presented by JEEP.