MLax: UMass 13, Georgetown 12

[DFW HOYA]

Hoyas fell behind 9-6 and 13-10. Closed to 13-12 with :48 left, had a shot stopped at the end.

[GUHoya07]

ahhhhhhhh, we needed this one!

[Joe Hoya]

Also, the women won the Big East championship for like the 17th straight year with a 16-8 win over UConn.

[FLHoya]

What DFW didn't tell you are the REALLY painful parts:

That after being down 9-6 at the half, Georgetown shut UMass out in the third quarter and tied the game at 9-9 going into the fourth. THEN, went up 10-9 at the 12:13 mark of the fourth. Only to see UMass run off four straight goals to go up 13-10 with 5 minutes to go.

Actually, GU had been down 4-1, 5-2, 6-3, and 8-5 in the first half as well. Basically seemed like a punch-- counterpunch type of deal at the 3-goal margin. Also seemed rather fast paced in terms of scoring despite less than ideal conditions based on the radio feed. Three goals were scored in the final 45 seconds of the first half.

And of course, fittingly in a game where we lose by a single goal, one of the UMass tallies was with 1.2 seconds left in the half, after GU scored with about 15 to go. (Was it not the same type of thing at the end of the GAME that doomed GU in that quarterfinal against Princeton a few years ago?)

But in the end, I suppose all you could ask for is to have a chance to tie at the end. And GU had about 48 seconds worth of possession after calling a timeout, and they got at least two shots off. So that's the breaks.

One of the frustrating things listening on the radio was that GU had been winning faceoffs all day (16-21 through 3 quarters), but UMass won 4-6 between the start of the fourth and the faceoff after they went up 13-10.

Good day for Pete Cannon, five goals and an assist, to follow up another good one against Loyola.

So the whole #3 thing's done for now. I think this probably cost GU a top 4 seed for the tournament also. But on the plus side, they should be favored in the final two games at home and then we'll see how the seedings work themselves out.

[JimmyHoya]

Grrr....this one hurts.

I hope we still have a shot at at least ECAC title so we can keep that strike alive...

[WilsonBlvdHoya]

UMass will have to lose for a shot at ECAC title. GU plays Rutgers next, which is never an easy game either. GU will probably be seeded 5-7 in NCAAs. Will have to work hard to get to Philly!!

The women, OTOH, won their 29th consecutive BE lax game (haven't lost in BE comp. yet) and are in the NCAAs!! They host James Madison, another difficult opponent, this week....

[nychoya3]

Would have liked to see this one, as it sounds like a very well played and tightly contested game. Definitely a tough loss, and one that will make the path to the final four much tougher. Hopefully we can avoid meeting Duke or Hopkins in the second round, as it's hard to like our chances against either of those teams.

On the positive side of ledger (at least long term), a buddy on the team told me before the year that he thought we had more talent on attack than we've had in a long time. The play of the Cannon brothers has borne that out - and really, how could you not be good at lacrosse with the last name Cannon? Considering that we bring back Casey, Denihan, Cannon(s), and others next season, the future looks pretty good up front. Now, if we can just find another Andy Corno and Rich D'Andrea, we're golden. I'm not even going to mention Brodie, because that's just too much to ask. Some non-Hoya fans on Laxpower have listed him among the best long stick mids in HISTORY.

[CTHoya08]

I heard a rumor that there is a kid who walked on and is redshirting this year, who was consistently beating Corno in faceoffs in practice...

[hoya4ever]

I don't know if he is a walk on or how good he is but this is our other faceoff specialist: Christiaan Trunz. Read his roster profile on www.guhoyas.com. Interesting rumor though. I will ask around.