Hoyas’ bid for upset falls short vs. Orange
BALTIMORE – Gerry Reilly came to Georgetown to play football. But when the junior made a length-of-the-field run and scored Saturday, he gave the Hoyas’ lacrosse team a chance for its biggest victory in four years.
Recommended Stories
Reilly’s spectacular goal with five seconds left sent No. 20 Georgetown to overtime against No. 1 Syracuse in the Face-Off Classic. But in the extra session, an old nemesis, Orange attackman Stephen Keogh, ended the Hoyas’ upset bid. Scoring 2:41 into overtime, the senior gave Syracuse a 9-8 victory at M&T Bank Stadium.
The goal came after Syracuse freshman Chris Daddio (Loudoun Valley) won the overtime faceoff. After committing the turnover that allowed Reilly to score at the end of regulation, senior midfielder Jovan Miller (goal, assist) atoned with a feed to Keogh (four goals, assist), who shot at the feet of Hoyas goalie Jack Davis (nine saves), then celebrated with a belly-flop onto the artificial turf.
“John [Galloway] taught me that,” Keogh quipped, referring to the Orange goalie who had 13 saves.
It was the third straight year that Keogh tallied five points against Georgetown. His scoring has been in the difference in the last four meetings, all decided by three goals or less. As a freshman, Keogh also scored in a 9-8 overtime victory in the District.
“Their defense is really aggressive. We have great dodgers on our team. They go hard to the cage, and they always draw the slide,” Keogh said. “All the guys on our team have great vision and seem to find me.”
Syracuse (4-0) never trailed. But Georgetown (2-3) played perhaps its best game since making its last appearance in the NCAA tournament (2007).
The Hoyas won more ground balls 41-27 and got five goals from sophomore attack Davey Emala, a Gilman grad playing in his hometown.
“We asked these guys to come here with a specific approach to win, not to avoid losing,” Georgetown coach Dave Urick said. “I was awfully proud of what they did.”
After a 16-15 loss at Harvard on Tuesday, Georgetown changed its defensive tactics. Senior Barney Ehrmann and junior Dan Hostetler led a Hoyas unit that held Syracuse to fewer than 11 goals for the first time this season.
“We put in a zone, trying to slow down the game a little bit,” Ehrmann said. “Coaches thought it gave us our best chance to win.”
Syracuse could never shake Georgetown. The Orange went up quickly, 2-0, on goals by Miller and sophomore attack JoJo Marasco (two goals). But the Hoyas answered with back-to-back tallies by Emala, three minutes apart, to tie it late in the first period, and set the tone for the game.
“Georgetown really came ready to play today. They got after the ground balls,” Syracuse coach John Desko said. “We hadn’t seen [the zone]. I think what they had been going through, and playing Syracuse in this kind of venue, they had to make some changes. My hat’s off to their coaching staff for getting them to play differently.”
Keogh took over in the second period, feeding senior midfielder Jeremy Thompson (goal, two assists) for a sidewinder, then scoring to put Syracuse up, 4-2. In the third period, Keogh added two more tallies to counter scores by Georgetown seniors Rickey Mirabito and Brian Casey.
“Georgetown’s a physical team. I think we play better physical as well,” Syracuse long-stick Joel White said. “They always play their best game against us. It was a well-fought game.”
In the fourth period, Emala scored three times, sandwiched around two Syracuse tallied. When Emala scooped up a lose ball and fired a crank shot past Galloway, he made it 8-7 with 2:19 left.
Syracuse looked free and clear when Galloway made a save on a bouncer and cleared in the final minute. But when Miller dropped the ball deep in the Syracuse half, Reilly picked up with 14 seconds left and sprinted against the clock. His shot, over the right shoulder of Galloway, took the game to overtime.
“We didn’t realize he was that fast,” Desko said. “It seemed like every time I looked up, he was on the field, especially in defensive situations. To him to have that kind of juice left at the end of the game, you have to be in really good shape.”
