Andrew Brancaccio’s offensive output technically was in decline by his second game. That’s what happens when the nation’s No. 1 recruit opens his career with a hat trick, as the Georgetown freshman did in the Hoyas’ season-opening win over Maryland.
Brancaccio posted three multi-goal performances and was held scoreless just twice in the next nine games, but he was starting to get frustrated.
“I was having trouble with my shot and wasn’t hitting the goal as much,” said Brancaccio, who turned the corner last weekend, scoring three second-half goals in a come-from-behind 10-8 win against Loyola. “Once I started hitting the goal, they just started going in. It was a lot more fun playing this week than the past games.”
The clutch play earned him Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) rookie of the week, the first in what is expected to be a long list of honors for the midfielder from Georgetown Prep.
“We’ve never really had somebody who can rip from the outside as much as he can consistently,” said senior midfielder Trevor Casey, also a teammate of Brancaccio’s with the Little Hoyas.
“The thing that impressed me the most is the types of shots that he took,” said Hoyas head coach Dave Urick. “[Brancaccio] obviously has tremendous velocity, but he’s also got to put it in good spots, and he did that three times in a row.”
A corps of first-year players — the nation’s top recruiting class — are making their mark for Georgetown this spring, including midfielders Craig Dowd (nine goals, three assists), Scott Kocis (four goals, one assist) and Spencer Gantsoudes, and defenders Chris Nixon and Barney Ehrmann.
With 15 goals and a team-high 62 shots, Brancaccio is the group’s biggest star and could be the key to getting the fifth-ranked Hoyas (9-2, 4-0 ECAC) past the NCAA quarterfinals, where their season has ended the last five years.
Brancaccio knew that by playing for his high school’s big brother, he would represent much more than himself.
“Going into college I owed it to my coach in high school and people in the Prep community to go to college, to have a good season and not let them down,” said Brancaccio. “It would feel weird and different if I just went into college and didn’t play and didn’t contribute.”
Hardwood basics
» A multi-sport athlete in high school, Andrew Brancaccio played one year at Georgetown Prep with current Hoyas center Roy Hibbert.
» Georgetown lacrosse coach Dave Urick says there are plenty of lessons from Hoyas basketball that can be applied to defense and transition play in lacrosse.
“I try to watch our basketball team practice whenever I can,” said Urick, “I try to take drills that they’re doing and adapt them to what we do. It’s pretty helpful.”
