Georgetown couldn’t ask for much more than for this season to begin just like the last one.
The Hoyas ended a three-year drought against Maryland in their 2007 season-opener, a victory they then used as a springboard en route to its seventh Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in nine years and another NCAA quarterfinal appearance. Georgetown begins the 2008 season this weekend against the same opponent with nearly the same roster.
“Guys get better year-to-year,” said Hoyas senior attack and ECAC preseason player of the year Brendan Cannon. “But the talent was there last year, and it helps to have the experience back.”
The resulting increased expectations are reflected in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Top-25 poll, where the Hoyas begin at No. 4, a ranking that doesn’t take into account that Georgetown has failed to reach the national semifinals in each of the past six seasons.
But with six of last year’s seven top scorers returning, including Cannon (21 goals, 23 assists), Andrew Baird (20 goals, 10 assists), Andrew Brancaccio (20 goals) and Craig Dowd (17 goals), Hoyas head coach Dave Urick already knows exactly what he’s working with.
“We’ve got a nice situation in attack with a four-man rotation going,” said Urick. “We’ve also moved Jake Samperton (10 goals) to midfield, he’s really adjusted well to that.”
One difficulty has been the scheduling, with Hoyas’ opening faceoff set for the same time as the men’s basketball team tips off across town against Cincinnati. Attendance isn’t expected to be affected at either game.
“They wear suits,” said Cannon. “We just have to show up in a collared shirt. Those guys look sharp when they go down to the Verizon Center.”
