It was a tough day for #13 Denver men’s lacrosse as the #14 Georgetown Hoyas handed the Pioneers a 17-5 defeat to open Big East conference play. It was the worst defeat since February of 2009, when North Carolina defeated DU 20-7.
The crowd numbered over 2,000 fans at Peter Barton Stadium as the Pios opened up the scoring with 6th-year Rory Graham finding the net at 9:43. That would be the only lead for Denver the rest of the day. Georgetown would tie the game and take a 2-1 lead before Senior Chase Bruno would tie the game at 2-2. After that score, Georgetown took control, and the first period ended 4-2 Hoyas. The first period was the most balanced, with both teams getting six shots on goal and Georgetown having an 11-10 margin on shots.
Georgetown started dominating in the second quarter with a 15-5 margin on shots and 11-3 shots on goal. The Hoyas were controlling possession and taking hard shots. Rory Graham and Sophomore Chris Merageas each scored. It was 11-4 GU at halftime. The Hoyas were making noise as they headed to the locker room.
Denver was blanked in the third quarter with Georgetown leading 15-7 on shots and 10-2 shots on goal. The game was over except for the margin. It was the Hoyas 14-4 after 45 minutes.
DU would remain quiet well into the fourth quarter with the Hoyas adding three more goals before Sophomore Walt Muir would put the ball in the net with just over one minute left. Georgetown 17, Denver 5.
Denver lacked a strong defensive effort as GU had a 50-27 shot margin for the game and a 34-16 shots on goal advantage. Faceoffs were even at 13-13. Although time of possession statistics are not publicly available, Georgetown dominated.
The Pios next travel to Villanova for a Sat. April 4 game.
The defensive breakdowns were brutal. DU gave Georgetown time and space to uncork some easy shots/goals. DU was also caught ball-watching on some dunks. Especially tough to watch G-Town celebrate and taunt the crowd. Gut check time to sort things out during the rest of BE play.
DU didn’t have enough shots on goal (16) to mathematically win the game. Pretty pathetic performance
Ugly, embarrassing game.
This is the kind of game that makes old men out of coaches.
‘Nothing cleanses the soul like getting the Hell kicked out of you” – Woody Hayes
17-5. At home. Humiliation on a scale we have not seen for a long time.
Everything needs to be questioned – coaching, recruiting, lineup, talent, effort level. This is regression.
I would only change the order of your list. Recruiting, coaching, lineup, talent, effort level. Recruiting is key and DU has been at the back end of the line for about 5 or 6 years. The offense is lacking real scorers. Malawsky is good but in the “glory” days in 2015 he would have been on the second midfield. So, let’s get to the core problem, it’s the coaching and recruiting staff.
The school and the team should be embarrassed. The offense today on the rare occasion, they would bring the ball into the Georgetown zone appeared confused, and lacked continuity. They were dominated on faceoffs. The defense which spent a good part of the day unsuccessfully trying to defend the Georgetown attack appeared disorganized and frankly afraid of the Georgetown offense. By the second quarter DU appeared as though they were trying to get the game over with. They were not trying to win. By the middle of the third quarter they appeared winded and gassed. I never begrudge a team for losing a game. I begrudge teams that do not give their best effort from start to finish.
The train is officially off the tracks. Same problems seem to happen every game. We are losing the possession game. Whether it be face offs, groundies, turnovers and clears. We are not taking care of the ball.