Hoyas hamstring Tigers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Something had to give. The men's lacrosse team had never lost to Georgetown, but it had also never won an NCAA Tournament opening-round game that would set up a quarterfinal homecoming at Princeton Stadium.

The Tigers' unbeaten streak came to an end when Brendan Cannon streaked past Tiger senior defense Dan Cocoziello 31 seconds into sudden-death overtime yesterday. Cannon, the Hoyas' top scorer, got underneath Cocoziello, whipped a shot to junior goalie Alex Hewit's off side and lifted Georgetown to a 9-8 win.

In front of nearly 5,000 fans, the No. 6 Hoyas (12-2 overall) sent unseeded Princeton (10-4, 6-1 Ivy League) to its first postseason overtime loss since the 1991 NCAA Tournament.

"It was a great defensive game with two great goalies," head coach Bill Tierney said.

At the outset, however, it didn't look like the game would be a defensive battle. Goergetown gained possession on the opening face-off and immediately put Hewit under pressure, forcing him to make a save in the first minute of the game. Soon after, the Hoyas' Andrew Brancaccio ripped an overhead shot to the top shelf from 10 yards out, giving Georgetown a 1-0 lead.

The lead was short lived, however, as senior midfielder Whitney Hayes scored off a feed from sophomore midfielder Tommy Davis to knot the game at one. Davis snaked around the back of the goal and passed across the face of the goal to Hayes, who sent the ball flying back to Hoya goalie Miles Kass' stick side.

Soon after Hayes' goal, Georgetown's physical game put it a man down after a pushing penalty was called in the Tigers' favor. Off a pass from senior attack Peter Trombino, freshman attack Rob Engelke snapped a quick-stick, crease shot past Kass for the man-up goal to make the score 2-1 in Princeton's favor with seven minutes, 19 seconds to go in the opening quarter.

The Tigers had momentum. Davis once again found himself behind the net, this time spotting Trombino open out in front. Trombino took advantage of the field's artificial turf, counting on a bounce to carry the ball beyond Kass. The goal was the 97th of Trombino's career, which tied him for ninth place in Princeton's all-time goal standings.

As the second quarter opened, Georgetown's Craig Dowd brought the Hoyas back to within one with a shot high on Hewit's stick side.

Up 3-2, Princeton took control of the game for the next few minutes, stealing the ball back from the Hoyas right after an interception caused the Tigers to lose the ball. Georgetown, though, would be the next team to strike.

Andrew Baird snagged a pass from Andrew Brancaccio and shot the ball past Hewit to tie the match for the second time.

Shortly thereafter, the Hoyas were called for another pushing penalty and Princeton took advantage, snatching back the lead once again. The Tigers were patiently working the ball around the perimeter when Trombino saw sophomore midfielder Mark Kovler open near the top of the box. Both had seen solid defensive coverage all game, but with the Hoyas a man down, Kovler had a clear path to the goal. He took a few steps to build momentum and fired a shot past Kass.

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Georgetown, though, answered at 3:33 remaining in the half when Ryan Still got a five-yard lead on his defender, grabbed a pass and nailed a shot from the crease to tie the game again.

Georgetown carried that momentum into the second half, scoring the last three goals of its four-goal run after halftime. The final goal of the streak, which put the Hoyas up 7-4, came while senior defense John Bennett was gesturing to the referee that he needed to be sent off the field with a broken stick. The official decided to let the game continue and sent Bennett off for equipment failure following the Georgetown score.

The Tigers responded with a run of their own, answering the Hoyas' three early third-period goals with a trio of their own. An underhand shot from Trombino earned him sole ownership of ninth place on the career goals list, while a quick-stick from Kovler and a crease-feed goal by Engelke tied the game.

Georgetown ended Princeton's run with a grounder past Hewit's stick side seven seconds before the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, however, Princeton tied the match for the final time when senior midfielder Scott Sowanick fought through a mass of Hoya defenders to flick the ball into the net, tying the score at eight.

One last Tiger offensive maneuver late in the game proved nervewracking for the Georgetown defense, as Tierney called a timeout with 1:24 remaining and designed a play clearly intended to leave no time for Georgetown to come back. A double team on Hayes — the intended recipient of a pass — resulted in a turnover with eight seconds left, effectively ending the regulation action.

The Tigers and Hoyas went scoreless for the final 13:07 of regulation, sending the game into its short-lived overtime.