Georgetown Tops Denver, 12-9, For Second Straight BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Title
Georgetown 12, Denver 9 (PDF) | BIG EAST Championship Stats
DENVER, Colo. – Georgetown became the fourth school to win back-to-back conference tournament titles as the second-seeded Hoyas topped No. 1 seed Denver, 12-9, on Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in the 2019 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep.
Saturday’s title game was a rematch of the 2018 tournament championship. And in a similar fashion, the Hoyas (13-4, 3-2 BIG EAST) once again led from whistle to whistle. Scoring seven goals to Denver’s three in the first half. Denver (10-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) rallied in the second half, outscoring Georgetown 3-1 in the third, but the Hoyas held on in the fourth to maintain the lead and defend their tournament title.
The Hoyas scored five unanswered goals in the opening period.
Georgetown’s 13 wins tied the program record (1999). The Hoyas advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinals that year.
The tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Lucas Wittenberg, had two goals and two assists for Georgetown after a nine-point performance in the semifinal victory over Providence, which included a tournament record eight assists.
Joining Wittenberg on the all-tournament team was junior attacker Jake Carraway, who also finished with a four points (2G, 2A), sophomore defender Gibson Smith and freshman goalie Chris Brandau.
Carraway and teammate senior attacker Daniel Bucaro set the single season goal record for Georgetown with 53. Bucaro also broke the career goal record with four goals in the championship game. Bucaro’s career total is 145, the previous record was Scott Urick (1997-00) with 144. Bucaro also added an assist in the championship game. His two goals at the open of the fourth quarter put the Hoyas back up by four after the Pioneers cut it close in the third, cutting the Georgetown lead to one 7-6 with 7:23 remaining in the period. Carraway’s goal at 4:18 in the third cut the Denver rally short.
Brandau had a championship performance in goal for Georgetown with 15 saves, following a six-save performance in the semifinals. It was only the fifth time this season that Denver was held to less than 10 goals. Smith had seven ground balls and caused three turnovers in the final helping the Hoyas.
Denver was led by Quinn McKone and Alex Simmons who each had two goals. Jack Hannah was the point leader with two goals and three assists. Austin French had three points on a goal and two assists.
With the victory, Georgetown received the BIG EAST Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show will air on ESPNU on Sunday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET. It will be the Hoyas 13th trip overall. Before last season, Georgetown’s last tournament appearance was in 2007.
In Milwaukee, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team also defeated Denver in the title game. The Hoyas won 9-8 in double overtime.
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship All-Tournament Team
Dan Fisher, Villanova, So., M
Keegan Kahn, Villanova, So., A
Matt Grillo, Providence, Fr., A
Colin Keating, Providence, Sr., FO
Matt Neufeldt, Denver, RS-Sr., LSM
Ethan Walker, Denver, Jr., A
Jack Hannah, Denver, So., M
Lucas Wittenberg, Georgetown, Sr., M
Jake Carraway, Georgetown, Jr., A
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, So., D
Chris Brandau, Georgetown, Fr., G
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Most Outstanding Player
Lucas Wittenberg, Georgetown, Sr., M
BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep
Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium
Denver, Colo.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 2
No. 2 Georgetown 13, No. 3 Providence 12
No. 1 Denver 17, No. 4 Villanova 11
Final – Saturday, May 4
No. 2 Georgetown 12, No. 1 Denver 9