2010 PREVIEW The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team enters the 2010 season with three goals in mind. The first goal is for the Hoyas to contend for the inaugural BIG EAST Conference championship. The second goal is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The third, and ultimate goal, is to win a national championship. In order to reach those first two goals, Georgetown will face significant challenges and a schedule that is one of the toughest in the country. As the 2010 college lacrosse season dawns, so does the first year of the newly-formed BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Conference. After playing for nine years in the ECAC Lacrosse League, the Hoyas will join the eight-team BIG EAST Conference. While the schedule will not change much – traditional rivals such as Syracuse, Navy, Duke and Maryland dot the slate as do new BIG EAST foes in Notre Dame, Providence and Villanova – the formation of the conference automatically places Georgetown in the toughest grouping of teams in the country. Georgetown will also be seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2007 season, when the Hoyas advanced to the Quarterfinals for the sixth-straight year as the program made its 11thconsecutive appearance in the postseason. While they are lofty goals, the excitement of the BIG EAST Lacrosse Conference combined with making it back to the NCAA Tournament, has Georgetown working hard and ready to go. Despite the loss of co-captains Jake Samperton and Chris Taylor to graduation and the loss of an honorable mention All-American defenseman (Stevie Bauer), Head Coach Dave Urick and his staff are confident that with eight starters returning and a strong recruiting class those goals can be reached. This year’s team returns 36 letterwinners, including senior captains Craig Dowd, Barney Ehrmann and Scott Kocis. The Hoyas top four scorers – Dowd, Kocis, redshirt junior Rickey Mirabito and senior Andrew Brancaccio – all return to the lineup, as well as Ehrmann, an All-American defenseman in 2008, and several key players who made significant contributions last year.
ATTACK The return of senior Craig Dowd on attack provides Georgetown a veteran leader on offense. Dowd led the team in scoring last year, scoring 10 goals and handing out a team-leading 23 assists, which ranked among the top-20 in the country. A Second Team All-ECAC selection last year, Dowd ranks 11th all-time at Georgetown with 53 career assists. Joining him up front will be senior Rickey Mirabito, who scored a team-high 23 goals and was tied for second on the team in scoring with 29 points. In his second year as a starter at attack last year, Mirabito had seven multi-point games and six multi-goal games last year. Junior Ryan Shuler and freshman Travis Comeau will press for time as the third starting attackman
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for the team this season. Shuler started eight games last year and finished the season with six goals and four assists for 10 points. Comeau is a crafty left-handed attackman who has a nose for the goal. Comeau comes to Georgetown from The Hill Academy, where he was coached by former Hoya All-American Brodie Merrill, Juniors David Shriver and Brett Weiss will compete for time on the attack as well as on extra-man. Shriver has gained valuable experience in his first two years and appeared in seven games last season, finishing with two goals. Weiss transferred to Georgetown from Maryland last season and appeared in 12 games, finishing the season with two assists. Sophomores Adam Donahue and C-Jay Engelke, as well as freshmen Brian Casey and Davey Emala, add quality depth to the position.
MIDFIELD The midfield should be one of the most experienced and productive units for the Hoyas entering the 2010 season with a pair of seniors, Andrew Brancaccio and Scott Kocis, expected to lead the way. Kocis earned First Team All-ECAC honors last year after missing his sophomore year due to injuries. A big, strong player at 6-4, 215 pounds, Kocis finished the season tied for second on the team in scoring with 29 points. He was second on the team with 21 goals and was named the recipient of the Gewirz Award as the team’s Outstanding Offensive Player. Another big, strong midfielder is the 6-5, 210-pound Brancaccio, who possesses one of the hardest shots
2010 GEORGETOWN MEN’S LACROSSE
rickey mirabito