April 22, 2007
Washington, D.C. ,,Ÿ The No. 11 Georgetown University womenÂfs lacrosse team topped No. 19 Connecticut, 15-9 on Sunday to clinch its seventh straight regular-season title. Ten Hoya seniors were recognized prior to the game as the group was playing in its final home game on the Hilltop. Four of those seniors, Brittany Bashuk (Chevy Chase, Md./Stone Ridge), Laura Cipro (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron), Coco Stanwick (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) and Schuyler Sutton (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) scored goals in the win while senior Maggie Koch (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside) made seven saves. Stanwick netted five goals and handed out two assists for seven points, one shy of her career high. Baschuk tallied a hat trick marking the third time this season the fifth year senior has scored at least three goals. Sutton and sophomore Megan Bloomer (Paoli, Pa./ Conestoga) had three points including goals number four and five on the season. Sophomore Bridget Noon (Annapolis, Md./St. Maryfs) recorded three ground balls and two draw controls. With the victory, Georgetown (9-6, 4-1 BE) earns the No. 1 seed in the inaugural BIG EAST Championship and will take on No. 4 Notre Dame (11-5) on Friday, April 27 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The first draw is set for 5:30 p.m. with No. 2 Syracuse (10-4) and No. 3 Rutgers (12-3) squaring off in the second semifinal game 45 minutes after the Hoyas-Irish tilt. The BIG EAST Championship Game is scheduled for Sunday, April 29 at 2:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by CSTV.
The Hoyas held a 19-7 draw control advantage and won all ten draws in the second half. Stanwick notched eight draws while Patty Piotrowicz (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) collected four. Georgetown also outshot the Huskies, 42-19 for the game and held UConn scoreless for two stretches of 14 and eight minutes in the second half. The Hoyas outshot UConn, 23-11 in the opening period and GU got off to a fast start taking a 3-0 lead through the first four minutes of action. Connecticut made it 4-2 at the 20:41 mark on a goal by Kristin Link who raced up the field untouched after a Hoya turnover. The Huskies scored twice more in a four-minute stretch with Shannon Burke and Janet Williams netting markers as the visitors clawed to within 5-4 forcing the Hoyas to call timeout. Immediately after the timeout, Piotrowicz won a draw and Stanwick scored off a terrific feed from Bashuuk at 16:01. Forty five seconds later, Stanwick won another draw and after GU got into the offensive set, sophomore Bunny OfReilly (Blue Bell, Pa./Springside) fed Stanwick for her second goal of the games. Following a free position goal by UConnfs Kristin Link, Stanwick made a pretty offensive move for a hat trick extending the Hoyasfs lead to 8-5 with 10:18 left before halftime. Georgetown took their largest lead of the game, 9-5 at 9:12. Bloomer had a free position opportunity but rifled a pass to Sutton who laced a shot from the left side of the eight-meter fan as Sutton posted her second goal of the game. Georgetown was able to control the possession for the final five-plus minutes of the first half. Link scored with Burke handing out an assist at 28:39 after had an unforced GU turnover at 28:39 but the Hoyas responded scoring the gamefs next three goals for a 12-7 lead with 24:52 to go. Kim McGinty tallied a free position goal for Connecticut with 15 minutes left but the Hoyas won draw after draw in the second period to control the pace. Link finished with three goals while Katy Ryan and Williams netting two goals apiece. Amanda Wilson came off the bench and made nine saves for the Huskies. During their four years, Georgetownfs senior class has helped the team win more than 70 percent of its games with a record of 49-20 overall record, 37-1 in BIG EAST regular-season play. This group has helped the Hoyas advance to the NCAA Tournament three times, advancing to the quarterfinals each year and to the Final Four one time. |
