College Lax Preview: #19 Georgetown (3-1) at Hofstra (2-2)
Suddenly, Georgetown’s recent tough loss against Towson looks much more impressive as the Tigers went on to defeat the number one team in the country, Loyola. After surviving a scare versus Mount Saint Mary’s on Tuesday 13-11, the Hoyas will look to get back on track at Hofstra at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday. The Pride are coming off of two straight one point loses and are looking to pull the upset.
On offense, the Hoyas are led by Senior Daniel Bucaro and Junior Jake Carraway. Bucaro, returning to his home state of New York has scored thirteen goals and added seven assists on the season. Carraway continues his strong season, having already score twelve goals and seven assists this year. Hofstra is led by Junior Ryan Tierney with eleven goals and two assists.
On Defense, the Pride are led by Junior Ryan Kinnard, who has nine forced turnovers on the year. The Hoyas’ Defense is fronted by the duo of Sophomore Gibson Smith and Senior Patrick Aslanian. The two have combined for eighteen forced turnovers on the year. In the cage, Georgetown Sophomore Owen McElroy has save 44 saves on the year for a .500 save percentage. Sophomore Bobby Casey mans the pipes for the pride, with a save percentage of 56%.
Hofstra and Georgetown will be meeting for the ninth time on Saturday with the Hoyas holding a 5-3 series lead. The two teams were supposed to meet in Hempstead last season but the game was cancelled when Georgetown was stuck on their team bus on a New Jersey highway for approximately 18 hours during an ice storm.
This promises to be a close game, as Inside Lacrosse’s computer prediction gives the slight edge to the Hoyas, 13-10. The Hoyas may struggle with faceoffs as the Pride ranks 30th in the nation with a 52% faceoff win percentage. In contrast, the Hoyas are winning faceoffs at a 41% clip. The Hoyas will need to cause turnovers and win ground balls to gain extra possessions. Thus far, Georgetown has not excelled in either area.
If you want to check the game out, you can watch on laxsportsnetwork.com
