April 25, 2008

Washington, D.C. - The No. 4-ranked Georgetown University men's lacrosse team travels to New Jersey this weekend for a key ECAC League matchup with the Scarlet Knights. Face-off at Yurcak Field on Saturday, April 26 is slated for 1 p.m. The game will be shown live on CN8 as part of the ECAC television package, with Joey Walher calling the play-by-play and Jack Piatelli handling the analysis. The game will be shown on Channel 21 in the Washington, D.C. market for Comcast subscribers.

The Hoyas enter the game with an 8-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the ECAC, one game ahead of the Scarlet Knights, who are 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the league.

Georgetown won its seventh game in the last eight outings last weekend, beating Massachusetts, 12-8, at home. It was the team's sixth-straight win at home and GU's 13th-straight against an ECAC opponent at home. The Hoyas are ranked No. 4 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Top 25 Coaches' poll and No. 4 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Top 20 poll.

Senior attack Brendan Cannon (Haverford, Pa./The Haverford School) was named the ECAC Lacrosse League's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring four goals and leading the Hoyas to the win over UMass. It was the third time this season Cannon has been named the league's Offensive Player of the Week. He scored two goals in the fourth quarter after the Minutemen had narrowed a five-goal GU lead to 8-7 early in the final frame.

It was the fourth time this season that Cannon has scored at least four goals. Cannon's 43 points are the 20th best single season mark in school history and he needs one more to tie his mark of 44 set last season. He needs three more points to tie his career high of 46 set in 2006. The senior ranks 11th in the country in points per game (3.91) and is 14th in the country in assists per game (1.82).

The Hoyas enter the game carrying an offense that is tops in the ECAC, and ranks No. 7 nationally, with 11.36 goals per game. Five different players have reached double figures in scoring this season, while 21 players have scored at least one point.

Senior Andrew Baird (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) is second on the team in scoring with 31 points, tallying a team-high 24 goals and seven assists. His 24 goals are a career-high, giving him 67 for his career, which ranks 15th all-time at Georgetown.

Sophomore Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) has enjoyed a stellar season while playing on the starting attack line. He is third on the team in scoring with 26 points, ranking second on the team with 14 assists and fifth with 11 goals. Classmates Ricky Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks) and Andrew Brancaccio (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) are fourth and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively. Mirabito, a two-time recipient of the ECAC Rookie of the Week award this season, has 12 goals and five assists for 17 points, while Brancaccio has 14 goals and two assists for 16 points.

On the defensive side, Georgetown has held eight opponents to 10 or fewer goals this season. Senior goalie Miles Kass (Rye, N.Y./Hotchkiss) is 23rd in the country in goals-against average (8.56), 17th nationally in save percentage (57.6%) and is tied for the team lead with 42 ground balls. Sophomore long-pole Barney Ehrmann (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) is tied for the team lead in ground balls (42) and tops the team with 17 caused turnovers.

This will be the 11th meeting all-time between Georgetown and Rutgers. The Hoyas lead the head-to-head series, 10-0, and have won all five meetings at Yurcak Field. Last year, Rutgers jumped out to a 6-3 lead at the half, but Christiaan Trunz won 20-of-23 face-offs and the Hoyas scored four times in the third quarter and five times in the fourth for a 12-8 win. Cannon and Jake Samperton (Bethesda, Md./Landon) each had two goals and one assist as 10 different Georgetown players scored at least one goal.