Division I Men :      May 11, 2003 [ The Game Story]
Rutgers 6 Georgetown 9 Scoring: Scoring: Ken Springer Leif Blomquist Delby Powless Timothy White Jamie Lovejoy Jeff Duca (3, 0) (1, 1) (1, 1) (0, 2) (0, 1) (1, 0) Mike Hammer Robert Smith Nick Miaritis Pat Collins Jordan Vettoretti Neal Goldman Mike Chiara Trevor Walker (3, 2) (2, 1) (1, 1) (0, 1) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (0, 1) Saves: Saves: Greg Havalchak 13  (0.591) Rich D'andrea 11  (0.647) Current Record :     (10-5) Current Record :     (11-3) Team Page For 2003 Team Page For 2003       The Game Story:

RUTGERS FALLS TO GEORGETOWN IN FIRST ROUND OF MEN'S 2003 NCAA LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS, 9-6

Press Release

PISCATAWAY, NJ (May 11, 2003) - The eighth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas (11-3) defeated Rutgers (10-5) by a score of 9-6 today at Yurcak Field in front of 1,919 fans to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2003 Men's Lacrosse Championships. Rutgers, who advanced to the Championships for the first time since 1991, ends its season with a 10-5 record, the most wins for the program since 1990. Georgetown was led by Jordan Vettoretti's three goals, while Rutgers senior co-captain Ken Springer (Ridgewood, NJ) scored three goals in his final collegiate contest.

Georgetown, who now leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 6-0, surged to a 3-0 lead by scoring three goals over the first 6:27 of the game. Springer responded by scoring two goals before the end of the quarter to get Rutgers back into the game, trailing 3-2 after the first 15 minutes of play. Springer's first goal of the day, at the 8:01 mark, was his 50th career goal.

Georgetown's Trevor Walker opened the scoring in the second quarter at the 8:19 mark to put GU ahead, 4-2, before Springer netted his third goal of the game at the 3:30 mark to end the first half scoring, as the Hoyas entered halftime with a 4-3 lead.

Georgetown took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Rutgers, 3-0, and out-shooting the Scarlet Knights, 10-4. Four saves in the quarter by ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, Greg Havalchak (Corning, NY), kept Georgetown from pulling away. Havalchak amassed 13 saves in the game and moved into seventh on the Rutgers single-season saves list, with 188 saves this season.

Facing a 7-3 deficit entering the final 15 minutes of play, Rutgers mounted a comeback to cut the lead to two, 7-5, with 11:29 left to play. Senior first-team All-ECAC selection Jeff Duca (Fair Lawn, NJ) scored a man-up goal at the 13:41 mark and sophomore Leif Blomquist (Long Beach, NY) added another goal 2:12 later. Georgetown answered with a goal by Neal Goldman to push its lead back to three, 8-5, with 6:29 remaining, but junior Delby Powless (Six Nations, Ontario) again cut the lead to two with a goal at the 3:05 mark. Georgetown finally put the game out of reach when Walid Hajj scored his second goal of the day with 2:09 left to give the Hoyas the 9-6 victory.

The Hoyas were able to gain the victory despite committing six penalties. However, Rutgers was able to capitalize on just one of them. In addition to Springer's three goals, Blomquist, Powless and Duca each tallied one goal, while junior Tim White (Rockville Center, NY) dished out a team-high two assists. Blomquist, Powless and sophomore Jamie Lovejoy (Holbrook, NY) also recorded one assist apiece. On defense, Anthony Sicoli (Kinnelon, NJ) scooped up nine ground balls, which ties the Rutgers individual season high, along with Dan Achatz (Seaford, NY), who also had nine against Saint Joseph's on March 5.