Harvard vs. Georgetown Video Highlights

Georgetown hung on to win 13-12 over Harvard Wednesday in a game of runs by both squads. The Hoyas built a 13-8 lead with 3:34 to go, but a late rally by Harvard, including two goals in the final 30 seconds of play, made this one a nailbiter.

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Nine Goals in Second Half Leads No. 14 Georgetown Past No. 11 Harvard, 13-12

WASHINGTON - Three different players scored two goals apiece and No. 14 Georgetown scored nine goals in the second half as the Hoyas opened up a five-goal lead before hanging on for a 13-12 win over No. 11 Harvard on Wednesday afternoon at the Multi-Sport Field. Georgetown improves to 1-1 overall, while Harvard falls to 1-1.

The Hoyas trailed 5-4 at the half, but scored three-straight goals to start the third quarter, including a goal from freshman Travis Comeau (Alberta, Canada/The Hill Academy) that gave the Hoyas a 7-5 lead.

Harvard would score twice to tie the game at 7-all on an unassisted goal from Ben Smith, but Georgetown took the lead for good at the end of the third quarter and scored four of the first five goals in the fourth quarter to take a 13-8 lead they would not relinquish.

Tied at 7-all, Comeau gave the Hoyas the lead for good after he picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and bounced a shot past Harvard goalie Christian Coates with 2:27 left Harvard had possession to start the fourth quarter, but junior Dan Hostetler (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) forced a turnover and senior middie Chris Schuville (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) raced upfield and scored with 13:12 left to give the Hoyas a 9-7 lead.

The lead grew to 10-7 when freshman Dan McKinney (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) fired a shot from 25 yards out midway through the quarter, but Harvard pulled to within 10-8 on a goal from Jeff Cohen with 5:52 to play in the game.

Less than a minute later, senior Andrew Brancaccio (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored from 15 yards out on a low shot and redshirt junior Rickey Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks) extended the Hoya lead to 13-8 with 3:34 to play when he scored back-to-back goals. Mirabito scored his first goal with 4;09 to play as he raced around the goal and then freshman Zac Guy (Tully, N.Y./Tully) sent a pass from behind the cage to Mirabito, whose shot beat Coates to the upper right.

Harvard did not go quietly as the Crimson scored four times in a span of 1:40 with 1:55 left in the game. A goal from Terry White with 15 seconds left made it 13-12, but junior Brian Tabb (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Prep) - who was 15-of-28 for the day - won the final faceoff and Schuville picked up the last of his team-high six ground balls to close the game out.

Trailing by one at the break, the Hoyas scored three goals over the first seven minutes of the game and took a 7-5 lead. Senior Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) knotted the game just 47 seconds into the half and sophomore Zack Angel (Park Hill, Md./St. Mary Ryken) gave GU 6-5 lead with a shot at 11:28. Guy fed a ball through traffic to Comeau with 8;42 left in the quarter as the lead grew to 7-5.

Goals from Kevin Vaughan and Ben Smith tied the game at 7-all, but Comeau responded to give GU the lead for good and set up the scoring punch in the fourth quarter.

The Hoyas had jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of first quarter goals. Dowd fed senior Scott Kocis (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) for Georgetown's first goal, a strike just over three minutes into the game. The lead grew to two goals when junior middie Max Seligmann (Essex Falls, N.J./Delbarton) tallied an unassisted goal.

Harvard, however, came back and scored three-straight goals in the final 5:35 of the first quarter to take a 3-2 lead. Dean Gibbons scored an unassisted goal with 5;35 to play, but the Crimson would score twice in the final minute to take a 3-2 lead. Travis Burr scored an unassisted goal with 52 seconds left and Jeff Cohen scored with three seconds left to give Harvard the lead.

Cohen scored his second-straight goal, and Harvard's fourth-straight, as Georgetown fell behind 4-2 with 8:58 to play in the half. The Hoyas pulled to within 4-3 at the 4:57 mark - scoring their first goal in 15 minutes - when junior Stu Shannon (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) - blasted a shot from the right wing.

The Hoyas maintained possession after the faceoff and had a couple of chances, but a turnover gave Harvard the ball and the Crimson responded, with Kevin Vaughan scoring an unassisted goal with 1:28 to play, making it 5-3. Angel got Georgetown to within 5-4 at the half, scoring with 48 seconds left.

Ten different players scored goals and 11 different players had points for Georgetown, led by Dowd, who had one goal and two assists, Mirabito and Angel scored two goals apiece and Guy had two assist. Georgetown out-shot Harvard, 46-42, including 26-18 in the second half, and the Hoyas had a 43-30 advantage in ground balls, won 15-of-28 faceoff attempts and senior goalie Jack Davis (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) had 12 saves. The 13 goals scored for Georgetown marked the first time in 21 years under Head Coach Dave Urick that the Hoyas had scored that many in the first two games of a season.