Hoyas

COLLEGE PARK -The No. 3 Maryland men's lacrosse team's attack got a lot of ink in the preseason. Some of that attention should shift to No. 17 Georgetown's unit, which accounted for seven goals in the team's 13-10 upset of the Terps at Ludwig Field yesterday. Sophomores Ricky Mirabito and Ryan Schuler each recorded three goals and an assist, and junior Craig Dowd posted a goal and three assists for the Hoyas (1-0), who missed the NCAA tournament last spring for the first time in 12 years.

Terps men beaten by Hoyas, 8-6 The fifth-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team rallies in the second half but falls short, losing to Georgetown for the first time. PG 10D

Princeton coach Bill Tierney, whose Tigers have won the past three national championships, gives his position-by-position breakdown of the national semifinalists. This season, Princeton split with Syracuse and lost to Johns Hopkins and Virginia.No. 5 Georgetown (13-2) vs. No. 8 Syracuse (11-4)Time: NoonTV: ESPN2Attack: The Syracuse attack has an added dimension with Liam Banks. The Orangemen have two great ones in Ryan Powell and Matt Cutia, who play together well and cause problems with their picking game behind.

When Georgetown advanced last year past the opening round of the NCAA tournament for the first time, there was a giddy celebration.After the fifth-seeded Hoyas handled Notre Dame, 14-10, yesterday before 2,374 at Towson's Minnegan Stadium and moved on again, there were as many shrugs as handshakes."

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland's Allison Comito sure has Georgetown's number.The sophomore has not missed a shot against the Hoyas this season, yesterday scoring a career-high seven goals to lead the No. 1 Terrapins to a 17-6 romp over the No. 8 Hoyas in a National Collegiate women's lacrosse tournament quarterfinal game.Comito's previous career high of six goals came in the Terps' 21-9 regular-season victory at Georgetown on April 14. Yesterday in a game-opening eight-goal run, she scored four, including three straight.

WASHINGTON -- UMBC's week of high aspirations came to a crashing end yesterday.Matching the soggy, grass turf of Harbin Field in sloppiness, the No. 9 Retrievers witnessed many of their numerous mistakes compounded by Georgetown, handing the No. 8 Hoyas an 11-6 victory before 1,276 rain-soaked spectators.UMBC (3-2), which stood undefeated this time last week, never established firm footing yesterday as a result of costly blunders among the puddles and mud, and apparently hadn't regained its focus since getting hammered by No. 2 Duke four days ago. Georgetown (4-0)

Seniors Greg McCavera and Scott Urick combined for 10 goals and seven assists yesterday as No. 7 Georgetown whipped No. 11 Penn State, 20-10, in men's lacrosse in Washington, D.C.McCavera had three goals and a career-high six assists; Urick added a career-high seven goals and one assist.The Hoyas (5-1) led 5-0 after the first period and closed the half with six straight goals for a 12-2 lead at intermission.Georgetown outshot Penn State, 56-35, and converted eight of 12 extra-man situations.

It's one of the closest rivalries in lacrosse. Scratch that. It's one of the most lopsided.Just pick your point of view.When No. 4 Duke squares off against No. 5 Georgetown in Saturday's NCAA quarterfinals, the Hoyas prefer to remember that four of the past seven annual meetings have been decided by one goal. The Blue Devils, however, will take a different spin, highlighting their 12-0 record vs. the Hoyas and their 10-8 win at Georgetown on March 27."Yeah, it's been close," Georgetown coach Dave Urick said.

Freshman Steve Dusseau had a career-high five goals to lead ninth-ranked Georgetown to a 14-10, win yesterday over Hobart at Harbin Field in Washington.The Hoyas (8-2) also received five points each from Andy Flick (two goals, three assists) and Greg McCavera (one, four).Dusseau converted twice in the last eight minutes of the second period to push Georgetown's lead to 7-3 at halftime.Scott Urick and McCavera each scored and assisted on a goal in the third quarter as the Hoyas held a 10-6 lead entering the final period.

Maryland may already be considered the women's lacrosse team of the decade, but a win in tomorrow's national collegiate quarterfinal would put an exclamation point on that.Cindy Timchal's No. 1 Terrapins have been to the final four every year in the 1990s. Only once, in 1993, have they fallen short of reaching the title game.This year, the Terps are going after a fifth straight crown.Riding a 25-game winning streak, the Terps (17-0) play host to No. 8 Georgetown at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Ludwig Field in College Park.

COLLEGE PARK -The No. 3 Maryland men's lacrosse team's attack got a lot of ink in the preseason. Some of that attention should shift to No. 17 Georgetown's unit, which accounted for seven goals in the team's 13-10 upset of the Terps at Ludwig Field yesterday. Sophomores Ricky Mirabito and Ryan Schuler each recorded three goals and an assist, and junior Craig Dowd posted a goal and three assists for the Hoyas (1-0), who missed the NCAA tournament last spring for the first time in 12 years.

Georgetown had just finished its eighth win in nine games. John Thompson III was anything but pleased. The No. 15 Hoyas earned a 69-58 victory over Mount St. Mary's yesterday in Washington, but one would have never guessed it from talking to Georgetown's coach. "I'm not sure I'm pleased with anyone," he said. "We did not play well." The Hoyas players are ending a grinding two-week exam period, but Thompson didn't want to attribute this subpar performance to academics, either. "Mentally we had a bad day today," Thompson said.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - As Maryland and Georgetown played each other for the first time in seven years, the expressions along the respective benches said it all. Georgetown's players jumped up and down on the sideline, clapping and cheering on their teammates. Maryland's players sat still in a somber row. The difference in the game was clear in their faces. The No. 21 Hoyas dominated the Terps for every minute of yesterday's third-place game in the Old Spice Classic at the Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, beating Maryland, 75-48.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It's neither the championship game nor the game featuring the highest-ranked teams. But the significance of tonight's third-place game in the Old Spice Classic goes beyond that. At 5:30 p.m. today, for the first time during the regular season in 15 years, Maryland and No. 21 Georgetown will play a men's basketball game with nothing on the line but pride. "It's ironic that we're playing them here," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. " ... It should be a good game.

For Gilman quarterback David Emala, the game plan yesterday against visiting Georgetown Prep was simple. Take the snap. Pick a hole. Run. On nearly two-thirds of his team's offensive plays, the senior did just that, gaining 163 yards on 33 carries out of the shotgun to help the No 8 Greyhounds dominate time of possession in a 21-0 win over the Little Hoyas. "We thought going right at them was going to work, and it did," Emala said. "Our line is the centerpiece of our team." The win was Gilman's second straight over a Washington-area power, after last week's 21-14 victory over DeMatha, then the No. 2 team in the Washington area.

The Eastern College Athletic Conference men's lacrosse title has belonged to Georgetown for six of the past eight years, but Loyola moved one step closer to cutting into the Hoyas' reign yesterday at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. The No. 18 Greyhounds never trailed and took sole possession of first place with an 11-9 victory over the No. 6 Hoyas. Shane Koppens came up huge for the Greyhounds with five goals and two assists, and generally dominated the attacking third of the field. Loyola improved to 5-0 in the conference but has to go on the road to Fairfield and Hobart before it can clinch the title.

Perhaps no one was more surprised than Ricky Mirabito. With Navy and Georgetown extended to overtime, Mirabito, a sophomore attackman for the Hoyas, found himself with the ball alone in front of the Midshipmen's cage. Mirabito, labeled by Hoyas coach Dave Urick as one of the top two finishers on the team, put a shot past Navy junior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan with 1:42 left in the extra period to send No. 7 Georgetown to an 11-10 upset of the No. 3 Midshipmen before 7,135 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis yesterday.

The St. Paul's lacrosse team doesn't have the same experience this season as in years past. Nine sophomores and a freshman see prominent time, which leads to some mistakes. It also hurts that senior attackman Cliff Larkin is still sidelined with a shoulder injury. The negative aspects of those circumstances showed yesterday as the No. 8 Crusaders fell to host Georgetown Prep of North Bethesda, 6-3. The Hoyas are ranked No. 25 on insidelacrosse.com and fell to Gilman, 10-7, on March 20. "We had some breakdowns," St. Paul's coach Rick Brocato said.

Brotherly love apparently has its limits. In a typical week, Nick Mirabito, a senior attackman for the Navy men's lacrosse team, and Ricky Mirabito, a sophomore attackman for Georgetown, will call each other two or three times to discuss lacrosse, classes and family. But in the week leading up to today's 5 p.m. showdown between the No. 3 Midshipmen and the No. 7 Hoyas at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, the brothers from Binghamton, N.Y., have talked just once. That's it. "I talked with him Monday just to decide who's going to give tickets to who for the game," Ricky said, alluding to the planned attendance of his parents and other family members.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- All the accolades and excitement from UMBC's first NCAA tournament will still be there one day to remember. But yesterday, the Retrievers were left frustrated by a powerful, tournament-tested Georgetown team that dominated inside and advanced to the second round with a 66-47 victory. Smaller at almost every position, the 15th-seeded Retrievers were victimized by the Hoyas' defense and balanced offensive game. Eager to contain 7-foot-2 Georgetown center Roy Hibbert, UMBC sent extra defenders to the low post.