2019 Men’s College Lacrosse Year In Review: #10 Georgetown Hoyas

With the 2019 college lacrosse season complete, it’s time to look back at how all 73 teams did during the season, along with an early look at each squad for 2020.

Note: These are not end of season rankings.

Here’s our last five Year In Review posts we’ve done:

• #15 Johns Hopkins
• #14 Robert Morris
• #13 Syracuse
• #12 Richmond
• #11 Towson

To see all of our posts, check out the 2019 Year In Review section on the site.

Let’s continue our 2019 Year In Review with the teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament!

#10 Georgetown Hoyas

Conference: Big East
2019 Record: 13-5 (3-2 in Big East)
Postseason: Defeated Providence and Denver for Big East Championship, lost to Yale in NCAA First Round
Head coach: Kevin Warne (7th Season)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Daniel Bucaro (61)
Assists: Lucas Wittenberg (37)
Points: Jake Carraway (88)
Faceoffs: James Reilly (206-of-419; 49.2%)
Ground balls: Gibson Smith (106)
Caused turnovers: Gibson Smith (34)
Goals against average: Owen McElroy (11.59)
Save percentage: Owen McElroy (51.7%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: A Daniel Bucaro (61 Gs, 26 As, 23 GBs, 1 CT), M Lucas Wittenberg (23 Gs, 37 As, 14 GBs, 2 CTs), SSDM Patrick Aslanian (26 CTs, 29 GBs, 3 Gs, 2 As), A Austin McDonald (11 Gs, 2 As, 8 GBs), SSDM Tucker Gillman (5 CTs, 18 GBs, 1 G, 1 A), D Drew Abate (6 CTs, 9 GBs), D Finn Dunne (2 CTs, 13 GBs)
Senior scoring departing: 169 of 409 points (41.3%)
Senior starts lost: 36 of 180 (20%)

Season Summary

After winning the Big East title in 2018, Georgetown had expectations to repeat as conference champions again in a much more open conference than before. Their offense was going to be stellar with Daniel Bucaro, Jake Carraway, and Lucas Wittenberg coming back. And they were stellar to begin the season with wins over Sacred Heart and Robert Morris, scoring a combined 15 and 16 points in those two games. The trio combined for nine points in their next game against Towson, but the bigger issue was their defense. Down two goals, the Hoyas gave up six goals to the Tigers in the final quarter with Brendan Sunday finishing with a game-high nine points.

The team edged Mount St. Mary’s by a pair of goals a few days later, which also started a five-game winning streak before Big East play began. As they entered conference play, their other wins came against Hofstra, Furman, Fairfield, and Drexel. Georgetown did not have any stellar victories to help their resume if they wanted a potential at-large bid. And those chances went down the drain as they opened up conference play with a one-goal loss to Marquette, who scored six goals in the second quarter, followed by a loss to Denver. After edging Providence for their first conference win, Georgetown then lost to Loyola in a non-conference contest.

Similar to last season, the Hoyas then went on a five-game winning streak before their final loss of the season. The team entered the Big East Tournament with wins against Villanova, NJIT, and St. John’s. Down 9-6 at the half against Providence in the conference semifinals, head coach Kevin Warne decided to replace sophomore Owen McElroy with freshman Chris Brandau for the second half. Brandau gave up only three goals in the second half as the Hoyas scored the final four goals in the game for a one-goal victory. Wittenberg finished with eight assists in the win. Two days later against Denver for the second straight season in the conference title game, the Hoyas scored six of the first seven goals in the game with Brandau making 15 saves for the team’s second consecutive Big East Championship. Their season ended the following week as Georgetown gave up nine goals to Yale in the first quarter in a three-goal loss, despite Bucaro’s eight goals in the game.

Bucaro and Carraway were one of the best offensive duos in the entire country last season, with each of them scoring over 55 goals and recording over 85 points at attack. Robert Clark joined them as the third attackman. Wittenberg was joined alongside freshman Declan McDermott and junior Massimo Bucci as the starting midfielders. Austin McDonald and Dylan Watson played roles as other key contributors in the offense.

Gibson Smith anchored a close defense unit that also included freshman Alex Mazzone and junior Stephen MacLeod. Drew Abate and Finn Dunne were other contributors at close defense. Joe LiCalzi was the primary LSM, while Patrick Aslanian showed he was one of the best short stick defenders in the country with 26 caused turnovers as a senior. He was joined alongside classmate Tucker Gillman as the top duo. Zachary Geddes was also solid as a shortie. James Reilly took the majority of the faceoffs as a freshman with a 49.2% win percentage. McElroy started the first 16 games in goal before Brandau started the rest of the way.

Looking Ahead

Two of Georgetown’s top three scorers graduate in Bucaro and Wittenberg. Bucaro has gotten most of the team’s spotlight for the last few seasons, but Carraway has flown a little under the radar in terms of the national scene. A big reason for the team’s success for the last two seasons, the rising senior has a chance to break multiple program records. His 179 career points are seventh overall, 57 points back of Greg McCavera at 236. His 121 goals are also 32 behind Bucaro’s career record. Look for Clark, who will be taking a fifth year, and Watson to be candidates to become starters. There’s also a hole up top with Wittenberg graduating. Jack Elders or perhaps North Carolina transfer Colin Munro could fill that void.

The close defense and LiCalzi all return, but both depth defensemen and both top short stick defensemen graduate. Chris Walker is a candidate to see some more time. McElroy should be back as the starting goalie with Brandau transferring to Maryland.

Is a Big East three-peat in the future for Georgetown? And if so, can the team find a way to advance further in the NCAA Tournament?