Women’s team faces Denver at 2PM, Men host Villanova at 4:30 on CBSSN

Ahead of post time on Saturday, the Georgetown Hoyas lacrosse teams will be each competing for a BIG EAST Tournament Championship. On Thursday, each of the men’s and women’s lacrosse team beat Marquette (17-14 W, 15-5 M) to earn a spot in their championship match—the men hosting the 4:30 PM finals (CBSSN) at home against Villanova and the women facing their hosts, the Denver Pioneers, at 2PM on FS2.

John Fanta caught up with senior Dylan Watson ahead of the home matchup on Saturday at 4:30 PM on CBS Sports Network.

Meanwhile, Georgetown Women’s Lacrosse had a practice out in Denver ahead of their 2PM title game on FS2.

Here’s the GUHoyas press release for the women:

Third-Seeded Hoyas to Play Top-Seeded Pioneers in BIG EAST Championship

WASHINGTON – The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team will face the University of Denver in the finals of the BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP on Saturday. The third-seeded Hoyas and top-seeded Pioneers will meet at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver in a 2 p.m. ET matchup.

Follow the Action

• The game will be broadcast live on FS2 with Brad Thompson and Monika Moore on the call as well as Meghan Caffrey on the sidelines.
• Live stats will also be available at GUHoyas.com.

About the Hoyas

• Georgetown sits at 9-8 overall and is coming off of a 17-13 victory over second-seeded Marquette in the semifinals on Thursday.
• Senior Ali Diamond led the way tying her career high with five goals and one assist.
• Sophomore Kylie Hazen had three goals and two assists, while senior Jordyn Sabourin managed three goals, one assist and six draw controls.
• GU and the Pios are quite familiar with one another as the Blue & Gray dropped a tough 14-12 decision at Cooper Field on April 15.
• On Monday, Diamond was the BIG EAST Attacker of the Week, while graduate student Mary Pagano was selected as the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week. Finally, junior Emily Gaven earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
• All three played a significant role in GU’s 22-12 win over then No. 14 UConn.
• On Wednesday, a league-high eight Hoyas were named All-BIG EAST which was announced by the league office. Four Hoyas were named to the first team and four earned a spot on the second team. It marks the first all-conference honor for all eight of the selections.
• Diamond leads the squad with 60 points on 35 goals and 25 assists.
• Graduate student Erin Bakes is second with 43 points on 32 goals and 11 assists, while Hazen rounds out the top three with 36 points on 24 goals and 12 assists.
• Graduate student LizaBanks Campagna paces the Georgetown effort on the field as she has a Georgetown record 123 draw controls with six caused turnovers. Sabourin has also contributed 47 draws.
• Freshman Melissa Massimino adds 27 caused turnovers and senior Olivia Buckman has 21 for the Blue & Gray.

About the Pioneers

• Denver is 16-2 overall and advanced to the championship game with a 16-6 victory over UConn in the semifinals.
• The Pios are currently ranked 12th in the most recent ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll.
• Seven Denver players were named to the All-BIG EAST First and Second teams on Wednesday.
• The team also had four major awards as graduate student Bea Behrins was voted BIG EAST Attacker of the Year, junior Sam Thacker was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, rookie attacker Lauren Black was tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and the Pioneers were honored as BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Denver won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and are the reigning tournament champs.

Series Info

• Georgetown is 5-6 all-time against the Pioneers and 1-0 in the BIG EAST championship.
• The most recent tournament meeting was a thrilling 9-8 double overtime victory over Denver in 2019. The Hoyas had also defeated Marquette in the semifinals that season.
• Earlier this season, the Hoyas dropped the 14-12 decision to Denver at Cooper Field.
• Georgetown is the only team in the league to have appeared in all 15 BIG EAST Championships.
• GU is 10-12 in the tournament and holds a mark of 2-5 in championship matches.

Here’s the GUHoyas press release for the men:

Hoyas Aim for Fourth-Straight BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University’s second-ranked men’s lacrosse team will play for its fourth consecutive league championship as it hosts Villanova in the finals of the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship, Presented by JEEP on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The top-seeded Hoyas defeated fourth seed Marquette 15-5 in the semifinals on Thursday while the third-seeded Wildcats held off second seed No. 18 Denver 15-14 to advance.

About Georgetown

• The Hoyas are 14-1 overall, won the BIG EAST regular season title and set the program record for wins in a season.
• Georgetown unanimously swept all four BIG EAST Positional Player of the Year honors, earned Coaching Staff of the Year and had 10 players named All-BIG EAST.
• Owen McElroy was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for the second-straight season, Dylan Watson was named the BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year, Graham Bundy Jr. was selected as the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and Will Bowen was tabbed the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
• Head Coach Kevin Warne and the staff of Michael Phipps, David Shriver and Jack Rowlett were also a repeat selection for the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Warne’s staffs had also previously won in 2015, 2018 and 2021.
• The Hoyas had a league record eight players named All-BIG EAST First Team to go with a pair of Second Team honorees. Joining Bowen, Bundy, McElroy and Watson on the first team were defenseman Gibson Smith IV, long stick midfielder Alex Mazzone, short stick defensive midfielder Zachary Geddes and faceoff specialist James Reilly. Second team honorees for the Hoyas included attackman TJ Haley and midfielder Alex Trippi.
• On the season, Bundy (39G, 24A) and Watson (57G, 6A) pace the Hoyas with 63 points each. Trippi adds 47 points (22G, 25A) while Haley (7G, 29A), Connor Morin (27G, 8A) and Declan McDermott (26G, 7A) chip in 36, 35 and 33 points, respectively. Dylan Hess (13G, 5A) has 18 points and Colin Munro (6G, 5A) adds 11 to round out the Hoyas in double digits.
• Reilly has won 206 of 334 (.617) faceoffs on the year and leads the Hoyas with 126 ground balls. He is only the second player in program history to eclipse 100 ground balls in a season twice.
• Bowen has been credited with 32 caused turnovers so far this season, fourth most in a single campaign on the Hilltop, while Mazzone and Smith both have 18.
• In goal, McElroy has been a brick wall, posting a 7.80 goals-against average to go with 141 saves and a .629 save percentage. His GAA and save percentage rank first and second-best in the nation, respectively.

Scouting Villanova

• The Wildcats are 9-5 overall and are making their first appearance in the BIG EAST title game since 2014.
• Matt Campbell leads Villanova with 62 points (42G, 20A) while Luke Keating adds 59 (28G, 31A).
• Justin Coppola is Villanova’s top faceoff man, winning .592 (218-368) on the season to go with 124 ground balls.
• Defensively, Chet Comizio has been credited with 23 caused turnovers and adds 45 ground balls.
• In goal, Will Vitton has started all 14 games between the pipes and has an 11.61 GAA to go with 162 saves and a .506 save percentage.

Series History

• Georgetown and Villanova have played 39 times since 1971.
• The Wildcats lead the rivalry with a 20-19 record.
• Georgetown won the regular season meeting 13-7 just a week ago on the Main Line.
• Both teams have met in the BIG EAST Championship three times before: a 15-12 Villanova victory in 2013, a 13-10 Georgetown win in 2018 and a 14-12 Hoya victory last season.

How to Watch

• Friday’s game will be streamed live on CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover and Steve Panerelli calling the action.
• A link to live stats will also be available at GUHoyas.com.

Up Next

Following Saturday’s game, the winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

HOYA SAXA!