PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team gave No. 5 Georgetown a great battle Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field, but the Hoyas led nearly wire-to-wire on the way to a 12-9 victory in the Quakers' first game under new head coach Taylor Wray.
 
Penn led twice in the game, at 1-0 and 2-1, but the Hoyas scored the game's next four goals and never looked back. The Quakers were within a goal early in the second half and never trailed by more than five, but couldn't come all the way back.
 
Saturday's game was the season opener for both teams.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn met Georgetown as equals almost across the scoresheet. The teams tied in shots, 34-34, and in ground balls, 28-28. The Quakers also narrowly won the faceoff battle, 13-12, and were a solid 20-22 clearing the ball.
 
*Junior Davis Provost was Penn's leading scorer on Saturday; he opened the Quakers' account just 2:06 into the game and ended the day with three goals and an assist.
 
*Senior Griffin Scane and junior Ben Beacham were two-goal scorers on Saturday, with Beacham also dishing off an assist.
 
*Senior Travis Smith—who sniped a goal on an extra-man opportunity—and freshman Jackson Maher were the Quakers' other goal scorers. Maher's goal was his first as a collegian.
 
*Leo Hoffman, Nate Lucchesi and Matt McMillen had assists on the day.
 
*At the other end of the field, Jack Pelot made his collegiate debut in goal and finished the day with 12 saves.
 
*Ethan Costanzo had a solid day among three Penn players who faced off; the senior went 7-10 on the X for a .700 win percentage.
 
*For Georgetown, the Connor brothers proved to be too much—Rory scored seven goals and Liam had five assists. Lucas Dudemaine recorded a hat trick for the Hoyas while Anderson Moore made 11 saves in the cage.
 
How It Happened
Provost got things started quickly on Saturday, scoring just 2:06 into the contest. The Connor brothers combined to get Georgetown level, Liam feeding Rory, but just two minutes later Scane scored from a low angle to make it 2-1.
 
Rory Connor scored the game's next two goals, then Joe Cesare got on the board and the Hoyas carried that 4-2 lead to the end of the quarter. Then Rory opened the second-quarter scoring, off another feed from Liam (his fourth assist of the game). Beacham finally ended Penn's scoring skid, sniping a shot from Hoffman, and then Maher scored his first collegiate goal when he came from down low to tally an unassisted effort. That had the Quakers within a goal midway through the period, at 5-4. GU added another before the half, Rory netting his fifth of the day to make it 6-4 at the break.
 
Scane needed just 53 seconds to open the second-half scoring, making the score 6-5, but Penn hit another drought and again GU took advantage. Dudemaine and Rory Connor started a four-goal run with tallies 40 seconds apart, and then they both tallied again about two minutes apart. That left the Hoyas doubling up the Quakers, 10-5, but in the final minute of the third period Smith scored in a 6-on-4 situation and then Beacham netted his second. Penn had life heading into the final 15, down 10-7.
 
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed. Charlie McGurrin netted a long-pole goal for the Hoyas just 14 seconds into the fourth, and Dudemaine followed with his third of the day 59 seconds later. Provost was able to get both of those back as the period went on, but that was all the Quakers could muster the rest of the way.
 
Up Next
Penn is in action Tuesday, traveling to the University at Albany for a matchup with the Great Danes.
 
For the latest on Penn men's lacrosse, follow @PennMensLax on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.