May 13, 2007
Washington, D.C. - Junior Brendan Cannon (Haverford, Pa./The Haverford School) scored 31 seconds into sudden-death overtime, lifting No. 6 Georgetown to a 9-8 win over Princeton in front of 2,156 fans at the Multi-Sport Field during first round action of the 2007 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The win vaults Georgetown (12-2) into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth-straight year and for the 10th time in the last 11 years. The Blue and Gray will play No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins in the Quarterfinals next Saturday - at noon or 3 p.m. - in a game to be held at Princeton University. The opening face-off of overtime was won by Georgetown senior Christiaan Trunz (Manhasset, N.Y./Chaminade) - the last of his 12 wins in 20 attempts during the day - and senior defender Jerry Lambe (N. Massapequa, N.Y./Farmingdale) successfully cleared the ball. Cannon took control on the far side of the crease and quickly attacked as he dove and sent a shot over the right shoulder of Princeton goalie Alex Hewitt, beating him at 3:29 and setting off a wild jubilation in one of the most thrilling games in recent history. It was the first-ever NCAA Tournament overtime win for the Hoyas, and their first overtime win since a 4-3 win over Navy during the 2003 season. After Georgetown took an 8-7 lead late in the third quarter on a score from freshman Craig Dowd (E. Northport, N.Y./Northport), Princeton tied the game just under two minutes into the fourth on a goal from Scott Sowanick. Princeton had a series of opportunities midway through the fourth quarter, including two man-up after Hoya penalties, but junior goalie Miles Kass (Rye, N.Y./Hotchkiss) stopped a trio of shots, including two with his feet, to keep the game tied. The Hoyas took possession with 6:25 on the clock, but attempts from senior Trevor Casey (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) and freshman Andrew Brancaccio (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) were off the mark and one from senior Garrett Wilson (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Episcopal Academy) was saved by Hewitt and Princeton took control. The Tigers successfully cleared the ball with 2:42 to play and held on for the last shot. After a timeout with 1:24 to play, strong defense from Lambe caused Whitney Hayes to turn the ball over. The ground ball was picked up by sophomore Chris Taylor (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) and a shot from sophomore Steve Bauer (Red Bank, N.J./The Peddie School) was saved as the game went into overtime. It was a game of runs, as the Hoyas scored the game's first goal and Princeton responded with three-straight. The Hoyas scored three-of-four in the second quarter to tie the game at the break at 4-all, and then scored three time in a three minute span in the third quarter to take a 7-4 lead, but Princeton responded with three goals in a span of 4:47 to tie the game.
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