WASHINGTON, D.C. – Entering a series of games in which they would play five-straight against conference opponents and need to win virtually every one to ensure a chance to win the ECAC Lacrosse League, seniors on the Georgetown men's lacrosse team said Saturday's game against Fairfield was as a must win.

In that case, it was only fitting that three of the team's seniors - Dan Vinson (Pleasant Hill, Calif./DeLaSalle), Dan D'Agnes (Manhasset, N.Y./Chaminade) and Jake Samperton (Bethesda, Md./Landon) – helped lead the team to a crucial 11-8 win over the Stags in front of 1,225 fans at the Multi-Sport Field Saturday afternoon. It was the second-straight win and third in the last four games for the Hoyas, who improved to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the ECAC, while Fairfield falls to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the league.

Vinson had a career day at the face-off X, winning 17-of-21 opportunities and collecting a team-high 12 ground balls. The 17 face-off wins were the most by a Georgetown player since . On the offensive side, Samperton scored two goals and had one assist, while D'Agnes added two scores and the Hoyas broke open a close game with three goals in the third and fourth quarter to take a 10-5 lead en route to the win.

The Hoyas led 6-4 at the break and took a 7-4 lead midway through the third quarter, but a score from Fairfield's John Snellman with 5:52 left to play narrowed the gap to two goals. Junior Ben Hostetler (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) picked up a ground ball and scored in transition to give the Hoyas an 8-5 lead with 1:25 to play.

Leading by three in the fourth, D'Agnes scored a pair of crucial goals, increasing the Hoya lead to five. On the first, he came on the field and entered play taking a pass from freshman Zack Angel (Park Hall, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) off the left side of the goal and his shot beat Fairfield goalie Charlie Cipriano at 10:33, making it 9-5.

D'Agnes responded at the 8:07 mark, scoring from nearly the same spot as Georgetown took a 10-5 lead. Fairfield pulled to within 10-6 on a goal from Nick Baglio with 5:43 to play, but after Vinson won the next face-off, the Hoyas milked the clock in possession. Junior Eric Reinhardt (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) scored with 1:37 to play to make it 11-6, virtually sealing the win.

Unlike previous games this season where the team has started off slowly, the Hoyas won the opening face-off and raced downfield and scored eight seconds into the game. Vinson won the first of his 17 attempts and fed junior Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) near the crease, who passed to a wide open Rickey Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks), who scored his team-leading 18th goal of the year.

Tied at one, Samperton scored his first goal of the game with 9:07 to play in the quarter, spinning around a defender and rifling a shot past Cipriano. The Stags tied the game late in the second on a goal from Chris Ajemian, but the Hoyas once again took the lead with Samperton finding junior Scott Kocis (Huntington, N.Y./ Huntington), whose low shot went past Cipriano, giving the Hoyas a 3-2 lead going into the second quarter.

Fairfield scored a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter, one from Baglio and the other from Ryan Mulford, and took a 4-3 lead. It did not last for long, as Samperton took the ball after a restart, dodged past a defender and beat Cipriano to the right with 8:17 before the half and tying the game. The Hoyas scored two more goals before the half for a 6-4 lead. Dowd fed sophomore Stu Shannon (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) for a shot from 20 yards out with 6:53 to play and then Mirabito scored after taking the ball following a restart and used a one-handed shot to beat Cipriano.

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2009-04-04