BALTIMORE — Andy Corno didn’t miss a beat upon his return from a hamstring injury.
The Georgetown junior controlled the faceoff X as the seventh-ranked Hoyas held off Loyola 14-10 yesterday before 1,809 at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field.
Corno, who leads the country with a .682 faceoff percentage, won 13 of his 21 draws in his return from a hamstring strain two weeks ago. Corno missed one game and nearly two weeks of practice but appeared to be his usual self in the first half against the Greyhounds.
“I didn’t know how I was going to feel or if I was going to take the first one today or if I was going to sub in,” Corno said. “I took the first one and felt fine, and the warm weather helps out a lot when you have a hamstring injury.”
Sophomore Sean Denihan doubled his season goals total, scoring four times for the Hoyas (7-2). Senior Stephen Brundage led the Greyhounds (3-5) with a career-high four assists.
The Hoyas, who matched their best scoring output of the season, were buoyed by the slick artificial turf surface. Often bogged down on grass, Georgetown was eager to jump-start its transition game.
Corno’s play early on helped the Hoyas score the first three goals, but the Greyhounds pulled within 4-2 by the end of the first quarter. Georgetown then ripped off a 5-1 run, including a three-goal spurt in a 27-second span.
“[Corno] wasn’t 100 percent, but what he had was pretty good and it was a bonus for us,” Georgetown coach Dave Urick said. “That’s a big part of the game. We play good defense, but you can take pressure off your defense when you win that many faceoffs.”
Loyola then settled down, opting to slow the pace and gradually get back in the game. It was an effective ploy for the Greyhounds, who scored five straight goals as goalie Michael Fretwell (13 saves) helped shut out the Hoyas for more than 16 minutes.
“To get to 9-3, we gave up some easy goals,” Loyola coach Bill Dirrigl said. “When they scored, we panicked a little bit. Our kids tried to make plays and tried to hit home runs every single time they had the ball. It’s tough to get back against a good team, but we caught ourselves.”
No.16 Virginia 13, No.11 Duke 4
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Matt Poskay, Foster Gilbert and Joe Yevoli each scored three goals as the Cavaliers (4-6, 1-2 ACC) kept their postseason hopes alive by defeating the Blue Devils (4-6, 0-3) at Klockner Stadium.
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