Georgetown coach Kevin Warne was elated after Wednesday night's game against No. 14 Loyola Maryland, and it wasn't solely because of the Hoyas' 13-12 win at Ridley Athletic Complex. It also included what the outcome meant to assistant coaches Justin Ward and Jack Runkel, a pair of former Greyhounds.
"They have been so pumped up for the last two days," said Warne, a former Maryland assistant coach. "They really haven't shown it, but man, in the office, they've been a pain – in a good way obviously. But I'm really happy for them. The guys are pretty pumped for them, and they do a great job."
Loyola welcomed back Ward and Runkel – two starters on the 2012 team that captured the NCAA championship – with a pregame announcement and their photos on the Jumbotron overlooking the field.
"Loyola's a classy place," said Ward, a Glen Burnie resident and Old Mill graduate. "They've always done things the right way. They take care of the people that have taken care of them. That was pretty special. It was pretty cool to turn around to the Jumbotron and see Jack and myself up there. I appreciate that very much."
Said Runkel: "Coming back here was so special. Just being at Ridley, I got goosebumps driving up here. It's a special place to play, and it was special to us today to get this win."
Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey congratulated his former players after the game and understood how important the contest was for them.
"I know how much it meant to them to come back and to play well here," he said. "But I'm sure it'll be a couple of weeks before I start talking about this game with those guys."
Ward laughed when told of Toomey's comment.
"I'd text him tomorrow if I had to and simply tell him that I love him and good luck the rest of the year," he said. "That's exactly what I told the other guys going through the line, guys that we played with for three years. We were bleeding and sweating together on that same exact field. It's all about them getting better, it's all about us getting better."
Circling back to "Three Things to Watch" …
1) Limiting the Hoyas' attack. The loss of sophomore midfielder Peter Conley, Georgetown's leader in goals with 19, had little effect on the team's starting attack. Senior Bo Stafford recorded a game-high six points on four goals and two assists, senior Reilly O'Connor posted four assists, and freshman Stephen Quinzi had an assist. That trio accounted for seven of the team's eight assists, and Ward, who is in charge of coaching the attack, said the starters smartly executed the game plan.
"Our attackmen were phenomenal today," Ward said. "They were in the film room with me extra after practice each day, and obviously that paid off huge for us today. I was proud to give them the car, and they just drove it and took care of business."
2) Winning faceoffs to win time of possession. The Hoyas gained a slight edge with fifth-year senior Gabriel Mendola winning 15-of-28 draws and collecting a game-high seven ground balls. But he was aided by sophomore long-stick midfielder Charlie Ford (four ground balls) and senior long-stick midfielder William Flatley (two), and Georgetown also created a couple of turnovers even when Loyola won faceoffs.
"Billy Flatley on the wings picking up some ground balls, and Gabe Mendola scrapped," Warne said. "We thought the wings in the faceoff game were going to be huge, and it came down to that. Gabe won two more faceoffs, and those are all little plays."
3) Getting ground balls. The Greyhounds picked up 32 ground balls to the Hoyas' 29, but Toomey said there were critical moments when a 50-50 ball ended up in Georgetown's sticks. Toomey said the key to picking up ground balls is equal parts of effort and skill and pledged to have the team work on both aspects in practices before Saturday's away game at Patriot League foe Lafayette.
"I felt like there were ground balls that were had in big moments of the game that we just didn't come up with," he said. "We're young – we recognize that. But that's no longer an excuse. We're eight games in, and it's time for Loyola to grow up a little bit, and we've got to run to the tough ground balls and we've got to make the plays, and we will."