2023 Men's Top 30: How Georgetown Fared vs. Projections

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2024, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2023.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next month or so.

GEORGETOWN MEN’S LACROSSE

Nike/USA Lacrosse Preseason/Final Top 20 Ranking: 3/6
2023 record: 13-4 (5-0 Big East)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

After dropping three in a row (to Johns Hopkins, Penn and Notre Dame) in February, Georgetown gradually put its many offensive pieces in the right spots (including some grad transfers trying to figure out their roles). The defense took a little bit longer to sort out, but an offense led by Tewaaraton Award finalist Tucker Dordevic (65 G, 13 A) and Brian Minicus (35 G, 23 A) offered a cushion. Georgetown won its fifth consecutive Big East tournament; the only school with a longer conference tournament title streak in Division I history is 1989-95 North Carolina. A year after falling in the first round of the tournament, the Hoyas rallied from an early hole to upend Yale 19-17 in its postseason opener to extend a school-record winning streak to 13.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Fairly or not, the 0-3 start in the face of massive expectations and an influx of talent framed the season. Georgetown also had the misfortune of running into Connor Shellenberger on a really good day for him for the second time in three years. Shellenberger’s 10-point day sent the Hoyas into the offseason with a 17-14 loss, their ninth consecutive quarterfinal loss dating back to 2000.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

Crushing Denver 14-5 in the Big East title game. On a weekend when so many conference tournament favorites struggled, Georgetown made clear it wouldn’t need an at-large berth by smothering the Pioneers in Milwaukee.

VERDICT

It’s possible for Georgetown’s season to be both an opportunity lost and an impressive salvaging of something that could have spiraled out of control after a 15-8 loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 25. The Hoyas weren’t good that day, but they also ran into a motivated opponent on its way to a national title. It would be almost three months before the Hoyas stumbled again, and a 22-game winning streak against conference opposition hints at a consistency that has made Kevin Warne’s program a top-10 fixture.