Newark, DE - Georgetown senior All-American midfielder Steve Dusseau scored four goals and Trevor Walker and Walid Haij each added two goals and an assist as the No. 5 Hoyas advanced to the quarterfinals with a 12-7 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament first round victory over Manhattan at the University of Delaware's Delaware Stadium.
Georgetown, making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, improved to 12-2 on the season and will face defending national champion and No. 4 seed Princeton in a quarterfinal game next Saturday at Hofstra University. Manhattan, the MAAC champion and a first-time NCAA Tournament participant, had an eight-game win streak snapped to finish the season at 11-6.
Eugene Tanner, the nation's fourth leading scorer, tallied two goals for Manhattan, which received an outstanding effort in goal from senior James Amendola, who posted 24 saves as Georgetown outshot the Jaspers, 62-17.
"I give Manhattan a lot of credit," Georgetown head coach Dave Urick said, whose team won a first round NCAA game for third time in the last four years. "They were well prepared. Amendola did a great job in goal and we got frustrated early. We had some chances early but just didn't execute and Amendola came up big when they needed him. It was humid day and the weather was tough, but we have the luxury of going deeper in our lineup. We are pleased with the result. We got the win and we are moving on."
After Georgetown scored the first two goals of the game behind unassisted scores from Haij and Dusseau. Manhattan battled back to tie the game at 2-2 on scores by Justin Otto and Don Femminella, the second with 11:08 left in the first half.
But the Hoyas took control from there, shutting down Manhattan for the rest of the half and scoring four unanswered goals, two Dusseau, to take a 6-2 lead into intermission.
After Manhattan's Rich Sauer scored in the opening minute of second half, Georgetown again responded with three straight goals, including one by Dusseau, to go up 9-3, and never looked back.
Phil Vincenti added a goal and an assist for Georgetown while Neal Goldman handed out three assists. Georgetown won the faceoff battle by a slim 12-9 margin.
"We played very well," Manhattan head coach Tim McIntee said. "Georgetown did a great job defensively and our kids just couldn't get to the cage. I have to believe that was the best game that Amandola played for us. Even though we walk out of here with a loss, it was a win for us. We played the No. 5 team in the country and we played them tough."