LAKEWOOD, NJ (Feb. 13, 2024) - Georgian Court Men's Lacrosse put in hours of work Tuesday morning and afternoon. And that was all before their game against the University of the District of Columbia. With Winter Storm Lorraine hammering the East Coast, Lakewood, NJ was hit with a couple of inches of snow in the morning and early afternoon. That meant that before the first faceoff of their first game of 2024, Georgian Court Lacrosse, along with the help of other GCU teams and athletics staff members were on the field shoveling snow, getting the field ready for a game to be played this afternoon. 

After all the snow was removed, Georgian Court was able to take the field for their 2024 opener. They looked no worse the wear, despite hours of shoveling and clearing the field, as they rolled to an impressive 25-6 victory of the University of the District of Columbia to start the season at 1-0. 

How it Happened
• The stats heavily favor Georgian Court who scored 25 goals on 69 shots. UDC was able to put in six goals on 14 shots.
• Georgian Court dominated the faceoff circle winning 29-of-35 draws. 
• The Lions caused havoc for the Firebirds when they were in possession. UDC turned the ball over 33 times and were successful on just 9-of-20 clear attempts. The Lions hit on 18-of-20 clears. 
• On the ground the Lions got to 71 ground balls, nearly three times as many as the Firebirds who scooped 26.
• With the extra-man 
First Quarter
• Despite the lop-sided score at the end, this was a close game at the start. Brett Bridges got the scoring started with the Lions first goal of the season 80 seconds in with James Sanford picking up the assist.
• The Firebirds answered with a goal of their own and five minutes in it was a 1-1 game.
• Vincent Burns struck to retake the lead, but again, UDC responded to tie, this time on the man-advantage.
• Still tied at two, Bridges untied it with his second goal of the game with 3:10 to play in the first, and that's how the quarter ended with the Lions leading by just one, 3-2.
Second Quarter
• Bridges goal was the start of 13 straight for the Lions. Ten of them coming in the second quarter where they outscored  the Firebirds 10-0.
• Georgian Court scored four times in the first five minutes of the quarter, including the first career goal from AJ Bratton, a spin-a-rama off a feed from Joe Murphy.
• The Lions continued to pour it on. Bridges picked up three by himself in the frame.
• Matt Dorrian also scored his first career goal for the Lions who went into the half up 15-2.
Third Quarter
• With the game at hand, Georgian Court began giving their starters a rest and emptied their bench. 
• It took just 28 seconds into the half for the Lions to light the lamp again as Tallen Smith scored.
• Georgian Court scored three times in a 70 second span to go on top 19-3.
• Tyler Burns made it 20 before the Firebirds put up another at the end of the period. Georgian Court still led though 20-4.
Fourth Quarter
• The Lions scored five times in the fourth from five different shooters.
• Nearing the end, GCU had another three-goal succession, this time in just 51 seconds. 
• With the sun going down, the clock went down with it on a 25-6 Lions win.

Lions Stat Leaders
• Brett Bridges led all scorers with eight points and seven goals.
• Doug Mackenzie scored four times on six shots.
• Tallen Smith (3), and Tyler Burns (2) also had multiple goals for GCU.
• Justin Iannarone won 13-of-18 faceoffs and picked up 11 ground balls.
• Kyle Harms scooped six grounds and caused a pair of turnovers.
• Michael Schone led GCU with three caused turnovers.
• Vincent Burkhart did get the start in net and the win. He made two saves in 36 minutes.
• Nick Hackl was the only other netminder to come up with a stop.

For the Firebirds
• Najee Wilson was under duress all day in goal and finished with 21 saves.
• Julian Schemm scored four points with three goals.
• Jordan Schemm scored a goal and an assist.
• Najuane Phillpotts won five faceoffs and grabbed four ground balls. 

News and Notes
• All-time Georgian Court is now 5-3 against the Firebirds, winning each of the last five.
• Season openers had not been kind to GCU in the past, who were just 2-6 before this afternoon. The Lions last season-opening win came against Lake Erie in 2021.
• Justin Iannarone surpassed 300 career ground balls. He's just the second Lion to reach that milestone.
• Tallen Smith picked up career point number 125 and moved to third all-time at Georgian Court. 
• Georgian Court was just one goal away from tying the single-game record. 
• In addition to Bratton and Dorrian scoring their first goals with the Lions, Mike Long, Davin Baldock and Stephen Albanese also scored their first in the Royal and Gold as well. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court will hope for higher temperatures next week against Adelphi. One thing they know for sure, they won't have to shovel the field before the game as they'll be on the road on Long Island for the Wednesday, Feb. 21 tilt. Game time is set for 6 p.m.