Laxers make trip to Georgetown again

By CHRIS ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

More than two weeks ago the Penn State men's lacrosse team traveled to the nation's capital.

Not to take a tour of the White House or see the Watergate Hotel -- this trip was all business. None of that tourist stuff.

The Nittany Lions came to play. Penn State's latest opponent to feast upon would be Georgetown, a team it had knocked off last year in the final seconds, 14-13.

But into every season a little snow must fall. In spite of the flurries, Penn State was ready to go -- dressed in blue, going through the warm-up motions.

And when the game was ready to get underway, the Lions found no opponents lying in the waiting. Until the game was canceled, and the Lions retired to the locker room and found their foe out and about.

"We were a little enraged," Penn State attacker John Chescavage said. "They made us look like idiots."

And now, Lions coach Glenn Thiel is a "little sick of bus trips to Maryland."

Thiel and his No. 9 Lions (4-1) will take one more trip as they face off against No. 7 Georgetown (4-1) at 12:30 p.m. today in Georgetown.

Especially ready for this game is freshman Will Driscoll. The once-phenomenal freshman has cooled off a bit recently, but he is hoping to get back on track. In the Lions' first four games he notched eight goals, including an impressive four scores against Villanova. But for the first time, Driscoll went scoreless in Penn State's last contest versus Maryland-Baltimore County.

"I can do more," Driscoll concedes. "I expect to score every time I get the ball."

So much for freshman fears. Apparently, Driscoll has none.

It shows.

"He's doing really well," said Chescavage, Penn State's leading scorer last season. "He's a fantastic shooter. He is probably putting the ball in the cage a lot more than I am."

Even his coach has taken notice.

"He's kind of found his niche," Thiel said. "He's got some good accuracy and can really finish his shots."

Not too shabby for a lacrosse player who somewhat toiled with the idea of playing college football. At Fairport High School in upstate New York, Driscoll led the Red Raiders football squad to a New York State Championship in 1997.

Still, Driscoll earned his share of accolades on the lacrosse terrain. He was named an all-county player and participated in the Empire State games twice.

But the choice to play lacrosse never came to light. In fact, Driscoll's only other serious alternative to Happy Valley lacrosse was a tempting offer from lacrosse powerhouse Johns Hopkins.

"The only guy that is happy about his decision is coach Thiel," Georgetown coach Dave Urick said.

Added Urick with a chuckle: "Coach Thiel might be making his living from lacrosse players from upstate New York."