With two wins against Villanova and Delaware, the Penn State men's lacrosse team geared up for its conference opener Saturday against Georgetown.

The No. 4 Hoyas, however, handed the Lions a 12-5 defeat in the team's ECAC opener Saturday.

The No. 20 Nittany Lions breezed past Villanova 14-7 at Holuba Hall last Saturday, March 3, and crushed No. 14 Delaware 13-6 Wednesday, but the Hoyas were too much for the Lions. Georgetown handed Penn State a loss in their first league game 12-5.

"We just didn't have the offensive firepower to hang with them," Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel said. "We made some mental mistakes."

The Lions were still within striking distance of the Hoyas at the end of the third period, down 6-4 with four minutes to go, but Georgetown sophomore Mike Hammer started a 6-0 run with 3:45 left in the third. The second goal of the run was the one Thiel pointed to as the turning point.

"We really stayed with them up until the beginning of the fourth quarter," Thiel said. "Four goals was too much of a lead to give them."

Georgetown had five players with multiple goals. Senior tri-captain Scott Doyle got three goals for his second hat trick of the season. Attackers Neal Goldman and Mike Hammer each had two goals and two assists. Dusseau and midfielder Trevor Walker each had two goals.

Penn State senior goalie Matt Vallone turned in a stellar performance despite the loss. Vallone stopped 22 of the 34 shots hurled at him.

"Vallone played a super game," Thiel said. "He really kept us in the game against Georgetown."

Junior attacker Will Driscoll and freshman defenseman Rob Bateman each had a goal and an assist. Sophomore attacker Luke Oglesby, sophomore midfielder Rob Booth, and junior midfielder Sean Droogan each had goals.

At Delaware they jumped out to a 10-3 halftime lead over the Blue Hens, and never allowed them back in the game.

Senior attacker Eric Wood also had two goals, and Oglesby, Booth, freshman attacker Edmond Perry, and senior midfielder Ted Holmes each added goals.

"We were really happy with the way we were playing going into the Georgetown came," assistant coach Ken Willie said. "We never let them get too much going offensively."

Vallone had 14 saves to help the Lions to their first win of the season March 3. The Lions scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter to take an 8-2 lead into the intermission, and never let up in a 14-7 win.

Will Driscoll led all scorers with five goals, and Eric Wood had three goals and five assists.