WASHINGTON, D.C. –  A last-minute comeback drive by the Leopard offense came up short as time expired deep inside the Georgetown half. The Hoyas scored twice on a pair of short passes in the first half and held on for a 14-10 final on Saturday at Cooper Field.
 
Mid-way through the first quarter a Georgetown (5-2, 1-1) interception led to the initial score of the game. Georgetown took over at the Lafayette 21-yard line and used seven plays before scoring on an eight-yard pass from Gunther Johnson to Michael Dereus.
 
Lafayette evened the score with a minute left in the first quarter. Freshman RB Jaden Sutton ripped off an 86-yard touchdown run off the right side to knot the game at 7-7. It was the Leopards' longest play from scrimmage this season and the second time in 2019 that a Leopard player hit the century mark (4-100).
 
In the second quarter, the Leopards faced 3^rd-and-17 after a holding penalty, but freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker (13-23-2 for 172 yards) hit senior WR Nick Pearson underneath the coverage for a 33-yard catch and run. An eight-yard catch by Pearson set up a 44-yard field goal attempt by Jeffrey Kordenbrock. The kick was true for his career long, giving Lafayette the 10-7 lead with seven minutes left in the half.
 
Georgetown put together a 16-play, 70-yard drive over 6:52 to close out the half. On 2^nd-and-goal at the one, Johnson faked the hand-off, rolled out and found Joshua Stakely for a one-yard TD. Georgetown led 14-10 at halftime.
 
With five minutes left in the third quarter, Major Jordan's interception after a strong push by the defensive line gave Lafayette the ball at the Georgetown 42-yard line. A holding call and an offensive pass interference penalty slowed the drive before Shoemaker was picked off by Ahmad Wilson who took it back to the Georgetown 47-yard line.
 
The Leopards' defense came through, stopping Georgetown cold at the 24-yard line on a 4^th-and-1 situation. On the ensuing possession, the Leopards went 3-and-out before a short punt left the Hoyas with the ball at their 40.  
 
Another stop by the Leopard defense ended with a Keith Earle sack that forced a punt. Shoemaker then hit Pearson for a 47-yard reception, putting Lafayette at the Georgetown 29. A pass interference penalty in the end zone set up Lafayette 1^st-and-10 at the Georgetown 14. Three plays later, Lafayette faced 4^th-and-4 on the eight-yard line and the Leopards called a timeout. Out of the timeout with six minutes left in the game, Lafayette opted to kick the 25-yard field goal which was wide left  
 
The defense gave the offense one final chance, turning over the Hoyas on a 4^th-and-2 at the Lafayette 24-yard line with 32 seconds left in the game. Malik Hamm came up with the tackle.
 
Shoemaker completed passes to Selwyn Simpson (7) and Joe Gillette (10) before picking up 17 yards on a scramble to the Lafayette 41. On the final play of the game, Shoemaker ran for 10 yards and tried to get out of bounds for a final attempt, but was tackled in bounds to end the game.
 
Defensively, Jordan led Lafayette with a game-high 12 tackles while sophomore LB Billy Shaeffer had 11.
 
Lafayette (0-7, 0-1) returns home to host Bucknell on Oct. 26 at 3:30 p.m.