After losing to Quinnipiac in its first conference game of the season Friday, the Georgetown field hockey team rebounded to defeat Towson by a score of 5-1 on Sunday.

Friday’s matchup marked the second time in team history that Georgetown (5-3, 0-1 Big East) faced Quinnipiac (2-5, 1-0 Big East). Last season, Georgetown lost 4-2.

The Hoyas came out early and had six shots in the first half compared to Quinnipiac’s five. Georgetown hit the ground running, an improvement compared to the sluggish starts the Hoyas had in their previous games, but still hopes to improve striker movement, according to Georgetown Head Coach Shannon Soares.

“We have a new volunteer assistant from the University of North Carolina Sam Night, who was a striker there, and I think [she] has brought a great new dynamic to the staff and will be a massive help in that area for us,” Soares said.

Despite Georgetown’s press, Quinnipiac’s junior midfielder Anna Walmsley scored off a pass from senior midfielder Dayna Barlow with 17:53 remaining in the first half. The goal was Walmsley’s first of the season.

Quinnipiac capitalized on their chances early in the second half. Quinnipiac’s third shot of the second half resulted in a goal by senior back Lauren Belskie from inside the circle at 49:37 minutes.

After going down 2-0, Georgetown continued to pressure, enabling sophomore forward Lindsay Getz to score with 7:58 remaining in the game.

With 2:13 remaining, the Hoyas nearly tied the game off freshman forward Ali Cronin’s penalty corner. Georgetown was unable to capitalize, leading the coaches to take out junior goalie Chloe Verwiel and put junior back Katie Maransky on the field.

“It basically pushes numbers up in the attacking half for us,” Soares said. “While it’s a risky move to make, often times you can be rewarded by having that extra striker. For us, there was no harm; we didn’t have a goal scored on us. But, we also weren’t able to capitalize on the attacking end off of that decision.”

On Sunday, Georgetown bounced back to beat Towson (0-8, Colonial Athletic Association) 5-1. The Hoyas took 21 shots over the course of the game, 13 of which were on goal, while Towson only took five shots.

Seven minutes into the game, freshman back Anna Farley took a penalty corner, sparking a goal by Getz off sophomore midfielder Emily Fraser’s shot attempt.

Four minutes later, freshman forward Kendra Sykes responded for the Tigers, scoring off a pass from senior forward Taylor Kvilhaug from right.

Despite allowing one goal, the Hoyas quickly regained momentum, scoring three more goals in the half. Junior midfielder Helena Masiello, Cronin and freshman forward Cami Osborne scored. Osborne scored again in the 58th minute.

In the dominant performance, Soares gave playing time to 19 different players.

“That was a full team effort, and the play from our starting group was strong enough to allow those other student-athletes the opportunity to get in,” Soares said. “Those kids did a terrific job when they came in and held their own.”

Georgetown looks to carry that energy and momentum into their two away games this weekend against No. 27 Old Dominion (3-4, 0-1 Big East) and Longwood (6-1, Mid American).

The Hoyas have tough matchups to look forward to, specifically against Old Dominion. Having played four nationally-ranked teams already, Old Dominion is used to competition. The Monarchs are recovering from a 6-0 loss against the University of Connecticut (7-0, 1-0 Big East). Friday’s game will be the teams’ third meeting in program history.

“Our area of focus will continue to be control the control-ables and value possession,” Soares said. “For us, in terms of making sure we take care of the ball, and we don’t have any unforced errors. It will be important for our strikers to get the right kind of movement and get above the ball this weekend as well.”

Georgetown will then take on the Longwood Lancers (6-1, Big South) on Sunday. The Lancers have only one loss thus far. Longwood beat Towson 1-0 on Aug. 27 compared to Georgetown’s 5-1 victory over the Tigers last weekend.

Georgetown takes on Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. on Friday at 5 p.m. and faces Longwood in Farmville, Va. on Sunday at 1 p.m.