Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Field Hockey | GU Looks to Bounce Back

After defeating the Longwood Lancers (6-7, 0-3 Mid-American) last Saturday, Georgetown field hockey (4-9, 0-4 Big East) lost 8-0 on the road against the Liberty Eagles (5-6, 3-1 Big East) on Friday, marking the greatest margin the Hoyas have suffered so far this season.

Liberty got ahead early in the game when freshman forward Kendra Jones scored the first of her two goals after sweeping in a cross from sophomore forward Abby Julius in the third minute.

Georgetown was outshot 18-3 in the first half and 30-6 in the entire match. Georgetown’s shots came from six different Hoyas, including freshman midfielder Michaela Bruno, who is second on the team with 23 shots, trailing only sophomore Helena Masiello, who has 30.

The Flames were able to score six of its eight goals during the first half. Sophomore forward Pippa Best and junior forward Alynn Richardson contributed two goals each. Best scored both of her goals off of crossing passes from Julius, who led the team with three assists in the match.

Despite being held scoreless again in the second half, Georgetown improved to eight shots while limiting Liberty to only two goals, the first of which came from junior midfielder Rachel Suter, who struck the ball into the right side of the goal off of an assist from senior midfielder Bethany Barr.

Freshman forward Agueda Moroni scored the Flames’ final goal during the 47th minute off  another assist from Barr.

“I thought we did a good job coming out in the second half and being a little bit more proactive and denying our direct opponent the ball on the press,” Head Coach Shannon Soares said. “[This] is something we had worked to prepare for out in front of playing Liberty, but we had failed to do in the first half. I thought we did a better job of it in the second half.”

“I will tell you though that we allowed far too many defensive circle penetrations in that entire match and second phase turnovers that just resulted in goals against for us that was a little disappointing,” Soares said.

Despite allowing Liberty to create opportunities in Georgetown’s defensive circle, the Hoyas were able to tally two defensive saves, one each from senior back Devin Holmes and sophomore back Katie Maransky. Holmes’s save was her fifth of the season.

Georgetown’s senior goalkeeper Rachel Skonecki also had a strong showing, recording a season-high 17 saves, just one save short of her career high of 18.

In preparation for its next match against Providence (10-3, 3-1 Big East), Georgetown has been focusing on technical development. “We’re working on a lot of one versus one defense outside the circle, two versus one defense outside the circle, and then obviously set plays within our defensive 25,” Soares said.

This Friday, the Hoyas will face off against the Friars at home. Providence is coming off of a 2-1 overtime win against Quinnipiac (3-10, 2-2 Big East) on Oct 8. During the game, they had 11 shots on goal, four of which came from senior defender Kali Kilmer. Despite going into overtime, Providence had an 11-6 shot advantage against Quinnipiac.

All of Providence’s Big East games have been decided by just one or two goals, and the Friars have a 3-2 away record. However, Georgetown has won its last two home games and is pursuing its first Big East game of the season.

“We’re excited about the match against Providence. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to create our own momentum against a strong team that is traditionally always competitive in the Big East,” Soares said.

Georgetown is set to take on Providence Friday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. at Cooper Field.

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