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 Struggles on R.I. Road Trip

The Georgetown field hockey team (5-6-0, 0-1 Big East) had a tough weekend on the road in Rhode Island, suffering losses against Providence (2-10-0, 1-0 Big East) and Brown (5-5-0, 1-1 Ivy League). The Hoyas fell 4-1 to the Friars, giving Georgetown its first Big East loss of the season.

The Friars now have a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Hoyas. Additionally, Providence ended its three-game losing streak with the victory. Georgetown then suffered another loss to Brown in a 2-1 finish, despite recording 12 shots and nine penalty corners.

Senior forward Emily Matthews scored for the Friars merely five minutes into the game, her only shot converted out of four overall attempts. Sophomore forward Megan Hamilton scored six minutes later, but the Georgetown defense was able to block 10 more shots and keep the score at 2-0 going into halftime. Freshman midfielder Corinne Kenney scored off a cross, while another goal from Hamilton put the Hoyas at a 4-0 disadvantage. The lone goal for Georgetown came from freshman forward Helena Masiello with five minutes left, as she scored unassisted from the top of the arc for her third goal of the season.

Head Coach Shannon Soares said the team was doomed by its slow start.

“We let two early goals in and ended up defending very well against them for the remainder of the first half. It took us too long to get settled in against a good team, especially against a competitive Big East team; it can’t take that long to get settled in,” Soares said. “In the second half, the third goal was an unlucky result on [a] defensive penalty corner, and we were lucky enough to get a goal in the final 10 minutes. Providence was a team, and our girls battled for probably 55 out of 70 minutes, but we can’t get away with that. We have to battle for all 70.”

Senior forward Sarah Butterfield and senior midfielder Emily Weinberg both had shots on goal, as did junior forward Aliyah Graves-Brown. Despite giving up four goals, junior goalkeeper Rachel Skonecki played another full game and recorded a save percentage of .814.

Brown ended its two-game losing streak Sunday as Georgetown again found itself down 1-0 early in the game. Senior midfielder/defender Anna Mansini scored for the Bears six minutes into the first half, and, despite three penalty corners, the Hoyas were unable to convert any of their opportunities. However, Masiello tied the game 38 minutes into the first half off an assist from sophomore forward Megan Parsons. Masiello now has a team-high four goals on the season.

“Overall, our attack played really well,” Masiello said. “We kept having breakaways, and Megan played a perfect pass to me, so our strikers really had a good weekend.”

The Hoyas recorded eight more shots during the second half, including five from Butterfield, two of which were on goal. Weinberg and freshman midfielder Sam Hickey each had two shots on goal, but Bears senior midfielder Alexis Miller scored with less then two minutes left, giving the Hoyas a tough loss. Despite the disappointing finish, Soares praised the team’s offensive strengths over the course of the season so far.

“We try and look at the big picture, as we are a program that is building and growing,” Soares said. “Our striker line showed up this past weekend, played very well, pressured very well and finally made the right leads. We need to continue to make shots and progress, something that will be advantageous throughout the rest of the season.”

Despite the tough weekend, the Hoyas still need only one more victory to tie their overall games won last season. Georgetown needs to win two Big East games to automatically enter into the tournament.

The team will now begin preparing for upcoming games against Villanova (3-8-0, 0-1 Big East) and Saint Joseph’s (4-6-0, 2-1 Atlantic 10). The Hoyas will finish their four-game road trip in Virginia this weekend in contests against Old Dominion (6-3-0, 0-0 Big East) and Longwood (4-6-1, 2-2 Mid-American Conference).

“We need to work on our press [and] finishing and figure out how to counter Old Dominion this weekend,” Masiello said.

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