Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Field Hockey | Momentum Builds with Hoyas Set to Face Owls

With momentum from its 3-2 win against Lehigh (1-8, 0-2 Patriot League) on Sept 25, Georgetown field hockey (3-7, 0-2 Big East) will look to get its first conference win in its away game against Temple (2-8, 0-2 Big East) on Friday. The Hoyas will then compete in a nonconference game against Longwood (6-4, 0-1 Mid-American) on Sunday.

Georgetown hopes to carry this momentum from both the win over Lehigh (which broke the Hoyas’ seven game losing streak) and its strong showing against No. 17 Old Dominion (5-3, 0-1 Big East) on Sept 23, despite losing by a score of 5-0.

“As a staff, we felt as though our match Friday vs. ODU was probably the best 70 minutes of hockey we’ve played all season,” Head Coach Shannon Soares said. “ODU is a very respected opponent, obviously they’re #17 in the country and a team that competes for Big East titles on an annual basis, so for us to have walked away with a statistical advantage in circle pens, shots and corners in the second half, was definitely a positive.”

Georgetown started the season out strong with wins against Davidson (1-8, 0-3 Atlantic 10) and Appalachian State (1-7), but since then, the Hoyas have struggled to find the same success they had in August. However, their solid performance against Old Dominion Monarchs and their victory over Lehigh could be the turning point the Hoyas have been striving for.

“While I don’t believe we played as well on Sunday [against Lehigh] as we did against ODU on Friday, our team was finally able to put enough positives together to earn them a win,” Head Coach Shannon Soares said.

Although Lehigh was able to come back to tie the game twice, Georgetown was ultimately able to secure an important win.

“That’s obviously something that hasn’t happened in the past five weeks and while we’re not so much focused on the outcomes as we are the process, it was nice for this group to walk away from the match with that feeling again,” Soares said. “We are looking forward to this week of training and preparing for a Temple team who is always competitive, energetic and talented.”

Like Georgetown, Temple is also coming off of a win that snapped its five game skid. In its second overtime contest in three games, Temple earned a close 3-2 overtime victory over Sacred Heart (0-9, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic).

Statistically, Temple and Georgetown are similar teams. Their games are usually low-scoring ones, with both goalkeepers out-saving their opponents’ goalkeepers. Both teams average slightly under two goals per match, and both Georgetown and Temple are coming off close victories.

The Hoyas have improved to 2-1 in one-goal games this season, and look to improve their road game record of 1-2 when they face off against the Owls in Philadelphia.

Georgetown will then return to Cooper Field to play its second game of the weekend against Longwood on Sunday. Longwood is coming off of a 2-3 overtime loss to Kent State (6-4, 2-0 Mid-American). Prior to the loss, they defeated Liberty (3-5, 2-0 Big East), who is tied for first in the Big East with No. 1 Connecticut (9-0, 2-0 Big East) and Providence (8-2, 2-0 Big East), in a tight 4-3 win.

Longwood is led by junior forward Edel Nyland and sophomore forward Leonie Verstrate, who have combined for 22 goals and eight assists so far this year. While the Lancers posses a talented offensive duo, eleven different Hoyas have found the back of the net this year, compared to the Lancers’ eight.

Georgetown is set to take on Temple at 6 p.m. Friday in Philadelphia, Pa, and will return to campus on Sunday to face Longwood at 2 p.m.

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