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

Hoyas Fall to Blue Devils in First Loss of Season

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Sophomore midfielder Ashley Ford

A single goal’s difference was all the Blue Devils needed to topple the Hoyas off their undefeated course and ending their five-match winning-streak.

The Blue Devils dictated the pace and stayed one step ahead of the Hoyas throughout the entire game, and even as freshman attacker Jordy Kirr scored a last-gasp goal in the dying seconds of the match, the Hoyas could only end with a 12-11 loss, their first setback of the season.

“Duke is pretty good,” Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “They’re ranked fourth in the country right now, and they have played other top-ranked teams. That had something to do with it. We could have done better though – we had some opportunities to win the game, which is why it’s a disappointment.”

For the Blue Devils, it was junior attacker Meghan Del Monte who formed an essential part of the offense with her hat-trick.

The Hoyas’ sophomores forward Molly Ford and top-scorer Ashby Kaestner contributed a pair of goals each to the Hoyas’ final score. Kaestner, however, was ousted from the game with seven minutes to go after receiving a red card, depriving the team of an experienced clutch-scorer, which ultimately affected the end result.

“We have enough quality players who could have stepped up,” Fried said when asked about Kaestner. “We had plenty of chances, but clearly it hurt us that she wasn’t on the field.”

Georgetown’s senior attacker Zan Morely also scored a pair, her first one opening the scoring of the game within seconds of the whistle. But Duke showed the quality of their attack by responding with four quick goals in a little over five minutes – all unassisted. Morely scored her second goal in the ninth minute off a pass from classmate midfielder Patty Piotrowicz.

Both teams scored three goals each after that, two unassisted and one assisted for both teams, taking the score to 7-5 in favor of the Blue Devils at half time.

“We had some really good opportunities,” Fried said. “Zan Morely stepped up and scored twice in the game, Patty Piotrowicz scored one and had three assists, so we feel pretty good about offense. We maybe need to shoot a bit better and make the most of the opportunities that we’re creating because we had some pretty good chances.”

There were more chances to come for the Hoyas as the break in Duke’s momentum seemed to work temporarily in their favor. The Blue and Gray returned to score two quick-fire goals thanks to sophomore attacker Molly Ford and junior midfielder Megan Bloomer to tie the score at 7-7.

Losing the lead fed the Devils’ fire, however, and they came back into the game thanks to two goals – a solo effort and a free-position shot – from their freshman attacker Emma Hamm.

With the score at 9-7 in favor of the Devils, Georgetown cranked their work-rate up a gear, and Piotrowicz, Ford and Kaestner produced three swift goals to overturn Duke’s lead for the first time in the game and take the score to 10-9 to Georgetown.

They were no match for Duke’s offense, however, as the Blue Devils then attacked the Hoya goal relentlessly, forcing sophomore keeper Caitlin Formby into a number of difficult saves, contributing to a total tally of nine. Within four minutes, the Blue Devils enlarged their lead to 12-10, and despite Kirr’s goal off freshman midfielder Logan McCraw’s pass in the last 28 seconds of the game, the Hoyas never managed to catch up.

“Our big-time problem was doing the little things,” Fried said. “I think we were a little tentative at moments, and they had a couple of goals that were rebound goals and things like that which we need to make sure we take care of. There are some things we could have done better against Duke, and we’re going to point those out. But we’re looking forward to our next opponent.”

Georgetown’s next game will be tomorrow against William & Mary at the Multi-Sport Facility at 3:30 pm.

Last year, Georgetown defeated William & Mary by a score of 13-5 in Williamsburg, Va., on March 27. The Hoyas will try to get back on the winning track after dropping their first match of the 2008 campaign.

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