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

Orange Leave Hoyas Seeing Red

Heading to Syracuse on Saturday, Georgetown was a perfect 2-0 in Big East play and had aspirations of knocking off the team coaches tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the league. When they left following an 18-3 thrashing, it became clear that this may be the first year since the Big East’s inception in 2001 that the Hoyas do not win the league title.

The Hoyas (8-3, 2-1 Big East) suffered their worst defeat ever under Head Coach Ricky Fried, who is in his fourth year on the Hilltop.

“They simply executed a lot better than we did,” Fried said of the Syracuse (10-2, 3-0) offense. “They put forth a lot of energy in the game and we just got reactive, and they basically executed better than us throughout the game.”

With the win, the Orange moved into sole possession of first place as the Big East’s only undefeated team.

The match appeared to be decided within the first 21 minutes of play, as Syracuse flew off with a 7-0 lead, thanks mostly to sophomore midfielder Christina Dove and junior attacker Katie Rowan, who received Big East player of the week honors for her performance.

Junior attacker Bunny O’Reilly gave the Hoyas a glimmer of hope when her shot off an assist by sophomore midfielder Ashby Kaestner found the back of the net with 10 minutes left in the first half. Any hope of victory was quickly crushed, however, when the Orange came back to score three more before the halftime whistle, with Rowan yet again playing an instrumental role.

Syracuse picked up right where it left off when the Orange returned after the break, and it took them less than a minute to open the floodgates, pouring in eight more goals consistently until the final buzzer sounded. The Hoyas barely created a ripple with their two goals, coming in at 11 minutes into the half by freshman attacker Jordy Kirr and at 20 minutes by sophomore attacker Molly Ford.

Of the Hoyas’ 22 attempted shots, just three made it past the line to count on the scoreboard. Syracuse was forced into 13 saves, while the Hoyas pulled off seven – five of which were made coming off the bench by freshman goalkeeper Lauren Thomas. The Blue and Gray also had a superior draw control record as compared to the Orange – 14 to 9 – yet they were unable to capitalize in attack.

Georgetown had six more turnovers than Syracuse.

Fried, however, said he is not extremely concerned by the setback.

“It’s one game in the season,” Fried said. “We have two choices: We can either let that game define us or we can move on and let the next games define us.”

The Hoyas will look to draw on their home advantage as they take on Virginia this Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on the Multi-Sport Facility.

“I think most of the girls are ready for the next challenge, and they can’t wait to get back on the field again,” Fried said.

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