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

Same Opener, Same Result

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Junior midfielder Nicole DiPalma had two shots on goal during the season opener against William and Mary.

Looking at her team’s early season schedule, women’s soccer head coach Diane Drake hoped to notch at least one win in the first two games against William and Mary and George Mason.

Georgetown remains winless, however, after losing 1-0 against William and Mary and having Wednesday’s home opener against George Mason postponed due to rain. Drake and the Hoyas have an opportunity for their first win today, as they face Boston College in the Hoya Classic.

The Hoyas traveled to Williamsburg on Friday looking to avenge last season’s 1-0 loss to William and Mary. Georgetown played well in the first half, with the offense pressing into the Tribe’s zone. Yet the Hoyas failed to score and managed just four goal shots in the game.

“We had four or five real goal-scoring opportunities in the first half,” Drake said. “We owned the play in the first half, by way of possession. I really thought that if we could have gotten a goal we could have gotten two or three before halftime.”

The temperature stayed in the 90s with high humidity for most of the match, and both teams fought fatigue. Yet William and Mary benefited from a deeper bench, and exploited Georgetown’s defensive positioning to control the second half. In the 70th minute, freshman forward Katie Hogwood scored the lone goal of the game after taking a lob pass over midfield and splitting the defense. Hogwood, who had three shots hit the crossbar, beat sophomore goalkeeper Louisa Butler one-on-one with a shot into the lower left corner.

“They had probably more chances in the second half than we had in the first half because they kept getting in behind us,” Drake said. “Defensively, we were pressuring too high over the midstripe. We were just allowing them just to knock balls over our head and we weren’t that fast in the back.”

Butler played well in her first regular season game after missing most of last year with an injury, finishing with four saves in the game.

Despite some breakdowns in the second half, Drake said that the defense was where she expected it to be at this point.

“We saw a lot of really positive things and the mistakes our defense made are so easy to correct,” Drake explained. “When we have numbers behind the ball and they’re coming at us, they’re going to give it to us and we’re strong enough defensively that nothing dangerous will come out of it.”

The defense will also receive a boost as senior captain Lauren Calone returns from her injury, and is scheduled to play in today’s game.

Drake also challenged her veteran players to take charge of the game and to become leaders on the field.

“We didn’t have that one person say, `OK, I’m going to take the team on my back and I’m going to win this game for us.’ I was a little bit disappointed in that because we’ve never beaten William and Mary and we just can’t seem to get over that hump,” Drake said.

Heavy rain and the threat of severe thunderstorms forced the postponement of Wednesday’s home opener against George Mason, which, along with William and Mary, represented two key mid-Atlantic games for the Hoyas. The game will be made up at a later date, but Georgetown faces two important games at the Hoya Classic this weekend, matching up against Big East foe Boston College and mid-Atlantic rival George Washington on Sunday. Virginia Commonwealth University will also play in the tournament.

The Hoyas will look to shore up their defense this weekend, and Drake expects her veterans to take charge of the match.

“I expect us to sit back a little bit deeper and counterattack, which has been one of our strengths,” Drake said. “We didn’t lose at home last year, and there’s a lot of pride when we play at home. So I’m looking for impact players to specifically step out and make a statement that we’re not going to lose at home this year as well.”

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