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

WOMEN’S LACROSSE | GU Opens Season With Victory Against Saint Joseph’s

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team secured its first win of the season against Saint Joseph’s last Saturday, in a game played through a torrent of rain at home.

Despite convincing runs by both teams throughout the game, the Hoyas (1-0) left their home opener with an 18-15 victory.

Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried said the team’s energy carried the team through the match.

“There were some things we did really well, and there are clearly some things we have to work on to get better, but I liked the energy that we played with throughout the game,” Fried said.

Georgetown dominated on the offensive side of the ball. The team outshot Saint Joseph’s 32-30 and went 5-of-9 on free position chances while the Hawks (0-1) only converted attempts.

Georgetown’s goals came from eight different Hoyas, including hat tricks from both sophomore attacker Michaela Bruno and junior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst. The Blue and Gray had the chance to be so dominant in part because of its stellar possession game: Georgetown controlled 21 draws to Saint Joseph’s 15.

Defensively, on the other hand, the Hoyas faltered slightly. While the Blue and Gray did manage to force 20 turnovers, it also gave up 20 turnovers. The team trailed in ground ball pick-ups, only scooping in 11 to Saint Joseph’s 16.

ALLAN GICHOHI FOR THE HOYA
Junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt led the team with four goals in Saturday’s 18-15 victory against Saint Joseph’s in the rain. Gebhardt led the team last season with 39 goals on 98 shots. Seven other Hoyas scored on Saturday, including hat tricks from junior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst and sophomore attacker Michaela Bruno.

The Hoyas started the scoring early in the first half with an unassisted goal by Bruno. The Hawks leveled the score just one minute later, but not for long.

Georgetown went on a quick five-goal run to solidify its lead, led by junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt, who started the run by scoring on a free-position opportunity.

Gebhardt led her team, with four goals against the Hawks on Saturday. Her first goal was followed by a goal by freshman midfielder Caroline Frock, then a pair of goals by senior midfielder Rachel Rausa and another by Bruno.

When the Hawks answered with a ferocious run of their own, senior midfielder Hannah Seibel cut them off by adding a goal to the tally and tipping the scales back in favor of the Hoyas just before the half.

Gebhardt netted her second goal of the day to pull Georgetown ahead by two going into the second half.

However, Saint Joseph’s came out hot after halftime, scoring the first goal of the half to bring the team back within a one-point deficit. Yet, in a repeat from the beginning of the game, the Hoyas pulled away with a five-goal sprint, this time incited by Bruno.

Again, Saint Joseph’s answered Georgetown’s scoring spree with a 6-1 run of its own to pull the team back within one point. Georgetown pulled away again with a goal by sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch.

The Hawks pulled within one again, but goals from sophomore attacker Emily Ehle and Seibel ensured Georgetown’s win.

For sophomore goalkeeper  Haelle Chomo, Saturday’s match marked her first collegiate win. She held firm during her 45 minutes minding the net, with six saves on the day. Despite Chomo’s strong presence in net, Fried said the Georgetown defense should have been stiffer.

“Offensively, we executed pretty well, but I think the bottom line is that we needed more stops on defense,” Fried said.

Despite the weather and the closeness of the competition, Fried remained content with the win.

“At the end of the day, there is no such thing as a bad win,” Fried said.

The team will return to action Feb. 17 looking for another win and some defensive stops, as Georgetown takes on No. 11 Towson (1-0) in Maryland. Towson opened their season this weekend too, defeating then No. 4 Penn State (0-1) in a tightly contested one-point game.

Towson is coming off the heels of the program’s first win over a top-five team and the team’s first win against the Nittany Lions in nine all-time meetings, so it will look to come out strong Saturday against the Hoyas.

On the other side, Georgetown will be looking to avenge last season’s loss to Towson.

Saturday’s opening draw is set for 3 p.m. The game will be available on GUHoyas’ webcast.

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