Poised to kick off against No. 22 West Virginia (9-4, 5-1 Big East), Georgetown (10-4, 4-2 Big East) saw the ensuing 90 minutes as an opportunity to propel itself back into the national spotlight.

It took just 55 seconds for the Blue and Gray to find themselves behind, as the fastest strike in Mountaineers’ history put the Hoyas in an early hole. Georgetown failed to climb out, suffering a 3-1 defeat to its conference foe.

“[I am] disappointed with the result, very disappointed with the performance,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said after the West Virginia game. “I felt it was an opportunity for us to do something today, and for some reason we didn’t come to play until it was too late. Against teams of this caliber, you can’t afford to be giving them anything and … I really felt we gave them three goals today.”

Sunday afternoon then proved an unfortunate occasion for bottom-dwellers Pittsburgh (1-9-4, 0-4-2 Big East) to visit North Kehoe, as the Blue and Gray took out their frustration on the Panthers. Redshirt senior midfielder Ingrid Wells tallied the hosts’ first goal within 24 seconds in a striking twist of fortunes, and senior forward Camille Trujillo doubled the lead less than three minutes later en route to a 6-0 demolition.

“They knew we didn’t have a margin of error today,” Nolan said. “We spoke about … being the team that sets the tempo. We couldn’t ask for anything more than scoring in the first 30 seconds.”

West Virginia 3, Georgetown 1

The visitors controlled play from the onset, seizing the early lead when freshman forward Kate Schwindel connected with a low ball crossing through the middle of the box. Schwindel fired the ball into the upper right corner of the net, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

As the half wore on, however, the Hoyas created chances of their own. Wells had a one-on-one scoring opportunity in the 22nd minute, but the midfielder couldn’t put the ball home. It was the Mountaineers who capitalized on their chances next, as sophomore forward Emily Dillon slotted home another low cross in the 36th minute to make it 2-0.

Sophomore defender Mary Kroening nearly scored a vital goal for the Blue and Gray shortly before the half, getting her head to a corner kick before her close-range follow-up was saved by the West Virginia keeper.

“They defended with a vengeance. …We didn’t defend with a vengeance, and that was the difference,” Nolan said.

Georgetown was strong in the second half, dominating possession for spells and exploiting a speed advantage in the attacking third. The Hoyas outshot the Mountaineers 12-4 in the half and 21-13 on the afternoon, and the Blue and Gray were finally rewarded with an 86th minute strike from Wells off a long cross from Trujillo.

Hope for a comeback was quickly extinguished, however, as the Mountaineers put the game away 24 seconds later by scoring their next trip down the pitch.

“I’d like to think [the team] feels we can create chances against anybody, but I think they also now have to recognize that you’ve got to come out from the first minute,” Nolan said. “I just felt we made [an] inexcusable mistake.”

Georgetown 6, Pittsburgh 0

The Hoyas wasted no time delivering a message in the weekend’s finale. Wells flicked a right-footed effort into the far post less than 30 seconds after the opening kickoff, Trujillo headed home freshman midfielder Daphne Corboz’s cross off a short corner in the fourth minute, and the result was all but certain with 86 minutes remaining.

Corboz then turned finisher, beating her marker to turn in a Wells free kick in the 40th minute after sophomore midfielder Alexa St. Martin was fouled 45 yards from the goal. The assist made Wells the first Hoya to ever reach the 100-point threshold — an homage to her remarkable career on the Hilltop.

The Blue and Gray, who have been dealing with injury problems all year, suffered a blow when sophomore centerback Emily Menges was helped off the field in the first half after aggravating an Achilles injury. That turned out to be the only bit of bad news on a cold and rainy day at North Kehoe, as the Hoyas added three more goals in the second half.

“This is an injury Emily [first] picked up [against] St. John’s,” Nolan said. “It’s a recurring injury, but she should be good for next Friday.”

Sophomore forward Kaitlin Brenn scored her first goal of the year, and senior forward Sam Baker struck her fifth on either side of Trujillo’s 78th-minute goal, an impressive right-footed strike from outside the penalty area that wound up inside the far post. The goal gave Trujillo 12 points (five goals and two assists) in her last four games, after opening the season with just one goal in Georgetown’s first 10 contests.

Trujillo’s great form coincides with a return to her favored center forward position — from which she scored a program-record 13 goals last year — after injuries had forced Nolan to deploy the senior in an unfamiliar position on the right of midfield.

“Forward is a funny position … sometimes everything you hit goes in, and sometimes everything you hit doesn’t go in,” Nolan said. “There was never any question that [Trujillo] was going to score goals. I told her, ‘goals are like buses – you can wait 25 minutes and one doesn’t come by, and all of a sudden three come by.'”

Georgetown continues its stretch of four consecutive home games with a visit from Cincinnati at 3 p.m. Friday. The Blue and Gray will conclude the weekend Sunday against Louisville, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.