After starting the season ranked 20th in the country, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team has since fallen in a rut and lost four straight matches. Georgetown’s (1-6) most recent loss was in a tough 8-6 decision to No. 20 Johns Hopkins (6-2) on Saturday.

Georgetown tallied five goals in a strong second-half performance, but was unable to overcome a slow start, which saw the team score just one goal in the game’s first 37 minutes.

While the team’s offensive production was not sufficient to earn it the win, the Hoya defense clamped down on the Blue Jays’ attack, allowing a season-low eight goals.

Head Coach Ricky Fried praised the team’s energy and determination and recognized the positive aspects in its play, including a 27-17 advantage in shots and control of the majority of draw controls and ground balls.

“There were a tremendous amount of positive things,” Fried said. “It looked like, in all aspects of the game other than shooting, how we want to play, meaning that we played good team defense. We generated quality shots through the running of the offense, and we cleared the ball very well and rode them hard.”

Fried was also impressed by the seniors’ heart after a tough beginning to the season and a 7-1 deficit with 23 minutes remaining in the Johns Hopkins game.

Although the Hoyas’ had a massive advantage in shots, they poorly executed those shots, which led to 13 Hopkins saves, compared to Georgetown’s three.

“We didn’t shoot very well,” Fried said. “We had good shots, and the players produced good shots, but when it came down to executing we weren’t very effective. And I wish I knew why. … That’s the one and only reason we didn’t come out on the positive end. All the other stats were in our favor.”

Fried knows that shooting is something coaching can improve, and looks for the team to do so for its next game against Loyola Maryland.

“It’s something that, in my opinion, is more about focus and discipline while you’re in the moment,” Fried said. “And so we have to figure out how to coach that piece of it, and not just the skill piece of it as well.”

Despite the long scoring drought, one bright spot on the offensive end was junior midfielder Kristen Bandos, who put up her third hat-trick of the season in an 11 second-half stretch.

The Hoyas’ next opponent is No. 19 Loyola (3-4), the fifth ranked team that the team will face this season. Matching up against another ranked opponent will give Georgetown the opportunity to begin earning positive results.

“They play very fast,” Fried said of Loyola. “Offensively, they attack out of a dodge and go one-on-one hard. So we’re going to have to play very similar to how we did against Hopkins. That’s going to be a big key: one, our team defense, and two, our shooting. So those two aspects, if we do them well, we’ll be looking for a positive result.”

The Hoyas will face Loyola on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Baltimore, before returning home to take on Vanderbilt (3-6, 0-1 Big East) at noon on Saturday.