Junior midfielder Rachel Corboz led the Georgetown women’s soccer team (1-0-0) to its first victory of the season, a 6-0 romp over the Towson Tigers (0-1-0), thanks largely to a twenty-nine minute first half hat trick.

An eighth minute Towson red card and subsequent converted Corboz penalty set the tone for the lopsided affair, as the Hoyas outshot the Tigers 28-2 and earned 20 corners to Towson’s one.

Corboz looked dangerous throughout, hitting the woodwork twice in addition to her three goals and visionary assist for senior forward Grace Damaska, and showing clearly why she was named Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year as well as one of 36 players nationwide on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, awarded each year to the country’s best college player.

Head Coach Dave Nolan, overseeing a tenth straight win in season openers, bemoaned the red card which changed the complexion of the game.

“It was a strange kind of game. The sending off so early, it just affects your mentality,” Nolan said. “In some ways, it ruined the game. It made it more comfortable for us from a victory point of view… We were moving the ball pretty well in the first half, and 4-0 at halftime was probably a fair result with the circumstances.”

Nolan exuded disappointment with the second half effort, believing the team could have tacked on an additional pair of goals, but the team can take away several reasons for optimism.

Several newcomers impressed, including freshman midfielder/defenseman Sarah Trissel stepping in alongside junior Liz Wenger to form a solid center back pairing which dealt well with the few half-chances Towson created.

Freshman forward Casey Richards looked confident on the ball and earned her first Hoya goal off a drop by the Towson keeper. And freshman midfielders Paula Germino-Watnick and Carson Nizialek impressed as well, with Nizialek finishing strongly in the eighty-sixth minute to cap the Hoyas’ scoring.

Georgetown also returns several of last season’s key cogs: graduate student Crystal Thomas registered five shots, and the central defensive duo of juniors Taylor Pak and Chloe Knott snuffed out most Towson attacks before they could really develop.

The games come quickly for the Hoyas now, with three more home games before classes start for students on August 30, and matches against four of the nation’s top ten teams even before Big East play begins on September 25.

Corboz seemed pleased with the result, but acknowledged cleaner passes and touches would be necessary against future opponents to realize the team’s goals for the season.

“We want to do the best we can in these out-of-conference games, and we have a really tough schedule,” Corboz said. “But we just do the best we can to take it one game at a time… Obviously we want to win [the Big East], and then make it as far as we can in the NCAAs.”

Overall, after a difficult and disappointing end to last season on penalties, the Hoyas hope this opening result is a sign of things to come on the Hilltop. “We have a lot to prove this season,” Corboz said. “And we’re excited to do so.”

Georgetown next takes on No. 4 Stanford (ranked No. 1 by Top Drawer Soccer) at 12 p.m. on Shaw Field on Sunday.