In a recap of the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team’s overtime loss to Loyola (Md.), this correspondent suggested that the Hoyas might not be a squad built to win “shootout” affairs. Following the Blue and Gray’s 21-11 win over Connecticut on Friday afternoon, it looks like it’s already time for me to eat my words.
The Blue and Gray were firing on all cylinders offensively, as three different Hoyas — CarolineTarzian, Kelyn Freedman, and Dina Jackson — recorded four tallies apiece on the day. Juniormidfielders Kelsi Bozel and Sophia Thomas each added hat tricks of their own to help do in the Huskies.
“Overall, [it was a] very good team effort,” said Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried. “Everyone on the team got into the game, which I think is important at this time of year because we don’t want to get burnt out physically, and people that are at practice every day pushing the starters deserves thatopportunity.”
The win looked like less than a sure thing early on in the first half, as UConn took a surprising 2-1 lead with a little more than 5 minutes gone. However, a goal less than a minute later from co-captain Sophia Thomas tied things up and kick-started an impressive 7-0 run by Georgetown. The GU lead would stretch all the way to 8-2 at the 6:51 mark, before the visitors stopped the bleeding with two goals to close the half.
Connecticut’s fortunes didn’t improve in the second period, though, as the Hoyas poured in 13 to put the game well out of reach.
“We came out strong today. Offensively, we shot really well and [moved] the ball, and again we got scoring from [seven different players], which makes us really hard to defend,” Fried said.
If there was one thing that this contest appeared to be lacking, it was defense — and not only on the visitors’ side. But, as Fried noted, any deficiencies in Georgetown’s end of the field were likely due to a little bit of overexcitement rather than any lack of game awareness.
“Defensively, I think we were very close to making a lot of plays, and I [just] thought they executed better than we did. We overran some things, especially in the first half. Made some really good decisions on doubles and then overran them,” said Coach Fried. “So we have to clean that up a little bit. I think we play better when we’re in a controlled setting, and we got a little out of control today swinging and overrunning, and that’s one of the things that we’ll have to focus on.”
Georgetown’s next game awaits them Thursday, when the Blue and Gray will continue Big East action on the road at Cincinnati. The opening draw is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
