The No. 20 Georgetown women’s soccer team (3-0-1) handily beat North Carolina State 6-0 on Friday, Aug. 29, and Towson 5-0 on Sunday, Aug. 31. Senior striker Vanessa Skrumbis scored two goals in each game, earning herself the honor of Big East Offensive Player of the Week.

Senior midfielder Daphne Corboz tallied a goal and three assists in the first game and two goals in the second as the team had brilliant performances both offensively and defensively.

The two-time All-American exhibited excellent link-up play with her freshman sister, Rachel Corboz, who notched an assist and a beautiful strike from outside the box, and Skrumbis, whose goals against Towson came just 36 seconds apart.

“Playing with Vanessa and then playing with Rachel, I think that through the past few games we’ve had a good dynamic getting it and giving it,” Daphne Corboz said. “And fortunately we’ve been able to get a win out of it and some goals for everyone.”

Head Coach Dave Nolan was particularly impressed with the progress Skrumbis has made recently.

“Vanessa has always had the ability to make things happen. In the past, I’ve felt she’s gone away from doing what she does well and tried to play a game that doesn’t necessarily suit her God-given talents,” Nolan said. “But the last couple of years she’s worked really hard and played within herself. Instead of always trying to hit the home run she’s been working hard trying to get on base.”

The Hoyas began their home opener against N.C. State with an attacking mentality, with the Corboz sisters showing off skills to evade defenders, striking shots on net and displaying a great chemistry with quick give-and-go play.

The breakthrough came in the 12th minute, when junior Sarah Adams’ shot ricocheted off a defender, fooling the goalkeeper, and trickled slowly into the net.

“To be fair, getting the first goal as early as we did and the manner we got it has to be disheartening,” Nolan said. “We got a fortuitous break with the deflection that puts us up 1-0 … and then they’re thinking, oh gosh, this is just going to be one of those days.”

He also explained why Adams, ostensibly a right back, was positioned so high up the pitch.

“We pushed her forward a little bit,” Nolan said. “I wasn’t happy with what we were getting on the right side going forward. And Sarah’s such a good player, you can play her anywhere. She could play attacking mid, right back, right forward, right midfield. And so part of our adjustment was to try to get her a bit higher up the field, where her cleverness and trickiness would create some problems for them.”

The Hoyas’ early-game momentum faded in the 23rd minute, when N.C. State freshman forward Kayla Saager turned in the box and ripped a shot off the top side of the crossbar. Despite this chance, the Wolfpack did not break the Blue and Gray defense, and in the 40th minute Hoya junior center back Marina Paul headed in the ball from close range after a failed punch by the goalkeeper following a corner kick.

Early in the second half Daphne Corboz played a gorgeous ball through to Skrumbis, who beat a defender and then finished past the keeper to make the score 3-0.

“I knew the third goal was going to be the goal to decide it,” Nolan said. “If they got to 2-1, they’ve got life and it’s game on again. If we got the third goal, they were done. … We were a little fortuitous to be up 3-0. We were the better team, but it wasn’t like we were peppering their goal and creating tons of chances.”

Daphne Corboz then claimed the fourth goal off of a turnover deep in N.C. State territory, and Skrumbis got the fifth off a pinpoint Corboz cross across the box, and graduate student Kaitlin Bast rounded out the scoring in the 89th minute with her first goal as a Hoya.

The defense was a bright spot as well, keeping their second clean sheet in a row.

Center backs Paul and junior Neela Mohan both looked solid, with Mohan putting in crunching tackles and intercepting opposing through balls.

Jessie Clinton utilized her quickness at left back and Adams impressed at right back, while senior Ashley Shaffer, a defensive midfielder, won several crucial defensive headers in the Hoya penalty area.

The Georgetown attack came out just as strong against Towson, scoring three early goals to put the game away.

“I suspected with the games they’ve played to this point they hadn’t played anybody as good as us or that play at the pace that we play,” Nolan said. “Thankfully we came out hot and heavy, and we scored three goals in the first 10 minutes, which totally had them. Their heads were spinning; they didn’t know what hit them.”

Senior goalkeeper Emma Newins, last week’s Big East Defensive Player of the Week chipped in with big saves late in the first half to prevent the Tigers from getting back into the match.

The soaring women’s team’s next test comes Friday night in Blacksburg, Va., at 7 p.m. when they face the fourth-rankedVirginia Tech Hokies.