FIELD HOCKEY Hoyas Stretch Streak to Eight By Julie Wood Hoya Staff Writer

Ginny Simmons/The Hoya Senior midfielder Aubrey Bruggeman and the Hoyas have won eight in a row.

The Georgetown field hockey team extended their winning streak to eight games this weekend, beating a solid Temple squad 2-0 Sunday.

Sophomore midfielder Elena Elster scored her eighth goal of the season, leading the Hoyas in scoring and points.

As the game began, it was clear the two teams were evenly matched. Neither the Hoyas nor the Owls were able to control the ball long enough to make a solid offensive drive. Although Temple had opportunities to score on four penalty corners in the first half, tough defense and impressive saves by junior goalie Jessica Herring kept the Owls scoreless.

On their second penalty corner of the game with just less than eight minutes left to play, the Hoyas executed a corner play they had worked on in practice. Instead of usual striker Elster taking the shot, she let the ball go past her to sophomore back Lauren Galbally, who knocked it past senior goalkeeper April Herman to put the Hoyas up 1-0.

“We just read their [defense], and we saw that that was open,” Head Coach Laurie Carroll said. “That’s something that [Galbally] has really spent a lot of time on, and obviously it paid off.”

Less than three minutes later, Georgetown got another penalty corner opportunity. This time Elster connected on the pass from sophomore back Leeanne Rizzo and the set by senior midfielder Aubrey Bruggeman to give the Hoyas the lead for good.

In the second half, the Owls worked the ball offensively to try and get on the board.

“They came out really, really hard in the second half. Thankfully our defense played strong, and even though we gave Temple opportunities, we remained fairly poised,” Carroll said. The team has been struggling to remain confident with the lead in the final minutes of close games. Facing Rutgers and American recently, they had a tough time maintaining possession of the ball as the clock ran down.

Despite seven penalty corners and six shots in the second half, the Owls couldn’t get past the Hoya defense, led by senior co-captain Bridget McConnell. Elster also controlled the ball well and was instrumental in preventing it from getting too close to the goal. Herring had six saves in her third shutout of the season.

“I was proud of how we responded to them. We didn’t give up the corners and roll over and die. We fought, and we played good defense,” Carroll said.

The Hoyas will travel to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania tomorrow, looking for their ninth straight win. The Quakers are 3-8, coming off two straight losses to Temple 1-0, and Columbia 1-0 in overtime. The match up begins at 7 p.m.

Team Schedules/Rosters 2001 Feild Hockey Schedule