By Sean Gormley Hoya Staff Writer
Hoya File Photo/The Hoya Senior attack Sheehan Stanwick is second on the team in points, with four goals and one assist for the 4-0 Hoyas. Georgetown doesn’t have the luxury of sneaking up on opponents in the women’s lacrosse world anymore, but it hasn’t made much of a difference so far this season for the No. 2 ranked Hoyas.
The Hoyas have jumped out to a 4-0 start this season, riding an improved defense and vaunted attack that has averaged 14 goals per game. The start has moved Georgetown to its highest ranking ever, second in the nation behind the six-time defending national champion Maryland Terrapins.
“I’m pretty pleased thus far, only being four games into the season,” Head Coach Kim Simons said. “We have enough talent this year so that if one side of the field isn’t playing as well, the other side of the field can make up for that.”
Neither the defense nor the attack played especially well against No. 11 William & Mary on Wednesday, but it was enough for the Hoyas to come away with a 9-7 victory on the road.
“They got up 3-0, which is exactly what we didn’t want to do against them,” Simons said. “We got things together and came back. It was one of those ugly wins, but it was an ugly win on the road against a tough team.
Junior Kate Ahearn paced the Hoya attack with three goals, a performance that impressed Simons.
“Kate did a nice job, I thought she had a really nice game,” Simons said. “She was able to take advantage of some of the weaknesses in the William & Mary defense.
“William & Mary is sort of the spoiler of 2001. They love being the underdogs, and they really don’t care who you are.”
She added that “a No. 2 ranking does nothing but give everyone else more of a reason to beat you.”
The season opened up for Georgetown two weeks ago against Towson, a game the Hoyas dominated from the outset for a 16-3 victory. The Hoyas followed that up with a 10-4 victory at Vanderbilt over spring break, where the defense had an especially strong game, led by senior Gussie Haybeck’s more active play.
“In the Vanderbilt game, I thought Erin [Elbe] played really well,” Simons said about her junior All-American attacker, who scored four goals against the Commodores.
Three days later, the attack went into high gear for Georgetown against an overmatched Virginia Tech squad. The lopsided 21-7 Hoya victory knocked the Hokies out of the top 20, thanks to a relentless attack that featured six goals and four assists from senior All-American attack senior Sheehan Stanwick and three goals apiece from Ahearn, sophomore Wick Stanwick and senior Sarah Oglesby.
“We’ve had a seesaw effect in that some games our attack has played really well and in some games the defense has played really well,” Simons said. “We’re still looking for the complete game, which may still be a ways away.”
Simons wants the team to take it one game at a time. However, the NCAA tournament is always in the back of the team’s mind.
“We’re really trying to focus on every game and every step we have to take to play our best lacrosse in May,” Simons said. “The only ranking that matters is the one at the end of the season.”
Syracuse is up next for Georgetown tomorrow, the Big East opener for the Hoyas. “Syracuse is a tough, gritty team that will be fired up to play us,” Simons said. “They’re a team that keeps coming at you.” Game time is 1 p.m. on Kehoe Field.
