WOMEN’S LAX Hoya Offense Explodes Elbe’s 10 Points Lead GU to Victory By Meredith McCloskey Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Freshman attack Catherine Elbe and the No. 2 Hoyas won their second straight game Sunday.

The No. 2-ranked Georgetown women’s lacrosse team regained its confidence on attack Sunday, trouncing Boston College 23-10. Senior attack Erin Elbe kept the Hoyas in control of the game with a career-best 10 points on six goals and four assists. The Eagles’ frustration showed early and consistently throughout the game, as the Hoyas never allowed them more than two unanswered goals.

“Our attack has really struggled in the last week,” Head Coach Kim Simons said. “Especially after James Madison, we really tried to focus on getting back to team attack where everybody is a threat, where everyone wants the ball.”

Georgetown did just that as 11 different players scored during the game. Georgetown darted out to an early 4-0 lead, with junior attack Tracy Weickel stirring up the offense and finding the goal at 25:46. The Hoyas then scored three goals in only 37 seconds, starting with senior attack Kate Ahearn capitalizing off junior midfielder Liz Ryan’s pass. Elbe found sophomore midfielder Gloria Lozano, and nine seconds later, sparked a similar play with Ryan.

After a timeout, BC appeared energized, firing off two straight goals. But the Hoyas responded with another four goals, spurring a goalie change for the Eagles. Junior attack Wick Stanwick led the offensive surge, scoring off a free-position shot at 17:08. Weickel followed just 20 seconds later on a pass from sophomore midfielder Anouk Peters. Elbe tossed in her fist of the day at 13:22 with an assist from Ryan, and Stanwick bypassed the Eagles’ defense to close out the rally 25 seconds later.

Elbe noted the smoothness and efficiency of the Hoyas’ offense.

“The past few games we’ve had a really tough time and were forcing things. Today, it just clicked and we went out there and played together, like we did at the beginning of the season, which was a great step,” Elbe said.

Before the half was over, Elbe hit back-to-back goals to extend Georgetown’s lead to seven. However, BC narrowed the gap to 11-6, when Eagles’ attack Susan Breaznell found the back of the net with under a minute to go.

Georgetown’s defense also proved strong, holding BC’s Lauren Miller, last week’s Big East offensive player of the week, to two goals and one assist on the day.

Although Georgetown appeared to be in control of the game, Boston College, 1-4 in the Big East and 7-6 overall, gave the Hoyas cause for concern with their persistence.

“We definitely know [the Eagles] were a team that, if we didn’t play well, could hang with us,” Simons said. “And that’s kind of what happened with us in the first half.”

In the second half, however, Georgetown turned up the intensity. The Hoyas went on a 5-0 run to take complete control of the game. Elbe started three successful plays, setting up Peters, Weickel and Lozano for goals. Weickel tallied her fourth of the day off a penalty. Elbe then took one herself up the middle to put the Hoyas ahead, 17-8.

BC’s Meggie O’Neill slipped in one more for the Eagles, but the Hoyas returned the favor with another four-goal run. Despite the large advantage, the Hoyas didn’t finish quietly, with freshmen midfielder Lauren Redler and attack Hollis Pica both hitting the back of the net with under two minutes remaining.

Georgetown made use of all of its goalkeepers. Senior starter Chandler Vicchio tallied three saves and allowed six goals in the first half. Junior Claire Foster guarded the cage for the majority of the second half, making one save and allowing four goals. Freshman Sarah Robinson played the final four minutes but did not see a shot on goal.

The victory over BC improves the Hoyas to 10-1 overall and maintains Georgetown’s perfect 4-0 conference record. After Georgetown’s first loss of the season to North Carolina, Simons believes the Hoyas are back on track to a successful postseason run.

“When you lose, you have to assess where you are a little bit more. We had a little bit of a setback in terms of how we played the last couple games. I’m hoping that this is the first step to how we’re going to play the rest of the season,” Simons said.

Georgetown will play its last two home games this week, facing off against William & Mary on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and No. 9 Notre Dame, also 4-0 in the Big East, 9-3 overall, on Saturday at noon, both on Kehoe Field.

News and Notes

Elbe’s six goal, four assist performance Sunday earned her Big East Offensive player of the Week Honors. Elbe also scored the game-winning goal with under a minute remaining in the Hoyas 9-8 win over James Madison Thursday . Junior defender Melissa Biles was named Big East Defensive player of the Week. Biles spent much of the game against BC shadowing Lauren Miller, who scored only two goals in the game.