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It’s been a magical season so far for the Georgetown women’s soccer team. Facing another weekend of two tough matchups, the Hoyas again emerged victorious in both contests, keeping their record spotless.

On Friday, Georgetown defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 2-0, and squeezed out another win on Sunday against Rutgers, beating the Scarlet Knights 1-0. The duo of victories brings Georgetown’s undefeated record to 8-0-2.

Stormy weather and heavy rains on Friday night did not even appear as a speck on the Hoyas’ radar as they put on yet another display of incredible play. Both Georgetown and Seton Hall came on fast in the first half, seizing offensive opportunities early in the contest. The Pirates had a quick chance at a goal barely five minutes into the game, but the shot sailed over the Hoya goalposts. Georgetown, however, managed to capitalize early on, when freshman midfielder Samantha Baker gained control of a wayward ball at the top of the box and powered a shot past the Seton Hall goaltender to give the Hoyas an early 1-0 lead.

After Baker’s goal – her fifth of the season – the Hoyas’ offensive charge was slowed as the team was forced to go on the defensive against the offensively charged Pirates. Seton Hall outshot Georgetown 7-1 in the first half, but an increasingly strong Hoya defense managed to come out of the first half unblemished.

The Hoyas grabbed another opportunity late in the second half when senior midfielder Stephanie Zare set up a chance for teammates junior forward Toni Marie Hudson and freshman forward Camille Trujillo. Zare passed the ball off to Hudson at the front of the penalty box, who managed to keep it secure from the Seton Hall defense long enough to dish it off to Trujillo, who knocked it in for her third goal of the season.

The Georgetown defense again had to face down a torrent of attacks from the Seton Hall squad during the second half.

“Seton Hall’s style of play – a 3-5-2 with two marking backs and a sweeper – is difficult to play against because you never see it in the women’s game,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “That gave us some trouble.”

Still, despite the unfamiliar playing style, Georgetown goalie Jackie DesJardin made four impressive saves in the second half of regulation, as the Hoyas were outshot 8-4 during the second period. DesJardin’s clutch saves earned her and the rest of the squad their fifth shutout of the season.

“The wet, rainy, windy night made it difficult for us to do what we like to do, which is play good soccer,” Nolan said following the game. “Thankfully we were able to stand up to the physical battle that they threw in our direction. I was very proud of the girls for how we fought in that game.”

Georgetown had to make a quick turnaround as they prepared to face Rutgers on Sunday. The first half of the matchup was eventful on both ends of the field. Rutgers attacked early, as they made two shots off of a corner kick on goal within the first five minutes; one of the attempts bounced off the goalposts, and DesJardin managed to reject the rebound shot.

Twenty minutes later, Georgetown responded with a shot on goal of their own, but Hudson’s attempt was blocked by the Scarlet Knight goalie. DesJardin and the rest of the Hoya defense turned away five more attempts on goal to head into the second half with the score tied at 0-0.

The second half of the contest was quiet until Baker re-entered the game from the bench. Baker executed a long throw-in pass to fellow freshman midfielder Kelly D’Ambrisi, who played the ball across the box before launching a shot at the goal that made it by the Rutgers’ goaltender for the first goal of the match and D’Ambrisi’s second goal of the season.

Rutgers tried to respond to the Hoyas’ goal for the remaining twenty minutes of the contest. Two shots from the Scarlet Knights went wide of the goal and another pair of attempts was blocked as the Hoyas rode out the remainder of the game and added another tally to the win column.

Georgetown’s shutout was their seventh of the season and their third in Big East conference play. “I thought my back four and my goalkeeper were excellent, as evidenced by our seventh shutout of the season,” Nolan said.

“The win against Rutgers was huge,” Nolan said following his team’s victory. “Rutgers has had a very good season to date . both of their losses have been to national powers – Penn State and Portland – and they’ve played very well . this Rutgers game may be the difference between making the NCAAs or not.”

The Hoyas next take on the Syracuse Orange this Friday at the North Kehoe Field at 3 p.m.

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