Some teams can rest assured they will improve from one season to the next. The Georgetown field hockey team has assured itself of improvement – but has done so by not resting. After finishing with a disappointing 6-12 record last year, the Hoyas made a commitment to improve that result this year through hard work. Head Coach Laurie Carroll discussed specific areas that have been addressed. “Last season we would run out of gas in the second half. This season we’re committed to changing that,” Carroll said. Carroll attributes last season’s failings to relying too heavily on the talent of a handful of players. “It’s not good enough to rely on talent. You need the right team,” she said. Carroll said that she thinks that she has found that unique team chemistry. In addition to what Carroll calls a great recruiting class of freshmen, she cites the “tremendous leadership” of the more experienced players as a key part of success to come. The team elected its three seniors – Meghan Devaney, Caroline Cole and Meghan Leahy – team captains. “They’re already giving the freshmen and sophomores the confidence they need,” Carroll said. Yet the Hoyas began their season Saturday with an all-too-familiar result, falling 1-0 to Rutgers in its season opener. Still, Carroll said she still feels as though the team is on track to improve on last season’s finish. “We’re not measuring our success in terms of wins and losses. Our group was mature enough to take lessons from the first game and mature enough to believe they can fix the problems we encountered,” Carroll said.

Competing as an independent, the Hoyas have taken the mindset that no game is more important than any other, and that every contest is an opportunity to move toward their goal.

“Any time we get a W, we’re proud of that,” Carroll said. “We’re focusing on ourselves, so there will be a lot of big games.”

The Hoyas play three away games over the next five days before returning to Kehoe Field on Sunday for the first of three consecutive home games. The home stand begins with a noon game against St. Francis ( Pa. ).