The No. 12 Georgetown women’s soccer team has the momentum of a freight train— and shows no signs of stopping. The undefeated Hoyas (7-0) cruised to an easy 8-0 win over Yale (3-1) Friday afternoon at Shaw Field for the team’s 16th straight win at home, a record dating back to October 2011.

Before the match, Head Coach Dave Nolan predicted that the Bulldogs, who along with the rest of the Ivy League started their season several weeks after the rest of Division I, would be either fresh or unprepared. The latter quickly became apparent.

“It’s a tough spot for [Yale] because they’re only two or three weeks into their season, and we’re six,” Nolan said. “I sensed we were going to be fitter, faster and more game ready than them, and I think that was the difference.”

Georgetown controlled the pace of play from the opening kick. As Yale defended with 11 women behind the ball, the Hoyas pushed forward, creating some of their best combinations in the offensive third this season.

“I thought our offense played really well,” junior midfielder Daphne Corboz said. “We all came out at a high tempo.”

The Hoyas finally broke through in the 12th minute. Senior forward Kaitlin Brenn slid a pass behind the Yale defense to senior midfielder Kailey Blain, who smashed the ball through Bulldog freshman goalkeeper Rachel Ames’ legs into the back of the net for her first goal of the year.

Twenty minutes later, Georgetown struck again. A corner kick from Corboz was played to the near post, where it was headed home by senior defender Mary Kroening, the first of two goals she had on the day. It was Kroening’s second straight game with a goal, an impressive feat for a defender, but not altogether surprising given the senior’s 6-foot tall frame.

“It was great to see Mary get a couple [of goals],” Nolan said. “Especially off set pieces, which is something we’ve been encouraging her to do.”

Set pieces were crucial for the Georgtown offense; the Hoyas scored four of their eight goals on the afternoon off corner kicks.

“With the delivery we have and the height we have and the athleticism we have, we should be scoring some goals off corners,” Nolan said. “That was good to see.”

Junior midfielder Jillian DeGennaro and sophomore midfielder Marina Paul would both add goals before the end of the first half to provide Georgetown with a comfortable 4-0 lead at the break.

The Hoyas continued to roll in the second half, with junior forward Vanessa Skrumbis and Kroening each contributing a goal and Corboz scoring twice to give Georgetown the final 8-0 victory.

The offensive statistics for the Blue and Gray were staggering. The Hoyas took 14 corner kicks to Yale’s two and outshot the Bulldogs 31-3. When it was all said and done, nine Georgetown players contributed points.

Five points came from Corboz, who finished with two goals and three assists in only 38 minutes. It was the second match back for the preseason Big East offensive player of the year after missing the first five games of the year with a leg injury. Corboz was named Big East Offensive PLayer of the Week for her performance
After the game, Corboz was more focused on the team effort than any personal points total.

“Obviously our offense is always dictated by how well we defend,” said Corboz. “It all starts back there, so really I think it was a great team performance.”

The defense and goalkeeping was indeed impressive for Georgetown. The Hoyas lengthened their shutout streak to four games and allowed only one legitimate scoring chance, which came late in the second half after all of the starters, save for senior defender Emily Menges, had been taken out of the game. Nolan was pleased with how his younger defenders acquitted themselves.

“You got the sense that the defenders, late in the game, weren’t going to let other people do their job and let the ball into the back of the net.” Nolan said.

For the Blue and Gray, the focus is now on extending their winning streak to eight games when they play the University of Central Florida (6-2) on Thursday afternoon at home.

Nolan knows that the Knights, who lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, will most likely give his squad the toughest match they’ve had all year.

“UCF is a very strong, nationally renowned program,” said Nolan. “Physically there’s a different dimension to them and then there’s an athletic dimension and a competiveness to them that’s going to be something that we haven’t faced all year.”

Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday on Shaw Field.