After being blown out in their Big East opener at Providence (4-4, 1-0 Big East) on Friday, the Georgetown field hockey team (1-7, 0-1 Big East) was desperate for its first win of the season. Fortunately the Hoyas played their best defense when they needed it the most, hanging on to a 2-1 victory over Holy Cross (2-4, 0-1 Patriot League) on Sunday to record a check in the win column for the first time in the 2013 season.
The road to the team’s first win has been anything but easy. After an 0-6 start, Georgetown traveled to Providence, R.I. Friday hoping to begin the in-conference schedule with a win. Knowing that the energy in the stadium would be high, the Hoyas had an especially intense week of practice to prepare for what would be their most important game of the season thus far.
Despite a few tough days of preparation, though, the Friars jumped to an early lead. Just five minutes into the game, sophomore Providence midfielder SaleneShaffer placed a cross from junior forward Daniella Bernasconi into the back of the net to give Providence the advantage. At the nine-minute mark, Georgetown sophomore midfielder Emily Weinberg nearly evened up the score, but an excellent save by Providence junior goalkeeper DeidraClymer kept Georgetown off the scoreboard.
Just a few minutes later, Providence again found the back of the net to go up 2-0, and it got worse from there for the Blue and Gray. In the second half, the Friars scored three more goals, ultimately handing the Hoyas a 5-0 loss. Freshman goalie Rosalie Nolen had 10 saves on the day for the Hoyas, but a lack of offensive production and holes in the defense were too much for the team to overcome.
Falling to 0-7 after the defeat, Georgetown was still looking to tally its first win of the year as ittravelled home to College Park, Md. to face off against Holy Cross on Sunday. At the 14-minute mark in the first half, Holy Cross took a 1-0 lead a when sophomore forward Katy Cronin converted on a rebound off a Nolen save. The game looked as if it would go the way of the past seven, but the Hoyassoon finally found a rhythm on offense.
With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore back Callie Hiner scored her first goal of the season to even the game at 1-1. Only a minute later, freshman back Hailey Vann got the play started off with a penalty corner, and Weinberg was able to find the back of the net to give Georgetown a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.
The Hoyas allowed just one goal by their opponent for the first time this season, an impressive feat for a team that has been outscored 30-4 thus far in the 2013 season. Although the Hoyas have a lot of catching up to do, this young team is quickly learning how it must play in order to compete in the competitive Big East.
Georgetown will look to keep its offensive and defensive momentum alive as they play host to No. 19 Louisville on Saturday in its Big East home opener.
