Last season, the Georgetown field hockey team struggled on its way to its 10th consecutive losing season. In the offseason, a coaching overhaul and a move to the MultiSport Facility will hopefully bring success to the listless program.
While the Hoyas had been forced to play miles to the north at the University of Maryland in recent years, their return to the Hilltop will instill a home-field advantage to games this season. The change of scenery, in addition to a returning group of young players that stepped up late last season, is being met with excitement by the team’s revamped coaching staff.
Head Coach Shannon Soares is enthusiastic that the team has an opportunity to rebuild its identity during her first season at Georgetown.
“For us, I think it’s all about the opportunity that’s ahead of us and how excited we are for that challenge,” Soares said. “We’re a brand new staff, [and] we have a different mentality and a different way of how we’re going to play the game.”
After finishing 0-7 in the Big East in 2013, Georgetown was selected to finish sixth in the Big East Preseason Poll for the 2014 season. However, the Hoyas are not fixated on the rankings. Instead, they are concentrating on their opponents, including an early October date with reigning NCAA champion Connecticut, according to Soares.
“For us, we’re not really dialed into the ranking,” Soares said. “We’re dialed into what’s ahead of us and doing our job as a team and playing our style of hockey.”
Georgetown returns a majority of its starters this season, including last year’s leading scorer, junior forward Sarah Butterfield. In 18 games, Butterfield scored six goals and 13 points. In addition, sophomore goalie Rosalie Nolen will return to the cage, after playing in all 18 games her first season and recording a .653 save percentage. The Hoyas now have the opportunity to build upon their talented base by fine-tuning their fundamentals.
Soares believes that making these core improvements is a crucial part of developing the team’s overall style of play.
“The one thing that we’ll continue to focus on and really delve into is the … small details and being really refined when it comes to details,” Soares said.
In addition to the progress Georgetown has made during preseason practices, a pair of positive showings in exhibition matches against Virginia Commonwealth University and La Salle has Soares feeling encouraged.
“[Our players] have done a great job of coming into every practice and coming into every playing opportunity fighting and with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder mentality, and that’s been awesome,” Soares said. “They fought back in the VCU match and they fought back in the La Salle match, and as coaches that’s something that’s been really exciting [for us].”
Georgetown will begin its season on the road against Appalachian State on Friday, Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. The Hoyas will be looking to earn another victory over the Mountaineers after notching a 3-2 win during their 2012 season opener.
The Mountaineers are coming off of a disappointing 2-16 season. After starting the season 2-3, Appalachian State lost 13 consecutive games.
The Blue and Gray will then remain in North Carolina to face off against Davidson College on Aug. 30. The Wildcats have been a perennial challenge for the Hoyas, with the past four matchups between the teams ending in Georgetown defeats.
During its opening weekend, Georgetown’s primary concern will be gauging the progress it has already made and identifying the issues it may still need to address as the season continues, according to Soares.
“I think both Appalachian State and Davidson are really well-coached teams,” Soares said. “They always are competitive, so I think it’ll be a great opportunity to kind of see where we are.”
