For the last nine seasons, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team has entered its season ranked in the national polls, boasting a 7-2 record in its home openers in those years. This year, the Hoyas entered this season ranked No. 20 in the country and had the opportunity to improve that ranking. However, when Georgetown faced an unranked Delaware team on Saturday, the team fell 17-5.

With the loss, Georgetown fell out of the rankings. Delaware outshot Georgetown 30-14, including an early barrage of shots that gave the Blue Hens a 4-0 lead within eight minutes of the opening draw. Delaware senior midfielder Caitlin McCartney notched four goals and an assist in the rout after Georgetown held her to just one assist in last season’s matchup.

Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried complimented Delaware’s effort and energy, and noted that on Saturday, it was simply the better team.

“I would give Delaware a lot of credit; they came out and played harder than we did,” Fried said. “They beat us in just about every phase of the game and were more prepared to play that particular day.”

Fried also identified specific areas of Georgetown’s game that will need to improve before the team takes on a tough No. 14 Princeton squad on Feb. 28.

“I think it’s decisiveness and energy,” Fried said. “We need to make sure we’re flying around the field and we’re not watching, second-guessing and hesitating. We also need to work on stick work and catching and throwing better and controlling our turnovers in order for us to be successful.”

While the Blue Hens saw four different players earn hat tricks, one minor positive Fried took from Saturday’s loss was that the Hoyas’ five goals also came from many different players.

“We had five different girls score, which means hopefully we have a lot more goals this season,” Fried said. “We don’t rely on one or two girls to score and I think there is not an aspect to the game we were really thrilled with. We need a lot more out of our players and coaches. … It really comes down to our preparation, showing up and being ready to play physically and mentally.”

The lack of sharpness and mental preparation was visible in the turnover statistics; Georgetown committed 19, while Delaware committed 10.

Sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Fisher faced a rain of shots in the first half, allowing 11 goals and making three saves in 25 minutes, forcing Fried to pull her from the game.

Junior goalkeeper Megan McDonald, who allowed just six goals in over 35 minutes off the bench, said that Saturday’s nasty weather did not excuse the team’s poor performance.

“I think it’s tough getting back from a 4-0 start, and the weather was bad, which I understand they were battling, too,” McDonald said. “It was a rough start and took a while to figure ourselves out but it shouldn’t be that dramatic. … We need to go back to working on fundamentals, which was lacking in our Delaware game. But luckily that’s something easy to fix.”

The Blue and Gray next play a home exhibition against Scotland’s international team at 3 p.m. Saturday and then resume the regular season the following Saturday against Princeton.

The schedule will continue to get more difficult from there, as in mid-March the Hoyas will play teams that are currently ranked sixth, 13th, 17th and 11th within a 15-day stretch.

McDonald believes returning home for the next couple games will turn the mood around after a tough season opener.
“Our fans are great, our parents are going to be here and we have the support of the Georgetown community, so I think the home field advantage will definitely benefit us,” McDonald said.