After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Georgetown field hockey (4-8, 0-3) was able to apply enough defensive pressure to hold Longwood (6-5, 0-1 Mid-American) scoreless for 60 minutes, ultimately defeating the visiting Lancers 4-2 on Sunday.

Junior midfielder Meghan Parsons scored first for the Hoyas in the 17th minute off of a redirected shot from sophomore back Katie Maransky, tallying the first point of her career-high three-point performance.

This was the fifth time this year that the Hoyas scored the first goal of a game, and after Sunday’s victory, Georgetown improved to 4-1 in those matches.

In the 23rd minute, the Hoyas converted on another penalty corner for their largest lead of the season when sophomore Helena Masiello scored the first of her two goals.

The Hoyas’ third goal by freshman forward Lindsay Getz was a product of the play of the team, as it included three Hoya strikers — Getz, senior forward Aliyah Graves-Brown and senior midfielder Maria McDonald — and a selfless feed across the face of goal.

Masiello rounded out the scoring for Georgetown, as her second goal gave her the team lead with nine points and tied her with Getz for a team-high four goals.

“I think we really came together today,” Masiello said. “Sometimes we play individually, but today we had a lot of passes and connected really well with each other, and it showed in the score.”

When reflecting back on the team’s improvement since last Friday’s loss to Temple (4-8, 1-2 Big East), Masiello noted a sense of urgency in the attacking circle. In Sunday’s match, the Hoyas outshot the Lancers 21-14, compared to Friday’s game in which they were outshot 31-8.

“I think overall our energy and just getting shots off, we were more relentless in the attacking circle, whereas before we didn’t have as many shots in the other game, so we were just working harder during this game to get shots off,” Masiello said.

On the defensive end of the field, the Hoyas posted an impressive 60 minutes of shutout play, making sure the talented Longwood front line did not get on the scoreboard for the majority of the match.

The Lancers began their unsuccessful comeback bid in the 61st minute with a goal by junior forward Abbey Ripley, followed by another goal two minutes later by sophomore forward Leonie Verstraete. In the end, the four-goal deficit proved too steep for the Lancers.

“One of our points of focus today was stepping in front of our opponent and not letting them receive the ball,” Maransky said of Sunday’s defensive strategy. “Friday, we realized that we let them into the circle over 20 times in one half, so learning from Friday to just step in front of our opponents was the most important thing.”

In terms of her personal role on the back line, Maransky mentioned poise under pressure as her main focus this season.

“Being calm and outletting the ball calmly and not frantically, it keeps the rest of the team and the defense calm,” Maransky said.

Up next, Georgetown seeks its first Big East win of the season as it travels to face Liberty (3-6, 2-1 Big East) next Saturday. The Hoyas are hoping to keep the momentum from this weekend going forward into their upcoming road game.

“I think as a team we are looking to upset the Big East as much as we can and hopefully make the tournament,” Maransky said.

“[We’re looking] to prove ourselves, to show that our record does not define how we’ve been this season, so we’re looking to move forward and do well,” Masiello said.

The Hoyas will travel to Lynchburg, Va., next weekend to face the Flames on Oct. 8 at 12 p.m.