Georgetown women’s soccer (3-0-1) continued its undefeated start to the season with a 1-0 win in its home opener against the Bucknell Bison (2-2-0). 

A comfortable performance from the Hoyas saw them fend off the stubborn Bison, who did not offer much going into the game but proved tough to break down. 

Georgetown’s resolute defense, anchored by graduate Big East preseason goalkeeper of the year Allie Augur and Big East preseason defensive player of the year and graduate captain Julia Leas, was rarely troubled by Bucknell.

The Hoyas progressed the ball through the thirds with ease throughout the match, with the midfield trio of junior Eliza Turner, graduate Emma Davis and senior Tatum Lenain dictating the tempo and retaining possession all match. In the first half, sophomore striker Henley Tippins excelled in playing with her back to goal and often dropped into the midfield to link play, as the wingers held their width and tried to get in behind the Bison. 

Georgetown tested Bucknell’s defense regularly but the final ball often lacked quality. The Hoyas had 11 shots in the first 35 minutes and 3 corners in the first half, but never really tested Bison goalkeeper Jenna Hall, who looked comfortable in between the sticks.

The first-half wingers each offered something different, with graduate transfer from Dartmouth Allie Winstanley deployed on the left looking to cut in on her stronger right foot. On the opposite side, sophomore winger Natalie Means provided direct runs down the right, often hugging the touchline to beat her opposite fullback for pace before delivering a cross or cutback into the box. 

With Bucknell sitting in a low block, there was not a lot of space for the wingers to operate in, who were often doubled up on. 

Junior forward Maja Lardner and graduate winger Grace Sherman were brought on as substitutes in the first half to offer a new look since they excel in tight spaces. Nevertheless, the Hoyas were held scoreless going into halftime. 

Means told The Hoya that although the team played well up until the final ball, they needed to persevere through the initial lack of execution.

“I think going into half, we knew that we were putting a lot of pressure on their backline and we were playing in their half and looking for that shot and it just wasn’t coming,” Means said. “We have that mindset that at 0-0 if it hasn’t come yet, it’s going to come cause we keep trying and persevering.”

The second half started brighter for the Hoyas, with Winstanley being slid through on goal only to blaze a shot over the bar with her weaker left foot within three minutes of the restart. 

With 12 minutes to go, Means bravely met a floated cross which was flapped at by the Bucknell keeper, but a poor connection gave a Bucknell defender time to hook it off the line and out of danger. 

The set pieces continued to add up throughout the half for the Hoyas, but the delivery was underwhelming. There was a sense that it was either going to take a moment of individual brilliance or luck for Georgetown to finally break the deadlock.

To the relief of the home fans, the opener came courtesy of the latter. A corner delivered by Lenain was bundled home by graduate transfer center-back Brianne Riley for her first goal as a Hoya, four minutes from time.

Head Coach David Nolan told The Hoya he switched formations while in search of a goal and was surprised that it eventually materialized from a corner kick.

“We flipped systems late in the game so about five minutes before we scored we went into a 3-5-2,” said Nolan. “I wanted to have two players along their line of defenders. Honestly, the last way I thought we were going to score would be a set piece because our set pieces were terrible all day, and lo and behold you get one.”

After the late breakthrough, Georgetown saw out the final minutes with little trouble from the opposition.

A 1-0 is proving a familiar scoreline for the 2022 Big East Conference champions, with nine of their 15 wins last season coming with the same scoreline.

Nolan said he expects the offense to continue building upon its goal-scoring abilities throughout the season.

“I actually envisioned us being far more open this year and scoring more goals but maybe conceding more goals,” Nolan said. “I still feel we’ve got another gear on the attacking side so it’ll come with games and we’ll get better.”

The Hoyas followed up with a 1-0 win against Virginia Tech (2-1-1)  Aug. 27. On Monday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m., Georgetown will take on Rutgers University (2-1-1) at Piscataway, N.J.