Their opponents might be changing, but the results are not for the suddenly scorching-hot women’s lacrosse team (8-5, 6-0 Big East). Rutgers (9-4, 2-3 Big East) was Georgetown’s latest victim on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights scored just four second-half goals en route to a 19-12 victory for the Hoyas at MultiSport Facility.

Despite a stellar nonconference record, the Scarlet Knights have labored in conference play and arrived on the Hilltop needing a win to stay in contention for a Big East tournament spot. The visitors’ early play reflected the importance of this game for them as they dominated the draw controls in the opening stages. A furious Rutgers onslaught had the Georgetown defense back on its heels, and the Scarlet Knights opened with a 4-0 lead just four minutes into the game.

All in all, the Hoyas lost the first seven draws and were fortunate to be down only four when senior Sarah Seats scored the first goal for the hosts. Seats’ goal came just minutes after the Scarlet Knights nearly added a fifth on a shot that beat senior goalie Caitlin Formby but ricocheted off the post.

Despite continued struggles with draw control after Seats’ goal, the Blue and Gray tightened up on defense and were patient when they had possession. Goals by freshman Kelsi Bozel and junior Jordyn Kirr cut the Rutgers lead to one with 19 minutes left in the half, and although the Hoyas would trade goals for the next 15 minutes, the 3-0 mini-run by the hosts kept the Scarlet Knights from running away with an upset victory.

“We didn’t really change anything tactically,” Head Coach Ricky Fried said of his team’s response to Rutgers’ fast start. “It was more of an energy level thing.”

Although Rutgers took a 7-6 lead with 13 minutes left in the half, the Hoyas had more success in the faceoff circle, and the offense took advantage of its newfound opportunities to expose the Scarlet Knights’ defense.

“Once we got the ball in our offensive end we were scoring some goals,” Fried said. “A lot of that has to do with us getting the quality shots that we want and the opportunities that we wanted.”

When junior Jacqueline Giles converted a free-position shot two minutes later to tie the game at seven, it began a 5-1 run for the Hoyas, highlighted by a goal with 12 seconds left from senior Ashby Kaestner. Kaestner’s goal came just nine seconds after the Scarlet Knights had scored to cut Georgetown’s new lead to two.

Halftime came and went, and Rutgers threatened to go on another run when they scored less than a minute into the half. But Kirr responded with a goal of her own 20 seconds later, starting a 7-0 Georgetown run that put the game out of reach.

“At halftime it was just a matter of making sure that we didn’t come out flat,” Fried said. “They came out and got the first goal of the second half, but after that we went on a little bit of a run.”

Senior co-captain Molly Ford was particularly happy with how the team reacted to Rutgers’ early success in both halves, particularly on the offensive end where Georgetown’s endless movement and sharp passing earned the Blue and Gray attackers many free position shots and good looks at the goal.

“We just mentally turned it around and scrapped a little bit more,” Ford said. “We moved the ball a little bit faster in the second half, [and] we were able to get some backdoor [cuts], and that definitely helped us.”

Next up for Georgetown is a road contest against the Yale Bulldogs, but the true tests that will measure the Hoyas’ improvement this season will be their matchups against the two top-ranked teams in the Big East – No. 13 Loyola Maryland and No. 8 Syracuse.

“We’ve had a few easy games in the middle of our season, and that’s definitely brought back our confidence,” Ford said. “Loyola and Syracuse are huge games for us, and I think we’re going to have to come out really strong [to beat them].”

Fried is glad to see his team coming together and growing in confidence with each victory, particularly on the offensive end, where his team has scored at least 17 goals in each of its last four games.

“The biggest thing is that we’re playing at a higher pace. Offense takes a little while to get going in the season,” Fried said. “[And] when you’re playing [North] Carolina, Duke, Maryland and Northwestern, sometimes it takes a little bit longer than normal.”

After the Yale game on Friday, Georgetown will return home for Senior Day next Wednesday against Loyola. The latter contest will go a long way toward deciding which team is a viable contender for the Big East title.