Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

FIELD HOCKEY | Nonconference Losses Extend Georgetown Skid

The Georgetown field hockey team (2-7, 0-1 Big East) continued to struggle this weekend, dropping a pair of non-conference games in Pennsylvania. Georgetown lost the first contest Saturday against Lock Haven (5-6) before having a late comeback fall short on Sunday against St. Francis (2-8).

The Hoyas started off well in Saturday’s game on a 14th-minute goal from junior midfielder Caitlin Hickey, who capitalized on a rebound from a shot by junior forward Catherine Shugrue.

The Blue and Gray defense held the lead up for the majority of the rest of the first half before giving up a goal just shy of the halftime whistle. Lock Haven finally broke through when senior forward KristiShepps knocked in her first of two goals on the day off a penalty corner pass from sophomore defender Kelly Harsh.

“We made it a goal to be more aggressive in our attacking circle,” Head Coach Tiffany Marsh said. “I think that we saw dramatic improvement in that this weekend, but it still isn’t where we’d like it to be.”

Heading into the second half, the Hoyas looked to maintain their strong offensive and defensive play. It was the Eagles, however, who broke the deadlock in the 49th minute to go ahead, 2-1. Georgetown searched for an equalizer, but the offense sputtered and could only muster two shots on goal in the second half after firing four in the first.

Lock Haven took advantage of Georgetown’s offensive struggles and put the game away in the 62ndminute, when Shepps beat junior goalkeeper Brianna Pereira to make the score 3-1. Pereira had six saves on the day, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for the subpar offensive performance.

“We played one of the best halves of hockey that we’ve played all season,” Marsh said. “We were not able to maintain that level for the full 70 minutes.”

The Hoyas’ struggles continued against St. Francis Sunday afternoon. The Red Flash had numerous chances to open the scoring before finally getting on the board 20 minutes into the first half off a penalty corner.

The Hoyas weren’t able to equalize in the first half but started the second half well, as freshman forward Brooke Simone scored her first collegiate goal to tie the game at one just four minutes after the restart. Within 15 minutes, though, St. Francis had a two-goal lead that the Blue and Gray were ultimately unable to overcome. The Hoyas didn’t go down without a fight, though. Shugrue brought the visitors back to within one goal in the 69th minute when her shot squirmed past the goalie, but that would be the Hoyas’ final tally as they finished up the game on the wrong end of a 3-2 count. This was the first loss for the Hoyas against St. Francis in program history.

“I think our defense did take a step in the right direction,” Marsh said. “We are learning to step to the ball faster, and play a more aggressive game.”

This weekend the Hoyas travel to New Jersey, where they will face Big East rival Rutgers on Friday and Monmouth on Sunday.

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