Coming off a senior day victory last weekend, the Georgetown field hockey team was unable to keep the momentum going, falling 3-2 to Villanova on Saturday and 2-0 to La Salle (8-9, 4-4 Atlantic 10) on Sunday.
The Hoyas travelled to Conshohocken, Pa. to face the Villanova Wildcats (5-13, 2-5 Big East) in both teams’ Big East finale. Villanova forward Molly Turner put the Wildcats on the scoreboard first, finding the back of the net just four minutes into the match.
By the end of the first half, Georgetown was facing a three-goal deficit after two Villanova goals, the second of which came with only 11 seconds remaining in the first period.
The Hoyas, however, rallied in the second half, starting with a goal from sophomore forward Sam Hickey in the 53rd minute. Hickey’s goal came off an assist from freshman forward Lindsay Getz, who finished the season with a team-high seven goals and 15 points. She is the first freshman to finish the season in first place in goals and points in 14 years.
Six minutes later, sophomore forward Helena Masiello cut the Wildcats’ lead to one when the Hoyas executed on another penalty corner. Junior forward Megan Parsons and senior defender Molly Thompson tallied assists on the play, closing out the year with a team-high of six.
Ultimately, the Blue and Gray’s comeback bid fell short, as the Wildcats’ three-goal lead proved to be too much for the Hoyas to overcome. Despite outshooting Villanova 24-14 and holding a 14-9 advantage in penalty corners, Georgetown was unable to put another past Wildcat sophomore goalkeeper Erika Miller, who came up big in the final five minutes of play, stopping two shots from Masiello off penalty corners.
Twenty-four hours later, Georgetown travelled to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete against nonconference foe La Salle in its final game of year. Similar to the previous match, the Hoyas faced a deficit early on, as the Explorers took a 1-0 lead within the opening four minutes of play.
Freshman forward Michaela Bruno had an opportunity to tie the game off a penalty corner in the 14th minute. However, La Salle senior goalkeeper Rachel Hartman made a diving save to keep the Explorers ahead.
Then, in the 16th minute, La Salle scored again, increasing its lead to two before the end of the first half. The Hoyas avoided further damage, however, much in part due to senior goalkeeper Rachel Skonecki’s 11-save performance, 10 of which came in the first 35 minutes.
The Hoyas were outshout 14-5 in the opening period and trailed 8-4 in penalty corners. In the second half, they were able to shift momentum in their favor, outshooting the Explorers 9-4 and forcing Hartman to make six saves.
In the end, Georgetown was unable to find the back of the net, losing its final match of its 2016-17 campaign by a score of 2-0. Despite the tough weekend on the road, the Hoyas’ senior class finished with a total 21 career wins — the most since 2005 — and combined for 17 National Field Hockey Coaches Association National Academic Team selections.
