The Georgetown University women’s soccer team returned to Shaw Field for their first home match of 2025, falling to Liberty University 3-2 on March 23.
Ahead of the game, the Hoyas looked to continue their success coming off of an exciting fall championship season (13-4-4, 8-1-1 Big East). They won their division and made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, where a narrow 1-0 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes ended their season. The Liberty Flames also hoped to build on their excellent fall season record of 15-2-4.
The Hoyas were looking for a big win to kick-start their spring season in front of a vibrant home crowd. In the first five minutes of the game, however, Liberty took control of possession, playing around the Hoyas’ midfield. Meanwhile, Georgetown struggled to keep the ball in its offensive half.
It only got worse for the Hoyas when they did not clear the ball properly from the corner and it fell right to Liberty’s player, who smashed the ball right through the keeper’s hands to make it 1-0 just eight minutes into the game.
The goal seemed to rattle the Hoyas as Liberty continued to press on. The Hoyas did not grow into the game until the end of the first half, when they finally put a few shots on the board.
As the halftime whistle blew, Liberty held on to its 1-0 lead after having controlled most of the game. The Hoyas ended the half strongly by creating a few of their own chances, and looked to continue the good momentum into the second half.
The Hoyas came out in the second half with a spark, pushing Liberty back and creating several chances. It took five minutes for the Hoyas to get their first significant chance of the half, as junior forward Henley Tippins struck a sweet volley that was cleared off the line by the Liberty defense. Nearly one minute later, junior forward Natalie Means landed the equalizer, showing great composure as she toe-poked the ball past the Liberty keeper to level the game at 1-1.
The momentum of the goal quickly faded, however, after Liberty was awarded a free-kick three minutes later. The Flames smashed the ball at the Hoyas’ near post and went right past the keeper to put the Flames back ahead 2-1.
Afterwards, the Hoyas lost all their momentum and spiraled when Liberty forward Ivy Garner was left unmarked in the box. The ball fell right to her feet, and she smashed the ball into the net to give Liberty a 3-1 cushion in the 75th minute.
The Hoyas’ fighting spirit rebounded as they swung in the corner in the 83rd minute, and first-year midfielder Lizzie Heller headed the ball home to make the score 3-2.
At the following kick-off, the Hoyas faced a scare as Garner went through the whole defense, putting her one-on-one with Hoyas junior keeper Cara Martin. She rounded the Georgetown keeper, with the open goal beckoning, but could not keep her composure as she hit the ball wide of the post.
The whistle blew soon after, and the game ended in a disappointing 3-2 loss for the Hoyas. The last time Georgetown played Liberty on Oct. 19, 2004, the Hoyas comfortably won 4-1. Georgetown will look to build on the loss as they take on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Friday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in Baltimore.
