In a game of tremendous importance, the Georgetown field hockey team (6-12, 1-4 Big East) was held scoreless, as they fell 6-0 to conference rival Villanova (6-9, 2-3 Big East) on the road.

Both teams were 1-3 in conference play heading into Friday, good enough to put them in a tie for fourth place in the conference. With a conference tournament birth at stake, the Hoyas’ offensive attack was almost nonexistent, making life easy for Villanova goalie Megan Goelz, who only saw three shots come her way all game.

Perhaps the key to the Wildcats’ success was their ability to shut down sophomore standout Catherine Shugrue, who is second in the Big East in both points per game (2.14) and goals per game (.93). She was unable to get even one shot on goal in the loss.

In a game that pitted two of the conference’s best defensive teams against one another, it was not surprising that the game started off slowly. After 16 minutes of play, neither team had scored, but Villanova’s Lauren Wuzzardo eventually put the Wildcats in front. Then, seconds before the end of the half, Villanova’s leading scorer Dana Ramsden increased the hosts’ lead to 2-0.

The Wildcats quickly expanded their lead at the start of the second half and never looked back, eventually tallying four times in the second frame while continuing their suffocating defensive play.

The loss bumps the Blue and Gray down to sixth place in the Big East, and is a major setback to their playoff aspirations.