It was a busy week for the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team. Following four nonconference games at the start of the season, the Hoyas kicked off Big East play last weekend with two convincing victories against the Villanova Wildcats on Cooper Field.
Georgetown (3-3, 2-0 Big East) defeated Villanova (2-6, 0-2 Big East) on Friday 19-11 before dominating again Sunday afternoon 18-8. The Hoyas extended their 12-game winning streak over the Wildcats with the two victories.
In the first game,Villanova jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. However, in what proved to be a game of momentum, Georgetown responded with three consecutive goals, including one from first-year attacker Kylie Hazen. Hazen led the Hoyas with five goals and contributed two assists. After trading goals, a 3-0 run at the end of the first half, capped by a free position goal from senior midfielder Caroline Frock, gave Georgetown an 8-5 lead at halftime.
Following the halftime break, the Hoyas continued their excellent play by scoring four consecutive goals to create a 12-5 lead. Just when it looked like Georgetown had put the game away, Villanova responded. Led by midfielder Libby McKenna, who contributed five total goals, the Wildcats scored back-to-back goals. However, a final goal by first-year attacker Katie Goldsmith clinched a 19-11 victory for the Hoyas.
During the game, graduate midfielder Natalia Lynch set the Georgetown women’s lacrosse program record with her 228th draw win of her career, becoming the all-time leader in draw controls. Head Coach Ricky Fried congratulated Lynch on this accomplishment in a postgame press conference.
“I’m super excited for her; this says a lot about her work ethic and athleticism,” Fried said. “She’s had an incredible career here, and with more games to play, she has an opportunity to make a significant mark on our program.”
Following a day off, Georgetown defeated Villanova again Sunday 18-8 to sweep the season series against the Wildcats. The Hoyas opened the game with a 4-0 lead, including two early goals from junior midfielder Anabelle Albert. Georgetown outshot Villanova 40-21 while forcing 27 turnovers on the defensive end.
After the Hoyas erupted with an early lead, Villanova attempted to fight back with three of its own goals during the first half. However, back-to-back goals from graduate attacker Michaela Bruno and junior attacker Ali Diamond within 20 seconds gave Georgetown a 10-3 halftime lead.
Georgetown continued to wreak havoc on Villanova in the second half. After two quick Wildcat goals to make the score 10-5, Georgetown scored four consecutive goals to create a comfortable 14-5 lead. Ultimately, second-half goals from senior midfielder Mary Pagano, first-year attacker Lauren Lisauskas, sophomore attacker Kaylan Silva and Bruno helped give Georgetown its 18-8 victory.
During the win, graduate defender Katie Hudson proved why she was selected as preseason Big East Defensive Player of the Year, forcing six turnovers while also winning five draw controls.
Four Georgetown players recorded hat tricks in a balanced scoring attack: Bruno, Albert, Lynch and Diamond.
The Hoyas look to build upon these two victories next week as they take on the University of Denver Pioneers (4-1, 2-0 Big East) in another two-game series. The first game will begin Friday at 3 p.m. EDT, while the second will be Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. Both games will take place on the road in Denver.
