The No. 22 Georgetown University women’s lacrosse team (9-4, 3-0 Big East) built momentum off their dominant start to conference play on sunny Saturday, April 4, securing a commanding 19-1 victory over the Xavier Musketeers (3-11, 1-3 Big East) at Cooper Field.
After allowing an early opening goal, the Hoyas responded with 19 unanswered goals to secure their third consecutive Big East win. Georgetown demonstrated enormous depth while staying undefeated in the conference, using a balanced offensive approach and a dominating defensive effort. As they get ready for the final stretch of the regular season, this victory further cements the Hoyas’ position as a strong contender in the Big East.
Xavier took an early lead just one minute into the game. However, Georgetown’s defense, directed by graduate goalkeeper Leah Warehime, settled in fast to prevent the Musketeers from scoring for the remaining 59 minutes of the game. Midway through the first quarter, junior attacker Anne McGovern tied the score at 1 for the Hoyas. Sophomore attacker Sophia Loschert then dominated the first two quarters, scoring 2 goals in less than four minutes to give Georgetown a 3-1 lead going into the second quarter.
The Hoyas kept their pace and outscored the Musketeers 4-0 in the second quarter. At 9:25, senior attacker Gracie Driggs converted a free-position shot to initiate the scoring. Shortly after, first-year midfielder Betsy Burton assisted first-year attacker Molly Davies for another goal. With 2:46 remaining in the quarter, McGovern scored a man-up free-position goal to give Georgetown a 7-1 lead at halftime after senior attacker Molly Byrne added a goal.
Georgetown outscored Xavier 12-0 over the last 30 minutes as the offensive explosion reached its apex in the remaining quarters. In the third quarter, McGovern completed her hat trick with another free-position goal. Shortly after, sophomore midfielder Sydney Richter scored with an assist from first-year attacker Maia Pronti. Pronti facilitated the second-half with a game-high 3 assists and a goal, while senior midfielder Cate Parsells capped the third-quarter run with a goal assisted by McGovern.
The Hoyas dominated the final 15 minutes, scoring 7 goals in the fourth quarter. Less than 1 minute into the period, Davies used a man-up opportunity to complete her hat trick.
In the victory, 14 different Hoyas scored goals, including senior midfielder Jacqueline Jaskiewicz, sophomore attacker Della Goodman, junior midfielder Reagan Ziegler and first-year midfielder Daphne Fallon. The Hoya bench’s involvement was highlighted by Goodman’s goal at 11:00, and moments later, Fallon converted a man-up opportunity with Pronti’s help. After senior attacker Molly Battaglia scored with 2 minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Ryan Kinhead completed the scoring with a man-up free-position goal in the last 20 seconds.
Loschert produced 2 goals and 2 ground balls, while McGovern and Davies spearheaded the attacking assault with 3 goals and 1 assist each. With 1 goal, 2 assists and 4 draw controls, Driggs led the transition game.
On defense, the Hoyas’ suffocating defense forced 13 Musketeer turnovers, which caused the visitors to go almost 60 minutes without scoring. Sophomore defender Christina King led the team with 3 ground balls and forcing 3 turnovers, while senior midfielder Lucy Nace had 5 draw controls.
In a 60-minute effort, Warehime made 6 saves and let up only 1 goal to secure the victory in the cage.
Georgetown dominated 30-13 in shots and 14-9 in ground balls, controlling the game’s tempo the full time. Additionally, the Hoyas dominated the center circle, winning 14 draw controls while the Musketeers only managed 6. To keep up its attacking pace, Georgetown made 4 of 5 free-position attempts and took advantage of man-up opportunities.
Following the dominant display at home, the Hoyas traveled to Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday, April 8, for a midweek nonconference test against James Madison University (8-6). Georgetown was unable to sustain the momentum on the road, falling 13-7 to the Dukes.
