The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team picked up an 18-11 win against Big East rival the Marquette Golden Eagles in Milwaukee on April 13 thanks to the Hoyas’ high-powered offense.
The matchup was slated to be competitive, as Georgetown (6-9, 4-1 Big East) hoped to maintain its conference momentum following a dominant 18-10 win over Butler (2-12, 1-4 Big East), while Marquette (5-10, 1-3 Big East) looked to rebound from a devastating 20-6 loss to No. 16 Denver (11-3, 4-0 Big East).
To begin the game, Georgetown’s leading goalscorer, sophomore attacker Gracie Driggs, won the faceoff draw.
However, the Hoyas did not get the first strike, falling behind 1-0 to a goal by Marquette star attacker Meg Bireley.
Nonetheless, Georgetown found its stride soon thereafter and quickly retaliated with a point-blank score by senior attacker Kylie Hazen, a result of a beautiful pass from sophomore attacker Molly Byrne.
Hazen’s shot was the first of 3 consecutive goals for the Hoyas, as junior attacker Emma Gebhardt added 2 of her game-high 4 goals in the first quarter. Marquette took advantage of a player-up, free-position goal to draw within 1 point, trailing 3-2 at the end of the first.
The following periods yielded similar results, as the Hoyas continued to apply pressure on both ends of the field.
Although Marquette kept it close at the start of the second quarter, down only 5-4, Georgetown broke the game open, as junior midfielder Maley Starr scored twice in 9 seconds before Gebhardt tallied another goal of her own. Later in the period, senior midfielder Tatum Geist found the back of the net to give Georgetown a 9-5 lead.
At halftime, the Hoyas led 9-6 after Marquette midfielder Leigh Steiner scored for the Golden Eagles.
Staving off a short-lived Marquette run, Driggs scored twice to put Georgetown up 13-8 with 8:01 remaining in the third quarter. At the end of the period, the Hoyas led 14-9 after a goal by junior midfielder Rileigh Meyer.
The Hoyas left nothing up to chance, playing a dominant final quarter. Holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for over 11 minutes — a period which spanned the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth — the Hoyas’ lead only grew. Driggs and Meyer each scored again to give Georgetown a 16-9 advantage with 9:23 remaining in the game.
The Hoyas cruised the rest of the way, with Meyer and senior midfielder Tessa Brooks each adding a goal to pad Georgetown’s advantage. When the final whistle blew, Georgetown had secured an 18-11 victory.
Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried said the win was a product of teamwork and depth.
“Excellent team win today with contributions from a variety of players,” Fried told Georgetown Athletics.
Georgetown’s 18-goal offensive explosion tied the team’s marker for its highest goal total of the season and saw scoring contributions from eight different Hoyas. Gebhardt led the way with 4 goals and an assist, while Driggs and Meyer each added 3 goals. In addition, Byrne was crucial on offense, scoring once and assisting on a team-high 3 made shots.
With the win, Georgetown clinched a berth in the Big East women’s lacrosse tournament. Still, the team has its eyes set on improving their play prior to the competition at the beginning of May.
The Hoyas, hoping to extend their season-high win streak to 4, will battle the Monmouth University Hawks (6-8, 2-5 Coastal Athletic Association) in a midday tilt on April 20, before closing out their season against the University of Connecticut Huskies (8-5, 3-1 Big East) on April 27.
