The Georgetown women’s soccer team (13-5, 7-3 Big East) notched two away wins this past weekend, defeating defending national champion Notre Dame (8-6-3, 5-3-2 Big East), 3-2, on Friday and DePaul (3-13-1, 1-8-1 Big East), 2-0, on Sunday. Both wins were big for the Hoyas, as they defeated Notre Dame on the road for the first time and also secured at least a second-place finish in the National Division, which earns them a first-round bye in the Big East tournament and a home date with Syracuse.

“We knew that Notre Dame and DePaul would be very challenging games,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “Notre Dame has been the measuring stick for everyone in the conference. It’s great that we are in a position to go into Notre Dame and win, and [it] proves that we are in the elite group of theconference.”

On Friday at Notre Dame’s Alumni Arena, the Blue and Gray jumped out to a very early lead when senior forward Sam Baker headed in a goal in the second minute off a cross from redshirt senior midfielder Ingrid Wells.

The Hoyas wasted little time doubling their lead: In the 10th minute, Baker launched a long throw-in into the box that took a friendly bounce off a Fighting Irish defender into the net. However, Notre Dame was quick to respond, as senior forward Melissa Henderson headed a cross from sophomore forward Adriana Leon past Georgetown senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Hanna just four minutes after their own goal had given the visitors a two-goal lead. Henderson turned provider in the 34th minute when senior midfielder Courtney Barg tapped in a Henderson cross to tie up the game.

“We got a little bit of a lucky break on the second goal, and you have to give Notre Dame credit for fighting back,” Nolan said. “But we were right where we wanted to be at halftime.”

The score remained knotted up for the first 30 minutes of the second half, but another Irish own goal in the 76th minute changed that and proved to be the game-winner for the Blue and Gray. Baker was once again directly involved in the goal, as her cross was misplayed by a Notre Dame defender and sent into the net.

The Blue and Gray were outshot 6-1 in the second half, but the Hoya defense remained stout and shut out the Irish in the half to earn the win. Nolan lauded his team’s play, specifically that of Baker and his centerback pairing of sophomore Emily Menges and senior Gabby Miller.

“When [Baker] is on, she can impact the game like few players [can]. She’s always a danger on long throws and in the quality of delivery on her crosses,” Nolan said. “Gabby and Emily were [also] very good on the night. They have been playing exceptionally well.”

For the second and closing game of the weekend, the Hoyas traveled to Chicago to take on DePaul at Wise Field on Sunday. The Blue and Gray struggled to build on Friday’s momentum, mustering only two shots in a lackluster first half.

“To play at DePaul is very difficult. They have a tight, hostile environment and we caught them on their senior day,” Nolan said. “There was a lot of emotion in their performance.”

However, the Hoyas’ offense found another gear in the second half and dominated, firing a total of nine shots, two of which found the back of the net. The first Georgetown goal came in the 53rd minute when senior midfielder Kelly D’Ambrisi chested in a long Baker throw-in.

Just a few minutes later, freshman midfielder Daphne Corboz knocked home the rebound off a Baker shot from 18 yards out. Georgetown was then able to shut down DePaul and get the victory.

Nolan again praised the efforts of his defense and noted strong efforts by Hanna in net and by sophomore forward Kaitlin Brenn.

“Elizabeth made a great save early in the game to keep the score tied. [And] on a tight field where we needed a physical presence, Kaitlin did a great job for us,” Nolan said. “We put on a good second-half performance and gritted out the win.”

The team will play its final regular-season game against Villanova at North Kehoe Field on Saturday, and stands to capture the National Division title if it wins and division-leader Louisville loses at Cincinnati.

“We’re where we want to be [right now],” Nolan said. “This group is very mature and knows what each game means.”