Andreas Jeninga/The Hoya Sophomore forward Cristina Araps runs past a Dartmouth defender during the Hoyas’ 2-0 loss last Friday. Tomorrow the Hoyas will face George Mason in the George ason/Burger King Invitational.
The Georgetown women’s soccer team continued to show improvement over last year’s disappointing season with strong play in the Hoya Classic over the weekend. Facing tough out-of-conference competition, the Hoyas were able to pick up one win and learn from one loss.
Playing host to Dartmouth, George Washington and Quinnipiac in the Hoya Classic, Georgetown (3-1-0) first faced off against the Dartmouth Big Green (2-0-0) on Friday afternoon.
In a match that was not as close as the final 2-0 score, the Hoyas were dominated by the Big Green throughout the game. It was the first game of the season for Dartmouth, but the team played and communicated as if it had spent more time together than the Hoyas. Dartmouth had the quicker step and was first to almost every ball, forcing the Hoyas to chase and never allowing the team to find its rhythm.
The Big Green, despite being more composed, were not flawless and did not settle down enough to find the back of the net until just before halftime. With only two minutes left on the first-half clock, sophomore forward Sarah Johnson received a pass from teammate sophomore back Whitney Douthett at the top of the box and, with a quick turn, put a shot past Hoya freshman goalkeeper Jade Higgins to the corner of the goal, putting Dartmouth up 1-0 at the half.
Coming out of intermission, the Hoyas were a bit sluggish and the Big Green took advantage, scoring another goal just minutes after play had resumed. Again it was Johnson with the goal, this time unassisted.
The Hoyas were outshot 19-9 overall on the afternoon and had only two shots on net to Dartmouth’s six. Georgetown had one legitimate scoring chance late in the second half when freshman forward Sara Jordan knocked a ball loose from the hands of Dartmouth senior goalkeeper Anne Marbarger and put it in the net, but the goal was called back after the referees issued an interference call.
“I thought we played quite well,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said, “but we know we’re still not there. We need to get players on the field in tough games to see where we are and where we need to go.”
Returning to North Kehoe on Sunday afternoon, Georgetown rebounded from Friday’s loss to defeat Quinnipiac 5-1 in the last game of the tournament.
Reversing roles from Friday’s match, it was the Hoyas who were the more composed team, connecting passes and dominating time of possession. Less than four minutes into the game, Georgetown did what it could not against Dartmouth: score a goal. Jordan tallied the point with an unassisted shot from the top of the box that sophomore goalie Heather Zaccone had no chance to stop.
The game settled after the early goal, but Georgetown was not finished scoring for the afternoon. In the 28th minute the Hoyas were able to get on the board again, this time with a finish from senior captain midfielder Nicole DePalma off a corner kick. That goal energized the Hoyas, who scored again less than three minutes later. Junior midfielder Shara McNeill put a great cross from Jordan in the back of the net to bring the score to 3-0 and the Hoyas added another goal at 7:54 remaining on a penalty shot from DePalma. Finally, with less than a minute remaining in the half, the Hoyas finished off their offensive onslaught with a goal from sophomore midfielder Chrissy Skogen to make the halftime score 5-0.
It appeared that Higgins was going to get her second shutout of the year, but the Bobcats were able to get on the board 10 minutes into the half with a goal from freshman defender Laura van Leeuwen off a corner kick. Quinnipiac was not able to get any closer than that, and the final score was 5-1, placing Georgetown third in the Hoya Classic and Quinnipiac (1-3-0) in fourth. Dartmouth was winner of the tournament on goal differential and George Washington took second place.
“The team came out and played and did what they were supposed to do,” Nolan said of his team’s play against the Bobcats. “We were committed to the attack, we weren’t hesitant, and it showed.”
This weekend the Hoyas are participating in another tournament, this time across the river at George Mason in the George ason/Burger King Invitational.
Last night the Hoyas opened the tournament against William and ary and tomorrow the Hoyas will take on George Mason in their second game of the tournament. Kickoff will be at 2:30 p.m. at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va.
