WOMEN’S SOCCER GU Prevails In Season’s Final Match By Eric Kim Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya Freshman defender Elizabeth Roberti had seven points this season.
On Senior Day, the Georgetown women’s soccer team honored its eight seniors in their last regular season game with a convincing 3-0 win over Virginia Tech at Harbin Field. The Hoyas put away the Hokies on Halloween almost as soon as the game had started by scoring three first half goals. In an emotional second half, Head Coach Diane Drake let all her senior players take the field in the shutout effort.
“These seniors were inspirational in so many ways,” Drake said. “They were not always the ones scoring the goals, but their presence has been a catalyst all season.”
In her pre-game speech, Drake told her players that this game was dedicated to the seniors on the team. And the team’s underclassmen responded.
Sophomore midfielder Jen Choiniere gave the Hoyas the lead less than five minutes into the game. Choiniere got her fourth goal of the season with a left-footed shot from 20 yards out past Virginia Tech goalkeeper Katie Hancock. The goal came at 4:49 in the first half and was unassisted.
Georgetown’s attack proved too hard for Virginia Tech to contain as the Hoyas hounded the Hokies’ goal box. In the 15th minute Choiniere’s classmate, sophomore forward Courtney Shaub, got her second goal in as many games. Sophomore forward Jessie Beers-Altman hooked up Shaub with a direct pass, and Shaub cleaned it up for her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Virginia Tech, which entered Wednesday’s contest in last place of the Big East Conference’s Northeast Division at 8-8-3 overall, looked disorganized and listless against an inspired Georgetown team. The Hokies managed only one shot in the entire first half.
Meanwhile, the Hoyas were still not finished scoring. At the 30th minute, freshman midfielder Nicole DePalma got into the act with a goal to extend Georgetown’s lead to three. It was DePalma’s fourth goal of the year and it came at 30:08 of the first half.
Georgetown’s dominance in the first half clearly showed in the statistics as it attempted seven shots compared to Virginia Tech’s one.
“We did a great job in the first half,” Drake said.
With the three-goal cushion and the defense holding the Hokies to little offensive rhythm, Drake gradually substituted her starters for the seniors throughout the second half. Two of the team’s three captains as well as members of the starting lineup, goalkeeper Shereena Chang and defender Christy DeLorenzo, remained on the field for the whole game as their classmates joined them.
Seniors, tri-captain midfielder Liza Rojas-Alford, forward Leah Bolstad, forward Sara Chieffo, forward Kelly Piatanesi, midfielder Alyson Smith, and midfielder Audrey Springer all saw action in their last regular season games and contributed to the shutout win.
Georgetown outshot Virginia Tech 11-8 and had four more corner kicks, 6-2. Chang was active in goal, making seven saves for her second shutout of the season and 12th of her career.
The Hoyas responded well after coming off a tough loss to West Virginia on Oct. 26. Georgetown fell 4-1 to the 24th-ranked team in the nation.
“We had a little bit of bad luck but [West Virginia] was the best team we’ve played this season,” Drake said.
With the win against the Hokies, the Hoyas concluded their season with a 9-7-1 overall record, but a subpar 1-4-1 against Big East Mid-Atlantic opponents. They did improve on their 8-9 record from last year. Virginia Tech finished its year 8-9-3.
While Georgetown will not be going to the postseason Big East Tournament, it has put in a host bid for the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament according to Drake and may return to action Nov. 17.
Next year despite the loss of eight seniors, Georgetown’s underclassmen have proven that the women’s soccer team will be doing fine. Shaub, a transfer from Arkansas, made an immediate impact in leading the team with 14 points. Junior forward Karin Ostrander managed to contribute two goals and seven assists in an injury-plagued season. Also helping on the offensive side were Choiniere, who finished with 10 points, DePalma, freshman midfielder Liz Roberti and Beers-Altman.
The Hoyas defense remains intact as well with key returnees in junior defenders Casey Hoffman and Liza Yanuzzi, as well as sophomore defender Alyssa Conlow.
2001 Women’s Soccer Team Page Schedule Roster
