Despite a disappointing season so far, the Hoyas showed signs of life this weekend, tying Providence 1-1 on Friday afternoon and defeating Connecticut 2-0 on Sunday.
“We’re too good a team not to have an upset in us,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “We deserved more against Providence. We deserved more against James Madison. Connecticut is on the other side of what we’ve been experiencing.”
With the Hoyas last in their division, two losses would have gone a long way to putting the final nail in Georgetown’s coffin this season.
The Hoyas (4-5-4, 1-3-1 Big East) brought some vintage 2005 soccer to their game against the Huskies (5-7-1, 2-3-0), however, getting strong performances from last year’s leaders, senior midfielders Chrissy Skogen (one goal) and Alexandra Hardy (one assist).
Against the Friars (3-3-5, 0-3-2), the Hoyas found themselves in the hole again after Providence senior midfielder Erin Mastrodonato took her second shot of the year and found the back of the net in the 59th minute.
She dribbled the ball 10 yards, beating the Hoya defender to the top of the 18-yard box. After pivoting on her right foot, she unleashed a thundering shot with her left leg that zipped past diving junior goalkeeper Jade Higgins.
It appeared that the Hoyas were looking at the collapse of their season-they faced the prospect of losing their fifth-straight game by shutout and a nearly insurmountable 0-4 Big East record, with games against three ranked opponents still on tap.
Junior forward Sarah Fetters was an integral part of the offense during the day, quickly turning defensive stops into counterattacks and using her speed to create opportunities for her teammates.
The on-again, off-again Skogen saved the game with one flick of her neck in the 73rd minute, heading a corner kick from junior Karen Waskewich into the lower left corner of the net. The ball snuck in just between junior keeper Laura Elfers’ fingertips and the post. The goal was Georgetown’s first in 467 minutes of play, dating back to Skogen’s last goal on Sept. 13 against American.
Elfers made five saves for the Friars and kept her team in the game.
“This is her full year,” Providence Head Coach Jim cGirr said. “The one thing you ask for a young team is for your keeper to give you one or two quality saves, and I think she gave us three or four today.”
Not satisfied with one point and a draw, Georgetown pushed to the 90th minute with two chances to win the game. Both came up dry.
Junior forward Elaina Filauro caught a heel pass while breaking to the Providence goal and found herself one-on-one with the keeper at the top of the 18-yard box. Her shot nicked the keeper and fluttered harmlessly out of bounds to the right.
With only minutes remaining, Skogen found herself alone, 20 yards away from the goal. She let loose a ferocious shot that had the keeper beat but met the crossbar, to the dismay of Hoya players and fans.
20 minutes of extra time did not see another score, and the game ended a draw.
“It’s been the story of our season,” Nolan said. “Teams manage to score one goal a game against us, and we just can’t find a way to score. We had a few good looks today where we needed people to show a little composure around the goal. And they didn’t.”
Nolan said that no matter the result of the Providence game, Georgetown would come out strong against Connecticut, excited to have the chance to beat one of its biggest rivals.
Georgetown wasted little time against the Huskies, recording its first goal in the ninth minute. The relentless Georgetown attack drew fouls all game; one such foul set up a 40-yard free kick for Waskewich.
Waskewich fired a long ball into Connecticut’s six-yard box, where it found fifth-year midfielder Alexandra Hardy.
“Ali brings a little more offense to the table,” Nolan said, “and I thought we might need that today.”
Having the ball so close to the goal is a new experience for Hardy, who has spent most of her time this year at center back. Against Connecticut in gusty winds, Nolan took a chance and switched Hardy with his usual center forward, 5-foot-10 sophomore Stephanie Zare.
“I knew [Zare] would help on defense today because she can really get to balls in the air,” Nolan said, “and with this wind, there were going to be a lot of high balls. Once we got ahead we sat back and encouraged them to hit high balls, and that was fantastic.”
The switch paid off early. Hardy redirected Waskewich’s kick to the waiting foot of Filauro, who promptly buried the ball into the inside edge of the right post for a goal. There was a nervous moment as the ball bounced out quickly, but the goal was awarded and Georgetown had a one-goal lead in a game it had to win.
“Everybody was working hard,” Hardy said. “The whole time I felt like we had control of the game.”
Hardy kept that control, using her size and speed in the midfield to beat Husky defenders.
Skogen iced the game for Georgetown in the 69th minute, when she took a pass from freshman forward Norah Swanson and made a long run on the right side of the field. Swanson received a one-time pass from Filauro, who saw more offensive action Sunday against Connecticut than she had at any point this season.
Skogen lured the keeper off her line and promptly skipped a low shot into the left corner of the goal. The goal was Skogen’s fifth this season and the 22nd of her career, tying her for third place on Georgetown’s all-time list with Karin Ostrander (CAS ’92). Christina Bruner (COL ’98) holds the all-time record with 26.
“Chrissy is an enigma,” Nolan said. “She has the talent to be one of the best players in our conference. When she comes to play and she’s on and she’s fighting, she’s a great player.”
Skogen looked for her second goal of the weekend after recording four shots against Providence, and Nolan believes that aggressiveness is integral to Georgetown winning.
“Some days [Skogen] has a tendency to let the game come to her, but today she took over the game,” Nolan said.
“I think today we have to commend the defense; everybody played so hard today,” Skogen said. “We were definitely the better team today.”
The win was the program’s first against Connecticut.
Georgetown goes on a four-game road trip beginning next weekend, with games Friday at Cincinnati at 7 p.m. and Sunday at No. 25 Louisville at 1 p.m.