After a season filled with losses – blowouts and heartbreakers alike – the Georgetown field hockey team was able to end the season on a high note.

The Hoyas (2-18, 1-5 Big East) entered the weekend riding a 10-game losing streak, and their chances of breaking this slide looked bleak as national powerhouse Louisville and a tough Radford team came into the D.C.-Metro area for a pair of games.

On Saturday morning, the Hoyas and Cardinals (11-7, 4-2) woke up early for a 10 a.m. game at Reynolds Complex. Georgetown got off to a sluggish start and Louisville proved why they are ranked 15th in the nation, as the Cardinals jumped out to a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.

The Cardinals threw 18 first-half shots towards freshman goalie Briana Pereira, who was able to make five saves and came out of the cage many times to break up potential chances. Meanwhile, Georgetown could not muster any offense, as it did not register a shot on net.

The second-half whistle sparked a little life into Georgetown’s offense. Three minutes into the half, the Hoyas were awarded their first corner of the game and took advantage of it. Senior forward Kristen Volpe provided the assist as sophomore midfielder Meggie Taylor scored her second goal of the season by chipping the ball into the cage. Georgetown kept on the offensive and a few minutes later, Volpe found herself on a breakaway with the keeper. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, Louisville goalkeeper Heather Bustanoby came out to make a huge stop to preserve the two-goal lead.

Had the Hoyas capitalized, they may have been able to ride the momentum; but with that stop, Louisville took command of the game and added two late goals to take the 5-1 victory.

Nevertheless, Head Coach Tiffany Marsh was thrilled with her team’s performance.

“[It] was one of the best games, if not the best game, we played all season,” she said. “We were on a completely different level than we were the rest of the season. Not only did we fight hard, but we also played smart and played a complete game. I could not be happier.”

The loss ended the conference schedule for the Hoyas, as they finished the Big East season with a 1-5 record. The league is the second-most difficult conference in the nation and the Blue and Gray have shown great improvement over the last year-and-a-half while competing against the best teams in the nation.

Their win against Rutgers earlier this year was the program’s first-ever Big East win – and the Hoyas’ games against premiere teams, such as Louisville, Syracuse and Connecticut, were competitive. If the Hoyas can continue the same rate of improvement, they have a chance to make noise in the Big East next season.

On Sunday morning, Georgetown had one more chance to end the season with a win before packing up for the winter with the senior day game, in which they celebrated Volpe’s career.

“I cannot say enough about Kristen,” Marsh said. “She works her butt off and is the leader of this team – both on and off the field. We will return all but one player next season, but the one will certainly be missed. We wanted nothing else but to end her career with a win.”

The Hoyas welcomed Radford (9-9) to the Hilltop with a win-at-all-costs attitude. Just three minutes into the game, Radford opened the scoring and looked as if it was poised to spoil senior day. The Highlanders continued to dominate play in the first half, but Volpe was able to tie the score 10 minutes before halftime. Just seconds before the intermission, however, Radford scored again to take the 2-1 halftime lead.

At halftime, the Hoyas had an inspiring locker-room talk.

“This is the last half you [girls] are going to play together,” Marsh told her players. “Leave everything on the field. Fight hard and win it for Kristen.”

The team came out of the half and had many scoring opportunities. Finally, with 10 minutes remaining in the game, freshman forward Charlotte Tierney scored her second goal of the year to tie the game. As time winded down, Pereira added some huge saves to preserve the tie, and the teams finished regulation tied at two.

Volpe’s career was extended as the game entered overtime and Georgetown carried the momentum into the extra frame. Five minutes into the period, junior forward Micaela O’Toole scored the game winner off of a rebound.

With the goal, the symbolic torch seemingly passed from Volpe to O’Toole, who will be the only senior on the team next season.

“Next season is going to be very exciting,” Marsh said. “As the season went on this year, the schedule got harder and we got better. If we played the way we did toward the end of the season all year long, our record would look much better. With almost the entire team coming back, we should be able to build on this and have a successful year. Being able to end the year on such a good note was great for this program moving forward.” “