Upon its return to campus from a brief trip up the New Jersey Turnpike, the Georgetown women’s field hockey team had something they have not had for two years – a win. Not since defeating Brown University 1-0 on Sept. 16, 2007 had the Hoyas enjoyed victory, but that all changed this weekend.

After starting the season with a string of losses, the Hoyas (1-8, 1-0 Big East) had the chance to start fresh at the outset of their conference schedule. Going into their Friday afternoon game against Rutgers (1-9, 0-2), Georgetown had never won a Big East game. What followed was a historic victory for the program.

With both teams off to rough starts to begin the season, Friday’s matchup was pivotal for each squad as both the Hoyas and the Scarlet Knights hoped to gain momentum heading into the remainder of the conference schedule.

Georgetown played with grit and determination, eager to break its 33-game losing streak. The teams fought hard during an evenly-played first half, but only the Hoyas managed to break through, getting a goal five minutes prior to the halftime whistle. Junior defender Annika Bannon took a corner and passed it out to senior forward [Kristen Volpe](https://www.thehoya.com/sports/volpes-strong-play-senior-leadership-sets-tone-young-hoyas/), who then provided a perfect ball, allowing freshman forward Annie Wilson to score her first collegiate goal. The goal gave Georgetown the lead going into halftime, a familiar scenario for the Blue and Gray this season.

“In previous games, we have been unable to close it out,” Head Coach Tiffany Marsh said. “We had trouble getting that last goal in the final few minutes or holding [the opposing team] off late in the game.”

As the second half began, it appeared as if the Scarlet Knights would become the latest team to pull off a second-half comeback against the Hoyas.

Six minutes into the half, Rutgers’ senior forward Brittany Bybel beat a defender along the baseline and deposited her sixth goal of the season into the cage. Georgetown answered quickly, however, as Volpe scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Volpe’s goal came from a scuffle in front of the net and sent a clear message that the Hoyas would not give up.

The Blue and Gray held a 2-1 lead for the next 10 minutes until a pair of Scarlet Knight freshmen combined to knot the score at two. Freshman midfielder Carlie Rouh batted the ball out of the air to freshman forward Chelsea Rota who ripped her first collegiate goal into the corner of the cage. With the score tied and the game hanging in the balance, the Hoyas were once again in a close late-game situation.

On the final corner of the game, a pair of Georgetown underclassmen stepped up. Freshman forward Katy Wingo set up the ball for sophomore forward Meggie Taylor, who calmly delivered the game-winning goal.

With 12 freshmen on this year’s roster, the Hoyas are building for the future, but that does not diminish the importance of this win for Volpe, the lone senior on the team.

“Getting that win for Kristen was something that was really special,” Marsh said. “She was the only one from her class to stick it out through the coaching change and the transition to the Big East conference. The leadership she provides the younger players is unbelievable.”

As Volpe begins to pass the torch to the younger players, Marsh expects this win to open the door to more success in the future.

“We have the monkey off our back,” she said. “[With the team] being so young, I think it was more of a winning mentality we were lacking rather than a lack of skill. … But now that we have that one under our belt and know what it feels like and have the confidence to go forward from here. Hopefully we will see a marked improvement from here on out. This is just a baby step for where we are trying to take this program.”

As this young Georgetown team builds confidence and gains experience, it will be a challenge to achieve consistency. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, they were unable to follow up their win over Rutgers: on Sunday, they fell 3-2 to Monmouth University despite Volpe chipping in her sixth and seventh goals of the season.

But during this weekend, winning one was the only thing that mattered.”