If shots determined the outcome of soccer games, the Georgetown women’s soccer team would have won two of its last three games.
But goals still determine the winner of matches, and Georgetown (3-4-1) has lost its last three straight.
The most recent loss came at the hands of crosstown rival American University (6-1-1), who defeated Georgetown 3-1 on Tuesday night at Reeves Field. Despite being outshot by the Hoyas 13-9, the Eagles won their third game in a row and fifth of six, the best start in school history.
“We created enough chances but we were suspect at back,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “They [converted] their chances and we didn’t [convert] ours.”
Missing out on solid chances has become an adverse trend for the Hoyas, who fell below .500 with the loss to the Eagles. In the first half of the game alone, Georgetown outshot American 7-5 yet still went into halftime down 1-0.
Sophomore defender Meg Runeari put the Eagles on the board in the 34th minute on a direct kick from 20 yards out. Freshman goalkeeper Jade Higgins could not get to the ball, which sailed into the right side of the net.
“We got into a `how are we going to lose this game?’ mindset,” Nolan said, explaining the team’s attitude at halftime after outshooting the Eagles 7-5 and still trailing. “They had momentum coming into the game and, even being outshot, they had a `how are we going to win this game?’ mindset.”
With that outlook, the Eagles continued to capitalize on their limited opportunities in the second half.
Only seven minutes into the second frame American found the back of the net again, this time on a header from sophomore defender Jane Lee, who put the ball into the top right corner out of Higgins’ reach.
The Eagles completed their scoring 10 minutes later when junior midfielder Marcela Ricupero faked out the Georgetown defender and put the third goal of the game past Higgins into the right side of the goal.
The Hoyas attempted to mount a comeback in the closing minutes of the match and finally got on the board in the 85th minute when senior forward Casey McCann netted a pass from freshman midfielder Sara Jordan, but that was as close as Georgetown would get.
“It was typical of a lot of games we’ve had this year,” Nolan said. “It was a 50-50 game and they scored more on less shots.”
After their first Big East game got rained out last week due to Hurricane Ivan, the Hoyas will open conference play today against St. John’s on North Kehoe Field at 3 p.m. The Red Storm (6-1-1) are currently ranked sixth in the Northeast in NSCAA/Adidas Regional poll and, coming off a loss to Syracuse and a tie with Stony Brook, will be hungry for a win.
“St. John’s has composure and momentum and its going to take a real effort to beat them,” Nolan said.
