At last year’s D.C. Invitational, Georgetown dominated the competition. The Hoyas outscored their opponents 9-1 in two wins, but this year they did one better.

Georgetown beat Bryant University 6-0 on Friday and Georgia Southern 3-0 on Sunday in the 2009 D.C. Invitational at American University. The Hoyas have started their season 3-0 with three straight shutouts.

“We set out this weekend to win both games. We scored a lot of goals, kept two shutouts and also managed to get just about everybody on the field in both games. In that regard, the weekend was a success because we did everything we set out to do,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said, adding that he expects the competition to get tougher in the upcoming week.

After a 40-minute rain delay, the Hoyas stormed out of the gate against Bryant. Junior midfielder Caitlin Durkee scored 36 seconds into the game and graduate student midfielder Sara Jordan made it 2-0 less than a minute later.

A trio of sophomore forwards finished out the scoring for the Hoyas – Camille Trujillo scored two goals, while Ingrid Wells and Samantha Baker each added one. All five goal-scorers also recorded assists.

“We have a bunch of players that can score goals,” Nolan said.

Georgetown outshot Bryant 26-5 and put 10 shots on goal.

On Sunday, two defenders got Georgetown rolling against Georgia Southern University. Junior Michaela Buonomo scored in the 12th minute and freshman Catherine Cabot netted her first career goal just before the half. Trujillo scored her team-leading fourth goal in the second half. Wells, meanwhile, recorded two more assists to bring her season total to four.

Georgetown was again on the right side of a lopsided shot total, with 25 attempts to Georgia Southern’s four. The Hoyas also did not surrender a corner kick the entire weekend and earned 21 of their own.

The defense was solid for the third straight game, this time in front of Elizabeth Hanna. In her first start of the season in place of junior Jackie DesJardin, the sophomore made three saves for the shut out.

Nolan pointed to his center defenders as the leaders of a defense that has not given up a goal in 270 minutes of play, adding that both his goalkeepers and outside defenders have also been playing well.

“Michaela Buonomo has been playing very well. She’s been pivotal,” Nolan said of his team’s defensive success. “[Sophomore] Gabby Miller has a year’s experience under her belt. That’s a good central partnership [between Buonomo and Miller].

“I think each day we get better at the back and now we’ll get challenged Wednesday against James Madison [University],” Nolan said.

Georgetown has the luxury of playing its first eight games of the season in Washington, D.C., and the Hoyas will be back on North Kehoe Field tomorrow to play James Madison. The Dukes are coming off their own weekend tournament in which they outscored their opponents 8-1 in two wins.

“James Madison plays a pretty direct style. They try to put the ball into your box as much as possible,” Nolan said. “I just want the girls to defend with a little bit more urgency and also to be alive to any second ball or any ball that is knocked down off the first player. I think if we can do that, we can be okay.”

James Madison is led by senior forward Corky Julien, who has five goals through three games, and junior midfielder Teresa Rynier, who has four assists. Kickoff against the Dukes is set for 4 p.m. on North Kehoe Field.

Last year the Hoyas opened the season undefeated in their first 10 games, tallying a record of 8-0-2. Though tougher opponents lie ahead, Georgetown is again showing those early-season flashes of brilliance.”