Lions Hunt Down Hoyas

By Julie Wood

The Georgetown field hockey team suffered a disappointing loss to Columbia, 1-0, in the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday. This marked the first-ever postseason appearance for the Hoyas. Columbia, the top seed, went on to win the tournament, beating Dartmouth College, 1-0, on Sunday.

The teams battled evenly throughout the first half – neither one was able to score, despite several opportunities for both sides. Head Coach Laurie Carroll was pleased with how strongly the Hoyas opened the game, as they have been struggling with slow starts this season.

“We came out strong. In the first minute or two, Columbia had some opportunities, but then we had a lot of opportunities. There were a couple times that the ball was right on the end line. We got a lot of good looks at the cage and got some great corners off. I was really pleased at how strongly we came out,” Carroll said.

Despite these opportunities, the Hoyas were prevented from finding the net by the Lion’s sophomore goalkeeper, Molly Starsia-Lasagna, who had three saves on the day.

The Lions managed to get on the board at 48:22 with a shot by senior forward Ellen Werner that deflected off Hoya sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Herring.

The Hoyas took six shots in the matchup, while the Lions took 10. Both teams had 11 penalty corners.

It was the last game for senior midfielders Sarah Oglesby, Caitlin McLean and Jessica Walls. They all gave strong performances.

“It was what you’d expect from senior leaders,” Carroll said. “Sarah Oglesby made a big difference. She provided a lot of leadership on our forward line, and maybe that was the reason why we got more opportunities than usual. Caitlin McLean’s attitude was contagious. Jess Walls came up with some big defensive interceptions.”

The 2000 Hoyas were the best field hockey team in Georgetown history. They won their first eight games and were the last undefeated team in Division I field hockey. They were ranked 18th in the nation at one point in the season. They broke the Georgetown record for wins in a season, with 13, and for winning percentage, with .722 (in the regular season).

“The team was very disappointed in losing, but it was a big step for us to be in the postseason,” Carroll said. “We went to win the tournament, not just show up, so it was disappointing. I think we were disappointed not so much in our play but just that we didn’t come back with a championship.”

Looking ahead to next season, the Hoyas should continue to improve the program.

“This year we took a big step forward. We will expect next year to take another step forward. We learned that the postseason is something we can shoot for, and we will shoot for it next year,” Carroll said.