Mountaineers Tell Hoyas To Take a Hike

For the Georgetown women’s soccer team, it was do or die at Mid-Atlantic rival West Virginia in the last game of the regular season. The winner of the game would earn a spot in the Big East Tournament. The Mountaineers earned that spot and took revenge on the Hoyas, who eliminated them last season, as West Virginia won, 3-1.

“We were up the entire first half and we had the game going for us,” Head Coach Diane Drake said. “After their second-half penalty kick, the emotional rhythm changed in their direction.”

The Hoyas started the game off strong as freshman midfielder Jen Choiniere headed a corner kick from freshman midfielder Alyssa Conlow into the net for her eighth goal of the season. For Choiniere, this was her third straight game with a goal.

“She has a knack for the net and she times it well to get near the goal,” Drake said.

The Georgetown defense, which displayed its most disciplined and patient play this season, was able to limit the Mountaineers to long-range shots and to contain threatening West Virginia forward Katie Barnes.

However, the Hoyas’ momentum was rudely halted five minutes into the second half. A handball in the Georgetown goal box set up a game-tying penalty kick for West Virginia’s Barnes, who came into the matchup leading the league in goals (15) and points (39).

The Mountaineers woke up after the goal and momentum gradually shifted to their side. Georgetown’s defense kept the game tied, as West Virginia frequently substituted fresh players into the game. But the Hoyas’ lack of depth came back to haunt them. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Megan Sheehy broke through the exhausted Georgetown defense to get the game-winning goal for the Mountaineers. The Hoyas had a couple of chances to save their season, but Barnes put in her second goal at the 88:11 mark to put away the game for good.

“This was a team we matched up well stylistically because both of us play 4-4-2,” Drake said. “They got some fresh legs though, and unfortunately our legs ran out especially in the midfield position. If it wasn’t for that penalty kick, I think we would’ve won.”

With the loss to West Virginia, Georgetown closed its season with an overall record of 8-9-1 and a Big East divisional record of 2-3-1. The Hoyas qualified for the tournament with the same record last year.

While last season’s key was defense, this season’s team was more offensive-minded as it accumulated 39 goals. Sophomore midfielder Karin Ostrander and Choiniere led the team in goals with eight each, and senior midfielder Liz Delgado led with 20 points.

“We had a very inconsistent season, but we had the exact same record in a schedule that was significantly tougher,” Drake said. “We also got our first regional ranking ever. We finished just shy of our preseason goal of a .500 record and a conference tournament berth.”