So Far, So Good: Hoyas Flatten Friars in League Opener
Georgetown Records Third Shutout of Year
By Stephen Owens Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown women’s soccer team has given the coaches of the Big East something to think about. Collectively, the 13 coaches of the Big East predicted Georgetown to finish last in a competitive conference that boasts three nationally ranked teams.
But the Hoyas didn’t play like a last-place team on Sunday at Harbin Field, whipping the Providence Friars, 3-0, in their conference opener to improve their overall record to 5-2.
“One of the things we’re concentrating on this year is earning respect,” Head Coach Diane Drake said after the win. “Our mission is to take a game-by-game approach and gain a reputation on the field.”
If Georgetown hasn’t yet earned the respect of the entire conference, they have, at the very least, earned the respect of Providence, who became the Hoyas’ third shutout victim of the season.
Georgetown’s first goal on Sunday was somewhat of a fluke. While the Friars couldn’t find a way to score on Georgetown, they were able to find a net-their own.
Friar defender Kristen Garder scored the game’s first goal, for the Hoyas, in the 36th minute when she misdirected a header past teammate and goalkeeper Shayna Ross. The score gave the Hoyas a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
There was no fluke about the rest of Georgetown’s scoring. The Hoyas scored two goals in a two-minute span during the second half to put the game out of reach for the Friars.
In the 66th minute, junior midfielder Sarah Breech tallied her third goal of the season off a cross shot that beat Ross. Ninety-four seconds later, before the Friars had a chance to regroup, the Hoyas struck again, when senior midfielder Barbara Niner took advantage of a scramble five yards in front of the Friars’ net and scored her first goal of the season.
Also with a standout performance in the game was freshman midfielder Flynn Coleman, who recorded an assist, her third assist in the last two games.
The Hoyas still have a long way to go before they earn the respect they desire from their conference rivals. According to Drake, the team’s season goal is to qualify for the Big East tournament. In order to achieve this feat, the Hoyas must finish among the top four teams of the seven in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Big East. Games against teams in the Northeast Division, including this win against Providence, do not count towards qualifying for the tournament except for use as a tiebreaker.
“Every divisional Big East game is monumental,” said Drake of her team’s upcoming schedule. Georgetown leaves for South Orange, N.J., next weekend to resume Big East play against divisional foe Seton Hall on Sunday. The game against Seton Hall will be the first game that counts towards the Hoyas’ conference record, since both play in the Mid-Atlantic Division.
First, the Hoyas take a break from conference play, when they travel across the District to battle crosstown-rival American on Thursday at 4 p.m.
