The Hoyas had just unpacked their bags after moving to the Big East last year but now they’re moving out of their home on the Hilltop and taking a new coach with them.

With the resignation of former Head Coach Laurie Carroll just weeks before the season began and a new `home’ field, Georgetown knew it would have a lot of adjusting to do. With Kehoe field no longer a suitable surface for competition, the team has since moved most practices and all home games to the University of aryland-College Park’s pristine Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.

“It’s all been very positive,” Interim Head Coach Tiffany Marsh said. “The girls have really adapted well to Maryland. It’s easy to see them improving playing on that surface.”

Last season, Georgetown struggled to find the net, scoring 29 goals in 17 games, and was shut out four times.

Junior midfielder Katie Lachman has made the biggest offensive jump in the still-young season. In four games she has tallied three goals and an assist. She scored four goals all of last season. Though the Hoyas average nearly two goals per game this season, not all of last season’s offensive problems have been solved.

Last year’s leading scorers, sophomore midfielders Chelsea Aiken and Willemijn Wisjman, who had 22 points between themselves, have not scored yet this year. Wijsman has two assists but has come up empty on each of her six shots.

Against Appalachian State and St. Francis this season, Georgetown scored a combined seven goals. In those two games, the Hoyas shot 7-for-53 – a .132 clip. The Hoyas have no shortage of shots this year, outshooting their opponents 63 to 59 this year. Their shots, however, have been off the mark.

But while the Hoyas have taken more shots than their opponents, they have been unable to find the net, connecting on only eight goals this year.

“We started off strong,” Marsh says. “But we’ve taken a step back. This week we’ve really focused on finishing chances.”

According to Marsh, Georgetown has not capitalized on every goal it should have because several miscues have damaged the team’s confidence..

“It’s the kind of thing that builds up,” Marsh said. “We’ve missed a few chances and then it seems like it’s impossible to score a goal.”

While Marsh may have a plan for solving some of Georgetown’s offensive problems, there are still holes to fill on defense as well. Last year’s keeper, junior Deirdre Crovo, has been injured since the season’s first game, forcing freshman Tiffany Kaszuba to fill in.

The next stretch of games – five road contests – will give Marsh and the team an idea of where they are and how they will fare in Big East play, which begins Sep. 28. Borrowing a home field makes scheduling contests difficult and Georgetown only plays five games at `home’ this season, compared with 10 last season, all of which actually came on the Hilltop.

Road tripping aside, Marsh believes the team has potential to extend its schedule to postseason play.

“Our goal this year is to make the Big East championship. I know the Big East is a good conference but I really think we can make the Big East tournament,” she says. “They only take the top four teams [of seven teams] but there’s no reason we can’t make it this year.”

Georgetown will have its hands full come the Big East portion of its schedule – dates with No. 3 Connecticut, No. 16 Louisville and No. 20 Syracuse loom large for a team that is yet to pick up a win in the conference.

But, if Marsh can spark a team that has been dry offensively, Georgetown may turn some heads in league play. Georgetown lost to Rutgers and Villanova by one and two goals, respectively, last season. Syracuse, while nationally ranked, only beat the Hoyas by two a year ago.

The Big East schedule begins Sept. 14* when the Hoyas play host to Syracuse in College Park.