Facing its longtime rival Sunday Sept. 2, the Georgetown women’s soccer team shut out West Virginia University on the road 2-0.

“There’s not too many teams that go up to West Virginia and win up there,” Head Coach Dave

Nolan said in an interview with The Hoya. “I don’t think 2-0 flattered us. I thought we played well enough that 2-0 or 3-0 would have been a fair result.”

The No. 11 ranked Hoyas (4-0-2) came into Morgantown, W.Va., on the heels of a 1-0 victory over the George Washington Colonials (4-1) on Thursday.

Senior forward Amanda Carolan scored her first goal of the season off an assist from junior midfielder Carson Nizialek to secure the win.

West Virginia (1-2-3) and Georgetown have a long history of high-intensity matchups, most recently in the season opener of the 2017 season. The then-No. 5 ranked Hoyas lost to then-No. 1 ranked Mountaineers 1-0 in West Virginia.

“Whenever we play them, it’s always a tough game,” Nolan said. “We’re a very difficult matchup for them based on the way we play. And, they’re a difficult matchup for us based on how athletic they are.”

This year’s West Virginia team, however, did not come into Sunday’s matchup with the same pedigree. The Mountaineers have struggled out of the gate, highlighted by a three-game tie streak prior to Sunday.

Georgetown out shot West Virginia 7-5. Senior forward Caitlin Farrell had two shots on goal, including one in the first minute of action that set the tone early for the Hoyas.

“I thought we did a good job of handling what they threw at us,” Nolan said. “I felt as the game went on, we started to impose our own style on the game.”

That style has stayed constant over the years for the Hoyas, but it has taken some time for this year’s squad to get acclimated to one other.

“The style is always ball movement, possession and combination play,” Nolan said. “The one thing we did better against West Virginia is we started to recognize the qualities of our teammates.”

Georgetown opened up the scoring in the 35th minute with a goal from junior defender Meaghan Nally, assisted by sophomore midfielder Grace Nguyen.

Both Nally’s goal and Nguyen’s assist marked their first for the season.

“Meaghan has the heart of a champion. She’s a warrior on the field,” Nolan said. “On offense, she’s such a great athlete and such a good competitor that she tends to get close to a lot of stuff.”

Nally and senior goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman were instrumental in keeping a dangerous West Virginia offense at bay, leading to Georgetown’s fourth shutout of the year.

For their efforts, Nally and Schechtman were named Big East Defensive Player and Goalkeeper of the Week, respectively. This was the second time Schechtman received the award this year.

With 15 minutes remaining in the game, the Hoyas added a second goal to put the Mountaineers away. Graduate forward Kyra Carusa scored an unassisted goal off a loose ball in the West Virginia box. The goal was Carusa’s third of the season and her second straight game with a goal.

Next up for Georgetown is a local matchup against George Mason University (3-2) at Shaw Field. Kickoff is set for Sunday at noon.