Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

WOMEN’S LACROSSE | Hoyas Handle Quakers in Philly

The No. 13 Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (4-3, 1-0 Big East) earned an impressive road victory against the No. 8 University of Pennsylvania (4-2, 2-0 Ivy League) Wednesday, defeating the Quakers by a final tally of 11-9. The Hoyas have now beaten two ranked opponents in a row after a surprise upset of then-No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday.

“[The win] gives us a lot of confidence, especially coming off of a big win on Saturday,” Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “For us it was all about gaining some momentum about going into Big East play, and I think we responded really well.”

Junior midfielder Brian Casey came through in the clutch again Saturday. FILE PHOTO: CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA
Junior midfielder Brian Casey came through in the clutch again Saturday. FILE PHOTO: CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA

Georgetown and Penn battled back and forth throughout the first half, but the Hoyas capitalized on three straight goals in the second half to take a 10-7 lead and never looked back from there.

The Blue and Gray played stingy defense throughout the game, allowing only 16 shots while getting off 21 of their own. Georgetown also controlled the ball better than Penn, committing only 14 turnovers as compared to 17 by the opposition.

“We didn’t do anything exceptional, but we did enough to win the game,” Fried said. We played at the pace we wanted to on the offensive end and defensively we were stingy,” he said.

Junior midfielder Sophia Thomas opened the scoring only 11 seconds into the game to give theHoyas an early lead. The goal would be a harbinger of things to come, as Thomas found the back of the net five more times before the final buzzer sounded in an exceptional performance.

“I think Sophia is capable of doing that at any point in time,” Fried praised. “She is a very dynamic player.”

After two Quaker goals, the Blue and Gray responded with one from freshman attack Caroline Tarzianwith 12 minutes left to play in the half.

Goals were hard to come by from that point on, but Thomas and junior midfielder Kelsi Bozel each scored twice before the end of the half to give Georgetown a 6-4 advantage at intermission.

Both of Thomas’ goals were assisted by senior midfielder Erin Lovett. These two, along with Bozel, formed a formidable trio of middies that was a force all day for the Hoyas, accounting for all but four of the team’s 18 total points.

The Quakers came out strong in the second half and managed to tie the score at seven with 14 minutes left to play. However, the Hoyas responded with three straight goals, two coming from Thomas and one from Lovett, to make the score 10-7.

And while Penn again fought back and cut the deficit to one with six minutes left, sophomore goalie Barb Black (who had six saves in the game) and the rest of the Georgetown defense remained tight from then on and were able to close out the win.

“I felt the biggest thing was [we] consistently rode throughout the game,” Fried noted. “That paid dividends at the end of the game and they got a little bit tired.”

The Blue and Gray will look to keep their win streak alive as they go up against yet another ranked foe on Saturday, No. 16 Loyola (4-3). The game will be the Big East home opener for the Hoyas.

While Fried is very happy with the way his team is performing, he sees room for improvement in its off-ball defensive play and consistency in decision-making. And as always, his team is aware of the expectations that the program faces each year.

“The Big East is huge for us. The expectation is to finish first and not anywhere else,” Fried said. “I think our kids thrive on that but other teams put the target out on us, so we need to be prepared.”

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