Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

WOMEN’S LACROSSE | Towson Hands GU First Loss in Blowout

ALLAN+GICHOHI+FOR+THE+HOYA%0AJunior+attacker+Taylor+Gebhardt+scored+four+goals+in+Sundays+loss+to+Towson.+She+currently+leads+the+team+with+eight+goals+on+the+season
ALLAN GICHOHI FOR THE HOYA Junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt scored four goals in Sunday’s loss to Towson. She currently leads the team with eight goals on the season

After facing off against St. Joseph’s team in a torrential downpour Feb. 10, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team fell victim to another bout of terrible weather when the team members travelled to Towson last Saturday.  Trailing 3-9 with just 14 minutes left on the clock, the Blue and Gray were sent back to the Hilltop as the game was called because of poor weather and rescheduled for the next day.

With the initial game scratched from the record, Georgetown (1-1) regrouped and returned to Towson (2-0) on Sunday to restart the match. Ultimately, the Hoyas fell to the Tigers 21-13.

Towson, eager to regain the lead the squad had established but lost to delays the day before, came out strong, scoring the first goal of the match. The game would prove to be a physical one, and the next four goals were scored on free position opportunities, two of which were in favor of the Tigers and two of which counted for the Hoyas.

ALLAN GICHOHI FOR THE HOYA
Junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt scored four goals in Sunday’s loss to Towson. She currently leads the team with eight goals on the season.

Despite initial success with free position goals, Georgetown went three for six on its free position opportunities. Georgetown’s first two goals were netted by junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt. Gebhardt led the team on Sunday, scoring four times.

Sunday’s effort marks Gebhardt’s second four-point game this season. Head Coach Ricky Fried praised Gebhardt’s performance, noting her ability to finish scoring opportunities.

“[Gebhardt is] one of our offensive leaders on the field. She’s been doing a great job creating opportunities for herself, but I think more importantly she’s doing a great job finishing the opportunities she’s getting,” Fried said. “She’s playing with a lot of confidence and I think that helps our team a lot and I’m looking forward to her continuing that growth.”

Gebhardt shot four for five on Sunday. Her two non-free position goals were both assisted by sophomore attacker Emily Ehle, who led the team with three assists on Sunday, and who now leads with seven assists this season.

Despite efforts to quickly level the score, the Hoyas struggled to gain any real momentum, and Georgetown did not lead at all during the first half. Although the Hoyas were constantly trailing, the first half saw goals from three players: Gebhardt had three, while Ehle and sophomore attacker Michaela Bruno each added one.

Going into halftime, the Hoyas were down 10-5 and, after the break, Towson did not relent. The Tigers continued to dominate, scoring the first two goals of the second half. Georgetown struggled to cut the deficit, never catching up to Towson

Despite trailing, the Hoyas posted more goals in the second half than in the first, tallying eight goals compared to five in the first half. Yet, Towson also improved their play, scoring 11 in the second half compared to 10 in the first.

Bruno added two more goals to complete a hat trick, her second in two games. With one assist, she tied Ehle and Gebhardt to lead the team with four points against Towson. Gebhardt added one more goal for her total of four.

More Hoyas also shot their way into the stat book in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch, junior attacker Morgan Ryan and senior attacker Sarah Cheney all found the back of the net once. Senior midfielder Hannah Seibel scored twice.

Fried credited Towson with a worthy victory after the loss.

“Towson played consistently harder than we did today and deserved the win,” Fried said.

The final game stats speak to Fried’s sentiments. Georgetown was outshot by Towson 28-34. The Hoyas also raked in 13 ground balls compared to Towson’s 15. Junior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst led Georgetown with eights draw controls, but her efforts did not propel the Hoyas ahead of Towson in that category either. Georgetown controlled 15 draws to Towson’s 19.

On top of their deficit in draw controls and ground balls, the Blue and Gray made their job considerably harder by turning the ball over 16 times, three more than Towson’s 13 turnovers. Fried hopes to work on draw controls in practice this week.

“We want to make sure we’re doing a better job gaining possession for our team,” Fried said.

Even with the loss, Fried acknowledged that the Hoyas had positive moments in the game, but they failed to build momentum.

“As a group, we had a lot of positive plays, but did not string them together to create enough momentum,” Fried said. “This week’s practice will be critical to our growth as a team.”

This week’s one practice will be aimed largely at preparing to take on the Drexel Dragons (1-1) this weekend.

“Defensively we want to make sure we’re playing as more of a unit. We want to be more sound defensively so we can limit their opportunities,” Fried said. “Offense is playing well but if we give up 21, we have to score 22 in order to win. So it’s just to make sure it’s a team focus, not just one end of the field.”

The Hoyas will hit the road again this weekend, travelling to Philadelphia on Saturday to take on the Dragons. The game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m., and the weather forecast looks significantly better than it has been for Georgetown’s last two field appearances.

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