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 Soccer | Corboz Sisters Combine to Lift GU

The Georgetown women’s soccer team (6-2-3, 1-0-1 Big East) eeked out a 1-0 win against Xavier University (3-7-2, 0-2-0 Big East) in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon thanks to a late goal by freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz, assisted by her sister senior midfielder Daphne Corboz.

FILE PHOTO: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA Freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz scored in the Georgetown’s 1-0 win over the Xavier.
FILE PHOTO: JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA
Freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz scored in the Georgetown’s 1-0 win over the Xavier.

With the victory, the Hoyas picked up their first Big East win of the season after drawing with DePaul University on Thursday. Now they stand two points behind conference leaders Marquette University and St. John’s University.

After the Hoyas scored seven goals in last season’s matchup, the Musketeers took a more defensive approach, playing five defenders and five midfielders, in hopes of stymieing the prolific Georgetown offense.

“I felt with the team they had this year and how they set up to play against St. John’s on Friday night, that we were going to see them withdraw into a defensive shell, which is what they did,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “If I was playing against a far superior team, I probably would’ve done the same thing.”

Despite the one-goal margin, Georgetown dominated the game, controlling possession and rarely allowing Xavier out of its own half of the field.
This has been a consistent theme for the Hoyas this season. Sunday’s match resembled others the Hoyas have played, including the recent game against Duquesne University, where opposing teams have played for a draw and challenged the Georgetown offense to break them down.

Georgetown was unable to break down the Xavier defense and it was unable to capitalize on the few chances it did create. The Hoyas’ best half-chance came in the 18th minute when junior midfielder Marina Paul redirected a free kick that ended up hitting the cross bar.

“We struggled to create clear-cut chances on offense just because of the lack of space and I was a little bit disappointed at our play,” Nolan said. “But it’s a win on the road. The most important thing is to pick up the points. We got a good point against DePaul on Thursday and we knew coming into this game that it wasn’t going to be easy.”

In the beginning of the second half, Xavier threatened but Georgetown responded quickly. In the 84th minute, Daphne Corboz crossed the ball and Rachel Corboz buried a shot in the left corner. The goal gave the Hoyas the 1-0 lead, the score by which they would win. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Trower started her second career game and made a save in the victory. Senior goalkeeper and usual starter Emma Newins did not play. The defense impressed as well, especially in their ability to create attacking chances.

“I thought [freshman defender] Taylor Pak did very well,” Nolan said. “And [senior forward] Jessie Clinton continues to do well attacking out of the back. [Freshman defender] Liz Wenger did a good job for us today attacking out of the back because we knew we needed to commit our defenders into attack because they were the ones who would have the most space in front of them with the ball at their feet.”

Two Hoyas were recognized for their weekend performances on Monday. Rachel Corboz was named Big East Rookie of the Week while junior forward Sarah Adams was named to the weekly honor roll.

The Hoyas are currently unbeaten in their last four games. With the recent success, Daphne Corboz has high expectations for the rest of the season.
“Obviously, our goal every year is to win the Big East,” Corboz said. “And I really hope, outside of results, that we play good soccer and really dominate the games that we go into. But we’re all very excited for the Big East to start.”

Though the team has certainly dominated games, it has room to improve when playing both the most challenging opponents and the most beatable conference rivals. Xavier is currently ranked 235 in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index, compared to Georgetown’s 45, but the Hoyas still struggled to prove that they were the better side.

The win gave Georgetown three points in the conference table, bringing the team’s total up to four. Nevertheless, Georgetown’s RPI ranking fell from 37 last week.

Georgetown will next take on Butler University on Thursday at 3 p.m. on Shaw Field, followed by Providence College on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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