The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team is as hot as the D.C. weather, having defeated James Madison, Boston College and William & Mary this week to improve to 11-1 and 4-0 in the Big East. They have also maintained their No. 2 ranking in this week’s BRINE/IWLCA poll. Senior attack Erin Elbe led the Hoyas in all three games, scoring the winning goal in the victory over No. 11 James Madison, notching a career-best 10 points in the win over Boston College and scoring five times in the defeat of William & Mary. Elbe credits her recent success to the strength of the entire Georgetown offense.
“Since the attack is playing so well, it makes my job a lot easier,” she said after the William & Mary game. “Teams don’t know who to guard.”
Against William & Mary on Tuesday, the Hoyas’ offense dominated the Tribe, exploding for a 21-12 win. The Hoyas’ attack was patient, consistent and balanced as eight different players scored goals. Aside from the five from Elbe, junior attack Wick Stanwick added four more goals, while sophomore midfield Anouk Peters scored three, all of which occurred in the first half.
“The attack played well the whole game today,” said Stanwick. “The defense stepped up when it needed to.”
Senior goalkeeper Chandler Vicchio had another strong game, making six saves for the Hoyas while letting in nine goals. Her importance to the team was apparent after she was replaced with five minutes left and Georgetown leading 21-9: William & Mary scored three goals in the time remaining and shut out the Hoyas for the rest of the game.
Last Sunday at home against Boston College, Georgetown put up a similarly effective offensive performance blasting the Eagles in a 23-10 victory. During the game, the Hoyas went on three scoring runs of four goals or more, cruising after gaining a 17-8 lead with 17:58 left. Head Coach Kim Simons was pleased with Georgetown’s recent performance.
“Our last two games our offense has been playing well, better than before,” she said after the William & Mary game. “When everyone on offense plays together, we’re tough to stop.”
Still, she also sees room for improvement. “We need some work defensively,” she said. “Teams are scoring too many goals against us.”
Unlike the William & Mary and Boston College games, the Hoyas had a fight to the finish at No. 11 James Madison last Thursday. During the game, there were six ties and no team had a lead greater than two goals. James Madison tied the game at eight with 8:44 left and both defenses held strong until Elbe’s goal with 19 seconds remaining put the Hoyas over the top. Stanwick and Elbe led Georgetown in scoring with two goals apiece.
For their efforts, on Monday Elbe and junior defenseman Melissa Biles earned Big East Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week honors. Elbe won Player of the Week and Biles won Defensive Player of the Week.
Georgetown’s last home game of the year will be this Saturday and part of a doubleheader with the men’s team. The women’s team will play Big East rival No. 9 Notre Dame at noon; the men’s team will play No. 13 Massachusetts at 2 p.m.
“One of our biggest games of the year is against Notre Dame,” said Simons. “We need to play a full 60 minutes of lacrosse to win.”
