Georgetown’s women’s lacrosses team secured their fifth straight Big East title last Saturday and raised their record to 11-3 by defeating No. 18 UConn 16-8 on North Kehoe Field.
Despite some tentative play in the beginning of the game, Georgetown opened the scoring on a solo goal by senior attacker Sarah Oliphant at the 26:54 mark. UConn senior attacker Jacqui Hamilton quickly scored back-to-back goals at the 25:09 and 23:17 markers to put the Huskies up 2-1.
Sophomore midfielder Sara Zorzi tied the game at two on an assist from Oliphant with 19:15 left in the half. UConn then took control of the ball and attacked Georgetown’s net, but both teams went scoreless for almost 13 minutes. An overzealous Hoya defense gave UConn several good free-position opportunities, but senior goalie Sarah Robinson was steadfast in the net, denying the Huskies time and time again.
Junior midfielder Lucy Poole broke the scoreless streak when she carried the ball past midfield through the UConn defense and zipped a waist-high shot past Huskie goalie Jennifer Wong to break the tie and put Georgetown up 3-2 with 7:13 left in the half. Georgetown pressured the UConn goalie, forcing an ill-advised pass which sophomore attacker Brittany Baschuck intercepted and netted to put the Hoyas up 4-2. Oliphant beat her defender for a goal with nine seconds left, ending the half and Georgetown’s four-goal run with a score of 5-2.
“We have good shooters; we showed that last week,” Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “When we’re getting quality shots we can find the [net].”
Sophomore attacker Coco Stanwick, the Big East points leader, muscled her way past a triple team for her first score of the day with 28:18 left in the second. UConn scored minutes later, but Georgetown netted four straight goals before the Huskies managed to trickle the ball past Georgetown’s goalie for the score, cutting the Hoyas advantage to 10-4 with 23:03 left in game.
The two teams then traded goals, with the Hoyas maintaining a seven-goal lead until the Huskies went on a three-goal run, pulling them within five at 13-8 with 9:46 remaining. Georgetown stifled the impending UConn comeback with a three-goal run of their own, putting the game on ice with a goal from senior attacker Hollis Pica with 6:12 on the clock and a final score of 16-8.
A large part of Georgetown’s offensive success came off unassisted goals, which isn’t the norm for the Hoyas, who tend to be more pass-oriented.
“It’s good for us to show that if people won’t drop for us we can finish the score,” Coach Fried said. “If we can penalize people for doing that, and if they start dropping so we can penalize them for that as well, we’re going to be successful.”
Senior midfielder Allison Chambers led Georgetown with four goals and one assist, while Stanwick, Poole, Oliphant and Baschuck scored two goals each. With this win the Hoyas locked down the Big East title, upped their all-time conference record to an unblemished 29-0 and earned their eighth straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In addition, sophomore midfielder Chloe Asselin was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week for her performances last Saturday and in the previous game against Virginia. Asselin won five draw controls and collected six ground balls in the Hoyas’ two wins over ranked opponents.
