With about two minutes remaining in overtime, Hoya junior attacker Brittany Baschuk had her shot blocked. She grabbed the rebound and made sure the second attempt found the net. It was her fifth goal of the year, and it sealed a hard-fought Hoya comeback.
“The final play we called for Brittany,” Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried said. “She was playing against a defender we thought she could take.”
The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team overcame a three-goal deficit to defeat fifth-ranked North Carolina 8-7. The fourth-ranked Hoyas improved to 7-1.
Georgetown started strong, leading 3-0 thanks to goals by junior attackers Sara Zorzi and Coco Stanwick and senior midfielder Paige Andrews. Momentum quickly shifted to the Tar Heels, however, who controlled the remainder of the first half and stayed up 7-4 well into the second half.
A second Andrews goal was the only thing keeping Georgetown within striking distance.
“We executed our game plan to give us a 7-4 lead,” UNC Head Coach Jenny Levy said. “We were happy with our defense, midfield and transition play.”
While Carolina cruised, the Hoyas came alive. After both teams went scoreless for eight minutes, junior attacker Schuyler Sutton and Stanwick notched two quick goals to pull Georgetown to within one. UNC’s sudden drought persisted, as they failed to score in the final 18 minutes of regulation. Georgetown senior midfielder Lucy Poole scored the tying goal with just over five minutes remaining, and the teams headed to overtime.
Georgetown carried its momentum into the bonus period, getting five shots on goal while stymieing Carolina’s offense before Baschuk sent home the game winner.
Fried, voted U.S. Lacrosse Coach of the Week, also acknowledged the impact of standout Coco Stanwick, who scored two goals and found a better rhythm with her draw control on face-offs as the game progressed.
“She’s been successful at that all year. She was able to make an adjustment and came up with the last five draw controls of the game,” Fried said. “Draw controls and ground balls have been a part of our focus. We did the little things right.” The Hoyas dominated groundballs 39-21 and had the edge in draws 11-8. They also forced Carolina to make mistakes toward the end.
“A lot of our possessions ended in turnovers,” UNC Coach Levy said. “We were certainly disappointed to come out on the short end of the stick.”
The win completed a home stand in which the Hoyas won three straight, downing two teams ranked in the top six and defeating Big East foe Rutgers.
“Every game is a big game for us,” Fried said. “Knowing we didn’t play our best and came away with a victory against a top opponent gives us an edge mentally. We know we’re capable of getting it done.”
