The Georgetown women’s soccer team (4-8-4, 1-6-2 BE) found themselves all but eliminated from post-season play after another tough weekend in the unforgiving Big East Conference. The first of the two weekend match-ups came on the road and ended with a 1-1 tie with Pittsburgh (7-5-3, 1-5-2 BE) on Friday.
The Lady Hoyas fell victim to shoddy field conditions in the 29th minute and found themselves trailing by a goal. A tough bounce resulted in a scramble in front of junior goalkeeper Jade Higgins, and Ashley Habbel of Pitt was able to deposit the loose ball in the net. Georgetown answered almost immediately as senior midfielder Chrissy Skogen took a pass from junior Karen Waskewich in the very next minute and put her team-leading sixth goal into the upper right corner of the net.
The second half and both overtimes were played primarily in the midfield, and neither team was able to capitalize on the few opportunities that did arise. The 1-1 tie was tough for both teams to take, as each is in dire need of conference wins.
Many of Georgetown’s losses this year have come against the run of play in good performances by the Lady Hoyas when they don’t finish their opportunities. In Sunday’s game, however, the No. 7 ranked Mountaineers of West Virginia (13-1-2, 7-1-1 BE) were simply the better team.
The result of the game was never really in doubt as the Hoyas found themselves down 2-0 with less than fifteen minutes gone. West Virginia’s Deana Everett rounded out the scoring with her second goal of the day and Big-East-leading sixteenth of the year 10 minutes into the second half. The Mountaineer defense gave up only three shots, coming from Georgetown seniors Alexandra Hardy, Shante Cofield and Christine Araps.
“We won’t be in the postseason this year, but we still have some goals to finish up with,” says Coach Dave Nolan. “We still have some soccer left in us. The girls continue to practice hard and play hard, and we still have the opportunity to do something that no one else has done this season.”
The “something” that Coach Nolan is referring to is a victory against the top-ranked and undefeated Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. This will certainly be no small task as the Irish have dominated virtually every opponent they have faced this year. The Lady Hoyas have a history of close games at home against the Irish, though. The matchup will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. on North Kehoe Field after Georgetown hosts DePaul on Friday at 3 p.m.
