As one of the nation’s elite lacrosse teams, the Lady Hoyas entered the first ever Big East Women’s Lacrosse Tournament as the number one seed. Unfortunately, the young Georgetown squad didn’t finish that way. Last Saturday, the Hoyas fell to the Syracuse Orange 12-7 in the Big East championship game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Winners of seven straight Big East regular season crowns, the Hoyas (10-7, 4-2 BE) were overmatched in their quest for the Big East Championship. The Hoyas, previously 10-0 against the Orange, weren’t able to withstand the Syracuse attack or beat their superb goalkeeper, Amber Pardee-Hill, who made 13 saves and won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award.
“Syracuse executed their game plan very well,” Georgetown Coach Ricky Fried said. “We looked a bit tentative early and their last two goals before halftime hurt. Syracuse played with a lot of confidence.”
The Hoyas were unable to find an offensive flow, committing 18 total turnovers. These turnovers, as well as a lack of quality offensive possessions, forced Georgetown to scrap and scramble for most of the game. The Lady Orange, the nation’s top scoring team, took advantage of the turnovers, resulting in an 8-3 Syracuse halftime lead.
“We didn’t want to give up top-side cuts but they were able to get a couple of those,” said Georgetown goalkeeper Maggie Koch, a senior.
The deficit, Georgetown’s second biggest this year, was too much for the team to overcome. Senior tri-captain Coco Stanwick and sophomore attacker Bunny O’Reilly each posted two goals, but they were not enough to jumpstart the Hoya offense.
Despite the loss, Georgetown will be a team to watch as they prepare for the NCAA tournament. With one game of the regular season left against Princeton, the Hoyas have time to regroup and work on the details before heading into post-season play.
