After a tough 5-3 loss Friday against West Virginia University, the Hoyas Women’s soccer team (11-5-0, 4-4-0 BE) weren’t about to relax with a 3-0 lead against Pittsburgh (6-9-1, 1-7-1 BE) Sunday afternoon on North Kehoe Field. The Hoyas held on to win the game 4-2.
“[Head Coach Dave Nolan] pretty much hit the nail on the head. He said we could either come out and be angry about it and prove ourselves today, or come out and feel sorry for ourselves that we had a number 21 team on the ropes and lost,” senior forward Sarah Jordan said. “We wanted to prove that we were a good team. We were mad about losing that last game.”
The Hoyas started the game on a positive note. Jordan knocked in a shot from inside the penalty area just five minutes in.
Four minutes later, junior Stephanie Zare scored her first goal of the season, shooting a soaring kick from the top corner of the penalty area to make the score 2-0.
“You can see we are scoring goals. We’re scoring goals against everybody,” Nolan said of the team’s offense.
Pittsburgh attempted to strike back but senior goalie Jade Higgins stopped the Panthers short.
The Hoya defenders pulled the ball away and the team’s offense put the game back into Georgetown’s possession, keeping the ball in the front court for a majority of the half, constantly putting pressure on Pitt.
“I felt that our forwards today did not do a good job of holding the ball, and we just kept turning it over,” Pittsburgh Head Coach Sue-Moy Chin said.
Freshman forward Ingrid Wells was just one of the Hoyas forcing the Panthers to work. She repeatedly beat Pittsburg defenders, and a foul on Pitt put Wells in place for a penalty kick, which she converted for a 3-0 lead.
Before the half, the Panthers slipped in a goal from a kick by freshman forward Liz Carroll.
Nolan expressed some disappointment in the defense after this goal.
“From my point of view, I hate winning games 4-2, I would rather win ugly,” he said. “I would rather win 1-0 than 7-4. Ultimately defense wins championships, and defense is what wins in the long term.”
In the second half, despite continued pressure from the Hoyas, the Panthers fought for possession and converted again. Carroll upped a pass to mid-fielder Jennifer Kritch in front of the goal. She knocked it in, making it a one-point match.
“The problem for me was when I put my bench in today, they didn’t give me anything,” Nolan said. “I had to get the starters back in even though they were tired because that was when we were in control of the game.”
Senior midfielder Lindsay Appezzato got some help from the bench as she and freshman forward Daryn Towle struggled against Pittsburgh for the ball at the top of the penalty area when Appezzato pushed the ball out and Towle broke free to beat the Panthers goalie for the final goal of the day.
“We got the win today, which we needed,” Nolan said. “Our goals are still first to make the Big East tournament; after that our goal is to set a record for wins.”
The Hoyas travel to Florida this Tuesday for a match against South Florida and then return to North Kehoe Field to finish up their Big East regular season against Cincinnati on Friday and Louisville on Sunday.
