Play hard, play smart, play together.
So goes the mantra of Georgetown’s women’s lacrosse coaches this year. It seems like the team has gotten the point thus far this season.
With brilliant performances from both the offensive and defensive ends, the Hoyas dominated a formidable 13th ranked Johns Hopkins squad, winning 11-6 on Wednesday afternoon. Molly Ford, a junior attacker, sparked the Georgetown offense with her deft moves and timely positioning, tying her career-high number of goals in a game with five.
“Molly had a great game today. She is a solid player, playing at a high level right now,” head coach Ricky Fried said. “In our first two games she’s been hot, but a lot of that is her teammates finding her in a position to score. Today, the other players got her the ball, and she was able to finish.”
One example of this teamwork occurred in the second half when Megan Bloomer, a senior midfielder, picked up the ball around midfield and dashed across the field, finding an open Ford next to the goal. Thanks to Bloomer’s keen vision, Ford was able to finish with an impressive backhanded goal, putting the Hoyas up 8-3. Ford said that without her teammates, she would not have performed as she did.
“Everyone played really well, and I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to do anything on offense unless the middies got the ball down to me on the attack, so I credit our entire team with this win,” said Ford.
On the other side of the ball, the Hoyas played stingy defense. Led by junior goalie Caitlin Formby’s eight saves, the Hoya defense limited the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays to just six goals, well under their season average of 10.5 goals per game. During one key stretch, the Hoya defense held the Blue Jays scoreless for over 25 minutes. By the time Johns Hopkins ended their scoring drought, the Hoyas had already built an insurmountable lead.
Coach Fried was pleased with the Hoyas’ defensive performance.
“Some of the things we keyed on were clearing the ball, solid defense, and goaltending play, and I think we accomplished our goals,” Fried said. “Holding a good team like Hopkins to six goals is a credit to our defense and to our keeper. The defense looked great, and Caitlin [Formby] was strong for us in goal.”
After their strong showing against a team of Hopkins’ caliber, the currently 7th-ranked Hoyas look to build upon their momentum as they face No. 20 Denver this coming Sunday at Multi-Sport Field. Coach Fried hopes to use the upcoming match as another opportunity for his squad to improve.
“I think we can always improve on our consistency,” Fried said. “I also think we need to limit turnovers and getting draw controls. But all of these are things we’ll be able to look at on the film and go over in practice, so as the season progresses we’ll be able to get better in areas where we may be a bit weak.”
Nonetheless, the Hoyas are showing that those weaknesses aren’t enough to hinder the team early on this season.
