Bolstered by a strong second-half showing, the women’s soccer team snapped a three game losing streak by beating Seton Hall on Sunday. The Hoyas defeated the Pirates (6-4-0) 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to improve their record to 8-3-0. The Georgetown Women’s Soccer team is now 2-1-0 in the Big East, which brings them to No. 2 in the conference.
“We’ve got a bit of our swagger back,” head coach Dave Nolan said.
In the first half, the team came out attacking the net but was not playing with the same aggression that they usually do. The Hoyas had some chances early on, but couldn’t make a mark on the scoreboard until the second half.
Junior defender Gabby Miller and freshman forward Colleen Dinn both gave the Hoyas some good looks, but the Hoyas ultimately did not score until the 73rd minute, when junior midfielder Kelly D’Ambrisi netted a goal off an assist from junior forward Camille Trujillo. Building off the momentum from the first goal, freshman forward Kaitlin Brenn scored off a pass from junior Ingrid Wells a mere three minutes later.
The Hoyas asserted control on the offensive end by outshooting Seton Hall 20-6 with eight of the shots coming on goal. The Pirates had no answer for the quick onslaught, as senior goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin continued her exceptional season by saving all of Seton Hall’s eight shots, including one on goal.
So far this season, the upperclassmen have had the best showing on the stat sheets. But with this game, the freshman have made a huge impact on the team’s record.
“Their innocence,” Nolan said, “is a good thing on the field.” He said that because of their naïveté, they have no fear when going up against strong players.
Their attitude helped the Hoyas a lot in games earlierin the season against tough teams like No. 1 Stanford, and No. 13 Santa Clara, two matches that they ultimately lost. The Hoyas have still had some huge wins this season, like their victory over Big East rival Villanova early on in the season.
Nolan said that they have been using the same strategy all season and that they don’t plan to change it for the upcoming weekend matches.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time, I’ve never been a goal-setting coach,” he said, adding that they need to keep playing competitively and not passively.
Their swagger had better hold through the weekend, when the Hoyas will play the South Florida Bulls on Friday and the Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday. Both matches will be held at North Kehoe Field.
