After winning just two of their 20 games last year, the Georgetown Field Hockey team is finally hitting their stride. So far this season, the team (6-6) is truly having a turnaround year.
“We’re putting it all together,” head coach Tiffany Marsh said. “We brought in a lot of freshmen last year, and just with that year of experience under their belts [we’ve made that turnaround].”
Sophomore forward Catherine Shugrue, who is in only her second year at Georgetown, has built up a lot of experience. She leads the team in scoring with 11 goals. But even though the sophomore crew brought a lot of spark, Marsh said that the leadership from the upperclassmen has been valuable, even though there are only three of them.
After last year’s disappointing season, the Hoyas have really stepped up their game to garner serious Big East attention. Annika Bannon, the team’s lone senior, has gained Big East accolades for her exemplary performance on defense, earning Big East weekly honors twice this season. Joining her on the list this season have been goalkeeper Briana Pereira and forwards Shugrue, Annie Wilson, and Charlotte Tierney.
However, the women have had their fair share of trouble in their Big East matchups. They lost to Louisville by five goals in mid-September, and only narrowly defeated Rutgers last weekend. These losses show that the team isn’t quite there yet, but as the team earns more victories against competitive Big East opponents, it is apparent that they are headed in the right direction. To get their first Big East victory, the girls beat the Scarlet Knights in overtime.
“Rutgers was a big win,” Marsh said. “We beat Rutgers last year for our first in-conference Big East win in school history, so this was just our step number two.”
Substantial wins, like the one against the Scarlet Knights, will play a huge role in the confidence and success of the team for the rest of the season.
Although some players have been singled out and recognized, Marsh is quick to attribute this year’s success to the entire team.
“It’s unique this year. I don’t think we have one person who is stealing the spotlight,” Marsh said. “It’s nice to have such an even group of contributors.”
With a number of Big East matchups in the coming weeks, the Hoyas will need to continue to work as a team to keep improving. The women will face off against Connecticut and Fairfield this weekend, both teams that come in boasting better records than the Hoyas. For now, Georgetown is happy with its improvement—but the team isn’t ready to stop working to get to the top.
