On Sunday, fueled by a large home crowd, the Georgetown women’s soccer team played an emotional match against No. 4 Notre Dame (15-1-2) for their final game of the regular season. The match resulted in a tie, bringing the Hoyas’ regular season record to 13-5-1 overall and 7-3-1 in the Big East. It was the perfect time for Georgetown to play an elite team in the conference, with the Big East Tournament coming up.
Ingrid Wells led the team in points this season, with eight goals and 10 assists. (Photo by Julianne Deno)
“I think it definitely showed that we’re a good team that can play with anyone in the country,” head coach Dave Nolan said.
The game got off to a slow start—the first goal wasn’t scored until the 73rd minute when a penalty shot by Melissa Henderson put the Fighting Irish on the board. But, unwilling to let the Hoyas’ season end in defeat, junior forward Camille Trujillo stepped up like she has all season and scored to tie the game in the last five minutes of regulation play. The Hoyas played off the intensity from the clutch goal for the remainder of regulation and both overtime periods, narrowly missing out on opportunities to capitalize and win the game.
Nolan said the crowd of almost 2,000 fans gave the team a boost during the game.
“I thought the crowd was a great factor for us, you know. We had kids on the field who didn’t come off,” Nolan said. “They were running on emotion.”
Intensity will be a big factor this Sunday, when the Hoyas play against the University of South Florida for the ten-team Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Georgetown beat the Bulls (11-4-3) in early October, winning 3-1 after coming back from an early USF goal. But Nolan said that doesn’t mean much for the outcome of Sunday’s game.
“It was a tough fight,” Nolan said. “It’s sometimes hard to beat a team twice in a season.”
The Hoyas will have to use a mix of unselfish play, tournament momentum, and crowd energy to keep their focus on the game, especially since the Bulls are entering the tournament on a four-game winning streak. Their victories this season also include West Virginia, who they kept scoreless into a double-overtime draw. Meanwhile, Georgetown lost to the Mountaineers 3-0 on Oct. 17.
But the Hoyas have the advantage of playing on their home field, Trujillo said. Sunday’s competition will take place on North Kehoe Field, where the Hoyas hope another large turnout will help them repeat their early season win.
“I think we’ll do well in the tournament,” Trujillo said. “We just have to keep practicing tough.”
With a No. 2 seed, the women had a bye for early tournament games this week, giving them a chance to get some much-needed rest. If the Hoyas are victorious against the Bulls on Sunday, they will probably face Marquette in the semi-finals. The Golden Eagles are the best team in the Big East, with an 11-0 conference record.
Earlier in the season, the Hoyas suffered a close loss to Marquette (14-3-2), and the Golden Eagles have continued to improve their game. If the Hoyas make it to the semifinals, they could be in for a real battle—but for now, the team is just focused on getting there.
