The No. 18 Georgetown women’s soccer team (1-0, 0-0 Big East) enters this season with high expectations, as the experience-laden team looks to improve upon last year’s NCAA Tournament appearance and a school-record 16 wins.
Picked to finish second in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll, the Hoyas swept the conference’s trio of preseason individual awards. Junior forward Daphne Corboz was awarded Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, senior defender Emily Menges was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and sophomore goalkeeper Emma Newins was named Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Senior forward Kaitlin Brenn and senior midfielder Colleen Dinn were also selected to the Preseason All-Big East Team, along with Corboz, Menges, and Newins.
Georgetown faces an altered conference landscape in the Big East, in which new members Butler, Creighton, and Marquette have replaced powerhouse teams such as Rutgers and Notre Dame. As a result, Georgetown will have a much easier league schedule, which should bode well for their record but could leave them untested later in the year when the NCAA Tournament arrives.
In their season opener on Friday, the Hoyas defeated William & Mary (0-1, 0-0 CAA) 2-1 in an overtime thriller. Forward Kaitlin Brenn proved to be the difference-maker for the Hoyas, accounting for both Georgetown goals, including the game-winner with 4:35 left in the first overtime.
“It’s always important to get the season off to a good start,” Coach Nolan said after the overtime thriller. “Momentum and confidence builds and the only way you can get it is by getting results. It was important to get a win to start the season.”
Despite controlling play for most of the game, the Hoyas faced a 1-0 deficit until late in the second half, when Brenn dribbled around two defenders in the box and put it away to tie the game in the 73rd minute. The sides failed to score for the remainder of regulation and went into overtime, where Brenn blasted home the game-winner from 12 yards out.
“We talked about having players who are brave enough and courageous enough to make plays instead of hoping for it,” Nolan said about Brenn’s stellar play during the game. “[Kaitlin] is a great player and she’s very confident. She never lacks confidence in her own ability and she came up big for us twice today.”
On Sunday, the Hoyas blew out Quinnipiac with a 5-0 shutout at home. Sophomore midfielder Sarah Adams led the Hoyas with two goals. Junior midfielder Vanessa Skrumbis, junior forward Jessica Clinton, and freshman forward Hannah Howell also jumped on the scoresheet for the Hoyas.
Despite a dominating performance on paper, Coach Nolan expressed frustration with his team’s play after the game.
“I wasn’t happy with the performance,” Coach Nolan said following the win. “We did enough to win the game today against a team that had some energy and was well organized. We struggled a little bit to break them down and establish ourselves.”
The Hoyas will be in action again this Friday, when they travel to face D.C. rival George Washington at 4:00pm.
