The Georgetown women’s field hockey team (6-12, 0-5 Big East) concluded its first on-campus season since 2007 with an impressive 3-0 home shutout win over Towson (2-16, 0-6 Colonial Athletic Association) on Sunday.
“It’s always nice to get off to a really good start, and I think every goal that we get really pushes the momentum forward,” said sophomore forward Aaliyah Graves-Brown, who scored an early goal at the 1:17 mark in the first half. “[I’m] glad I could do my part and really start us out on a high note.”
The game remained 1-0 for the next 25 minutes until the Hoyas received a penalty corner in the 26th minute. An assist by sophomore defender Devin Holmes found junior forward Sarah Butterfield, who slotted it underneath the outstretched right arm of Towson goalkeeper Emilee Woodall. It was the first of Holmes’s two assists in the game and the last score of the half. The first half was, statistically, a dominant show for the Hoyas, who led Towson in shots 7-1.
The Hoyas scored again in the 59th minute, this time off the stick of senior forward Tori Hideshima. “As soon as I saw [Holmes] rip the shot I was ready for it, and just like practice, it happened.” The goal—Hideshima’s first ever—came in her last game playing for the Hoyas.
Defensively, the Hoyas played a stellar match, limiting Towson to four shots in the game, only one of which was on target. “Our [defensive] line and our goalies are, in my opinion, some of the best, and they played a fantastic defensive game,” Graves-Brown said.
The one shot that was on target for the Tigers came just after halftime, as forward Jenney Heather slammed the ball right at the glove of Georgetown goalie Rachel Skonecki. It was the only save of the game Skonecki had to make, giving her the fourth shutout of her career. Skonecki is now fourth all-time for the Hoyas in that category.
“I think for us, we were able to play a more attack-minded style of Hockey today,” said Head Coach Shannon Soares. “However, I’ll tell you, we were really disciplined in terms of our press. And I think that helped us come up with the ball, be able to get into counterattack situations and dangerous situations in their defensive end, and create positive outcomes for us.”
The Hoyas’ 6-12 record is tied for the best of any past Hoya field hockey team, but Soares is not satisfied.
“For us, the spring season is going to be focused on becoming more mentally tough. They are going to go through very difficult workouts, they are going to train more than they ever have in the spring season, and we’re going to focus a lot on fundamental technical skill… I think after today’s result, it’s a great jumping off point for us for next season and what we want to do as a program,” said Soares.
“While we’re proud that we’ve improved from the years of past, this is a new staff and six wins is not good enough for us. So, we will look to build on it and look to vastly improve next season.”
Soares will enjoy the advantage of having much of the same core of this year’s team next season.
“The great thing is, we return a lot of our roster. We only lose four and while we will miss those four, we return a core of our team that is committed to movng this program forward and really making a name for ourselves.”
In the short term, however, the Hoyas can build off their strong offensive attack, as the Blue and Gray outshot the Tigers 15-4 and had 12 penalty corners to Towson’s three.
Although the win allowed the Hoyas to tie the program record for wins in a season, it also snapped the Blue and Gray’s three-game losing streak. Despite the victory and milestones met this year by the program, the Hoyas still finished the season in last place in the Big East. Finishing higher in the competitive conference will certainly be near the top of the team’s list of goals as they enter the offseason and begin to make preparations for what promises to be an exciting 2015 season.
Photo by Taryn Shaw
