The overcast sky over Shaw Field matched the grey home kits of the Georgetown women’s soccer team (4-2-0, Big East) this Thursday, as they welcomed their neighbors down K Street for a cross-city battle. The George Washington Colonials (2-3-0, Atlantic 10) climbed up the hill to cut down a Hoya squad hot off two wins in a row against San Diego and Delaware, but ended up falling and breaking their crowns as the Hoyas extended their winning streak to three games in a 4-1 win.
Early on, the Colonials made a case for the best team in the district, as the speedy George Washington junior forward Mackenzie Cowley drew first blood in the third minute off a set piece.
The early goal came off a perfectly executed George Washington corner, in which senior midfielder Nicole Belfonti knocked a header from the far post to Cowley right in front of the center of the goal. The set piece caught the Hoyas flat-footed, and no one came close to interrupting the play.
“We gave up a soft goal on a set piece because we were asleep,” said Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan. “We got burned on that one.”
George Washington continued to control the game for the first twenty minutes. The Colonials were beating the Hoyas to the ball, spreading the field, and using their speed to cruise past Georgetown defenders. The Hoyas struggled to take care of the ball when they did have it, and were thrust firmly into the defensive.
Georgetown midfielder Rachel Corboz finally managed to generate some momentum midway through the first half. The quick-footed sophomore’s aggressiveness agitated the Colonial attack, earning the Hoyas enough possession time to get into a rhythm. Corboz hustled to challenge Colonial strikers all over the field and dirtied her jersey diving and sliding to disarm potential threats. Through her field vision, she managed chains of passes and switched the side of attack constantly, sparking the Hoya offense and earning corners and free kicks, which she handled from both sides, with both feet. Not to mention the Colonial ankles she broke along the way.
The grooving Hoya attack frustrated the Colonials, particularly Belfonti, who rolled up her sleeves, gritted her teeth, and shoved her way to a yellow card in the twenty-third minute. She was joined by her teammate Ivana Szwejkowski, who was booked eight minutes later.
A Corboz-Crystal Thomas combination created chance after chance, forcing George Washington goalkeeper Miranda Horn to make three saves in the first half.
“We certainly stepped up the gear and we finished the half strong,” said Nolan. “What really helped us was Taylor getting the goal to tie it up at halftime.”
Just as it seemed the Hoyas would go into halftime down 1-0, sophomore defender Taylor Pak launched a video-game-like blast from twenty-two yards out into the top right corner. Horn had no chance.
The Hoyas went into the Shaw tent at halftime after salvaging the first half, but they weren’t celebrating.
“They weren’t satisfied,” said Nolan. “They knew they gave up a soft goal.”
Even Pak was hungry for more. “We still needed to step it up a level.”
Nolan had a specific message in the team tent.
“I told them at halftime, I said we had plenty of opportunities. We got players wide, got them to the end line, and the quality of balls back across the face of the goal was poor. And it’s something that we can do better. I don’t care if you over-hit the ball, but keep the ball low and hard instead of floating balls.”
The Hoyas came out of the tent and did exactly that. There were no more prolonged waits for goals in the second half. They came out shooting.
Corboz created space for herself in Colonial territory and threatened in the opening minutes of the second half, culminating in an extremely dangerous set piece in the fiftieth minute that fell just short of a goal.
The Hoyas threatened again just four minutes later, and this time, they connected. Thomas found junior forward Grace Damaska on the far left side of the box, who drilled a goal into the bottom right corner, exactly as the doctor ordered.
Thomas continued to threaten with her physical play, winning fifty-fifty balls and fighting through traffic. Damaska repaid the favor to Thomas in the sixty-third minute, hitting her at six yards out with a pass from the right wing. Horn couldn’t keep up, and Thomas buried the ball in the back of the net.
Up 3-1, the Hoyas didn’t let up. They immediately stole the ball off the kickoff, and graduate student Audra Ayotte crossed the ball into the box from the end line. Pak was there once again, and put the game out of reach with her second goal of the day, just one minute after Thomas’ goal.
“Our level of play just rose,” said Pak. “As soon as we got the second and third goals, we were confident enough to just knock the ball around, find open players, get crosses in, and get people committed to getting in the box.”
While many teams with a three-goal lead would content themselves in slowing the pace and running out the clock, the Hoya offense simply would not stop, and if not for one or two better finishes, the one-sided game would have become a massacre.
“We’d been in the position in most of our games where it’s been tight,” said Nolan. “Even the William and Mary game we lost was a tight game, and we just didn’t break it open. I said, in this game, we can’t settle. We’ve got to break a game open for once and score some goals.”
This game wasn’t just broken open, it was shattered.
“I think they were enjoying it too,” said Nolan.
The Hoyas won’t have time to rest on their laurels, as the No. 12 Virginia Tech Hokies (7-0-1 ACC) will attempt to invade Shaw Field on Sunday.
Coach Nolan isn’t concerned with fatigue during the weekend turnaround.
“Because it’s Thursday-Sunday it won’t be as big an issue,” Nolan said. “But we certainly know the team coming in on Sunday will probably be the best team we play this year. We’re going to have to play a flawless game on both sides of the ball if we’re going to win the game.”
Regardless of the competition, if the Hoyas can shake off their slow starts, they’ll be able to play with anyone.
Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.
