The No. 20 Georgetown women’s soccer team (5-1-0, Big East) coasted to a 4-1 victory over the George Mason Patriots (4-3-0, CAA) Thursday night in Fairfax, VA. Senior forward Crystal Thomas scored two goals at the end of the first half to put the match out of reach. Sophomore forward Caitlin Farrell added to the lead in the 51st minute with a shot from the 18, and senior forward Grace Damaska capped off the scoring in the 57th minute. Damaska’s goal was her team-leading seventh of the season.
Head coach Dave Nolan said, however, that there was more to the match than what the box score indicated.
“This was a good win on the road against a well-coached team,” said Nolan. “Mason did a good job in the first half, disrupting us and trapping us with good pressure. We scored two late in the first half and that helped put us at ease.”
Early in the game, the Hoyas may have been affected by that pressure, as they struggled to create many opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. Junior midfielder Rachel Corboz was at the center of the Hoyas’ surge at the end of the first half, placing a corner kick that would yield Thomas’ first goal in the 35th minute, and then assisting Thomas on her second goal in the 44th minute.
The Hoyas outshot the Patriots 12-5 and earned 10 corner kicks, including eight in the second half, to George Mason’s one.
The Hoyas’ win bucks a recent trend for the Patriots on their home turf, who had outscored their opponents 11-6 at home prior to Thursday’s match. Georgetown, meanwhile, continues to roll heading into Sunday’s big showdown at 1pm against 3rd-ranked Virginia (7-0-0, ACC) who most recently shut out Richmond 5-0.
