On Sunday afternoon, the Georgetown women’s field hockey team (4-8) won their second match in three games by defeating the Longwood University Lancers (6-5, MAC) by a final score of 4-2.
The word of the day was relentless.
“Prior to the match today, we talked a lot about how we needed to be relentless for 70 minutes,” said Georgetown Head Coach Shannon Soares. “hat meant being relentless in our attacking circle, and also in the defensive circle, and I thought we did a really good job of that today.”
The Hoyas entered the game 3-8, and 0-3 in conference play, and a collective effort from Georgetown helped the Hoyas overcome a Longwood team that hadn’t lost in regulation since September 4.
. “The best parts of our season so far have been when we played team-oriented hockey,” Soares said of her team’s well-rounded performance. “We’ve faltered when we’ve relied on individual play – I think we’re much better as a collective group.”
On Sunday, the Hoyas came out on fire, dominating the play and scoring three goals in the first half. The scoring began 17 minutes into the game, when junior midfielder Megan Parsons scored on a redirected shot from sophomore fullback Katie Maransky. Shortly after, sophomore forward Helena Masiello scored on a direct shot on a penalty corner, assisted by Parsons.
With less than three minutes to go in the opening half, freshman forward Lindsay Getz added to the score with a shot off a pass from outside of the circle from senior Maria McDonald.
The Hoyas held on to their 3-0 advantage for much of the second half, until Masiello recorded her second goal of the game off of a rebound from her own shot. This marked her fourth goal of the season, tying her with Getz for the team lead.
Just two minutes later, however, the Lancers came roaring back, scoring two goals in less than three minutes from junior forward Abbey Ripley and sophomore forward Leonie Verstraete, respectively.
“Moving forward, we’ll really demand them [Georgetown] to be more focused at the end of games,” Soares said of the two Longwood goals, which added some suspense to the contest’s final few minutes.
After a timeout, however, Georgetown was able to hold off Longwood for the remaining six minutes, and secured the 4-2 victory, improving their record to 4-8. The Hoyas outshot the Lancers 21-13, and senior goalie Rachel Skonecki totaled four saves for Georgetown, while senior goalie Lauren Bernard had seven saves for Longwood.
“We’ve been focusing a lot on energy recently, and we all just came together and I think everyone brought their game,” Masiello said after the match. “This game proved that we’re getting better at lifting each other up and coming out on the attack.”
Coming up, the Hoyas play Liberty, Providence, and UConn, who sit four, two, and one respectively in the Big East Conference Standings. UConn is also currently ranked No. 1 in the country.
“We have our work cut out for us in the next few weeks,” Soares acknowledged, “but we’re looking forward to the challenge, and hopefully hitting our stride.”
What should we expect for the rest of the season?
“Good things,” says Masiello.
Hoping to carry their momentum forward, the Hoyas play on October 8th at Liberty University, and will return to Cooper Field on October 14th to take on Providence.
