The No. 10 Georgetown women’s soccer team (15-2-2, 7-1-2 Big East) needed a statement win to start out their postseason run, and they got one in the form of a 4-0 victory over Butler (11-6-2, 4-5-1 Big East) in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Big East Tournament. The Hoyas entered the tournament as the third seed after they finished the season one point behind Marquette (11-6-2, 7-2 Big East) and DePaul (10-6-2, 7-2 Big East) in regular season play.
The Hoyas dominated early on, with 12 first-half shots to Butler’s zero. However, they struggled to capitalize on their chances, only scoring once in the half. This goal came in the 14th minute from sophomore forward Amanda Carolan, who was able to deflect a ball barely across the line for a goal off of a corner kick.
“When Amanda gets chances, she finishes,” coach Dave Nolan said after the game. “She’s our best pure finisher… If the ball is in front of her in a close game, she’s the one where the game slows down and allows her to finish it.”
Although the first half clearly belonged to the Hoyas, the team was unsatisfied with a 1-0 lead. “Even though we had 12 shots, 12 shots isn’t going to win the game, and one goal isn’t enough for us to ensure a victory,” Carolan said about the team’s mentality at the half. “We talked about… overall bringing up the intensity of play, and coming out on fire and showing them that this is our home field and we wanted to win.”
The Hoyas certainly did that in the second half, scoring three more goals on 8 shots. The first of these goals came in the 61st minute, again from Carolan, who perfectly capitalized on a long assist from sophomore goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman. The play started from a Butler fast break that ended in a rough defensive play in the box. The Butler players, arguing for a penalty kick, were caught off guard when Schechtman pushed the ball deep, allowing the Hoyas to score.
An assist from LOOOOONG distance.
Amanda Carolan converts her 2nd goal of the game for @HoyasWSoc https://t.co/U7sSmvJ7Mp
— BIG EAST Digital (@BIGEASTdigital) November 1, 2016
Georgetown tacked on two more goals from freshman midfielder Carson Nizialek and graduate student forward Crystal Thomas. Nizialek’s 74th minute goal, her second of the season, came from an excellent pass off the foot of sophomore forward Caitlin Farrell.
Don't blink!
The @HoyasWSoc offense is operating in high gear today. #BIGEASTwsoc https://t.co/FrF77f3gyG
— BIG EAST Digital (@BIGEASTdigital) November 1, 2016
Thomas scored on an unassisted shot from just outside the box in the 76th minute.
Although the Hoyas eventually racked up four goals, Butler’s freshman goalkeeper Hannah Luedtke kept her team in the game with a series of impressive saves, eventually tallying 10 on the day. Had it not been for some of Luedtke’s efforts, the score certainly would have been higher for Georgetown.
Georgetown also continued what has proven to be a frustrating challenge for the team all year: converting corner kicks. The Hoyas lead the Big East in corners attempted by a wide margin, but have struggled to convert these chances into goals. They had a surprisingly high 14 against Butler (the Bulldogs only had 2), but only scored off their early goal, a shot which came very close to not going in.
“For the life of me, I don’t understand how we don’t score more [off of corners],” Nolan said. “It’s not like we don’t have two outstanding headers of the ball in [junior midfielder Taylor Pak] and [graduate student midfielder Marina Paul], and we get pretty consistent delivery from Rachel.”
With the win, the Hoyas move to the semifinals round of the tournament, where they will play second- seeded DePaul this Friday at 2 p.m. Georgetown will be hosting the tournament, and so all games in this round and the championship will be played on Shaw Field.
The stakes could not be higher for Georgetown. Their sole Big East loss this season came to DePaul just 10 days ago, when the Blue Demons won 4-1 on Senior Day for the Hoyas. The loss cost the Hoyas the Big East regular season championship and was only their second loss of the year, their first being to #1 Stanford (16-1-1, 9-1-0 Pac 12).
“It’s a huge game.,” Carolan explained. “They came here, and they beat us. That’s not okay, and we need to come out and show them that it wasn’t okay.”
There will certainly be no lack of motivation on Friday for the Georgetown team. They are not only looking to avenge an earlier home loss; they are ultimately looking ahead to an achievement that no Georgetown women’s soccer team has ever achieved before: championship in the Big East Tournament.
From the season’s start, this has been the main goal that the Hoyas have been playing towards, and now that it is within reaching distance, the Hoyas are ready to strike. The next step in their path, Friday’s game against DePaul, “is everything,” to Carolan and the rest of the Hoya squad.
