The Georgetown field hockey team (6-5, 1-2 Big East) defeated Temple (3-7, 0-3 Big East) by a score of 3-2 on Friday to gain their first conference win of the season. Junior midfielder Helena Masiello, and freshman forwards Cami Osborne and Nell Van Schaak scored for the Hoyas. Freshman midfielder Taylor Alba scored both goals for the Owls.
The scoring began in the eighth minute when Alba redirected Temple freshman forward Mia Sexton’s shot past Georgetown goalkeeper Chloe Verwiel. The Hoyas, however, came alive towards the end of the half, when Masiello scored off of a rebound in the 20th minute, followed by Osborne’s goal on a penalty corner in the 28th minute.
“We came in, we brought it together and huddled,” Masiello said of their adjustments after Temple scored first. “We talked about how we wanted to go out and attack and not sit back on our heels…and we came out stronger than before.”
“We were relentless in the circle,” Osborne added. “We were defending off of our press really well and that’s what kept [the ball] in our attacking zone.”
The Hoyas added to their total in the 55th minute, when Van Schaak redirected a shot from freshman forward Ali Cronin, who notched her fourth assist of the year and second of the game. The goals marked Osborne’s seventh and Van Schaak’s fifth of the year. The duo are the team’s leading scorers.
“[Osborne], along with our entire freshman class has been very, very impactful,” Head Coach Shannon Soares said after the game. “Their impact has been very much felt this year and we’re very excited to have all of them on board.”
Alba scored again with an assist from Sexton in the final two minutes of play. But in the end, the Owls did not have enough time to launch a full fledged comeback and the Hoyas were able to hold them off to secure the win.
Georgetown outshot Temple 11 to five, and forced five penalty corners to Temple’s two.
“We came out with a plan to step to every 50/50 ball and do it together, and we executed today.” Masiello said of the Hoya’s offensive domination.
The Hoyas began the season strong, winning three of their first four games, and have played well (3-2 overall) in in the non-conference. However, the Hoyas have struggled in conference play, beginning 0-2 with losses to Quinnipiac (3-8, 2-1 Big East) and Old Dominion (4-6, 1-2 Big East). The win Friday against Temple was Georgetown’s first against the Owls since 2001, and prevents them from falling to 0-3 in the Big East
“It’s very important. It keeps us in the hunt,” Soares said of getting their first conference win Friday. “It helps motivate us as we move forward to the rest of the season.”
The Hoyas will have little time to celebrate, as they take on LIU Brooklyn (1-9, 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday at 1:00 pm on Cooper Field.
