The No. 12 Georgetown women’s soccer team (9-2-1, 3-0-0 Big East) will look to extend its win streak to five when it hosts the Creighton Bluejays (2-9-1, 0-3-0 Big East) on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.
Georgetown comes into this game firing on all cylinders, winning its last two games by a combined 9-0 margin — putting four goals past DePaul (5-6-1, 1-1-1 Big East) on the road before adding the other five against Seton Hall (0-7-4, 0-1-2 Big East). Senior midfielder Rachel Corboz passed her older sister for second on the all-time assist charts with 38 for Georgetown, only eight behind leader Ingrid Wells. Rachel is also closing in on second place in all-time points, five behind Wells’ 108. Daphne Corboz leads the way with 131.
Creighton, on the other hand, has sputtered this season, most recently losing two heartbreakers to Xavier (7-4-2, 3-0-0 Big East) and St. John’s (5-6-1, 1-2-0 Big East) before being handily dealt with by DePaul.
After a promising 2016, the Bluejays seem to have taken a step back. Still, this is a game Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan stresses isn’t as easy as it looks.
“They seemed to have turned the corner last year, and they became a very difficult team to play against,” said Nolan.
Creighton has scored only 11 goals this season, far behind the pace of 37 it set last year. Sophomore midfielder Taryn Jakubowski has been the team’s best attacker, providing three goals and an assist for the floundering Bluejays offense.
This Creighton team, however, isn’t in a position to sit back and absorb pressure with its season in the balance.
“If you don’t have a good start, the season can be over,” said Nolan. “I think they’re going to have to try and win the game, and that’s beneficial for us. It’s better for us if teams come out to play us.”
Creighton is yet to shutout an opponent this season, while Georgetown has the most prolific offense in the Big East. The Hoyas look set for opportunities at goal and, with junior forward Caitlin Farrell and redshirt sophomore forward Amanda Carolan scoring in spades, are likely to capitalize on the situation. Freshman forward Jenna Menta added two goals of her own against Seton Hall to supplement an already lethal forward line going into the tail end of the regular season.
After being outplayed on home turf, the last place Bluejays need to find a way to turn their season around in D.C.
“We’re probably the last team [Creighton Head Coach] Ross [Paule] wants to play right now,” Nolan said.
The Creighton match is an opportunity for the league-leading Hoyas to stretch their advantage over the pack while second place Xavier and third place Butler (9-1-2, 2-0-1 Big East) go head to head in Cincinnati.
