The Georgetown field hockey team (2-0, Big East) opened its season this weekend with two wins against Davidson (1-1, A-10) and Appalachian State (1-1, MAC). The Hoyas, playing under new head coach Christy Longacre, outlasted Davidson 1-0 on Friday, before turning around and beating App. State 2-0 on Sunday.
Against Davidson, the Hoyas came out swinging early. After being awarded a penalty corner in the sixth minute, freshman defender Sydney Stephenson scored her first collegiate goal with assists from sophomore forward Ali Cronin, who inserted the ball to begin play, and sophomore midfielder Jax van der Veen who found Stephensen in the corner for the goal. The rest of the first half remained fairly even, as the Wildcats outshot the Hoyas 4-3, despite being unable to score.
In the second half, the Wildcats forced four saves from freshman goalkeeper Ciara Weets for a total of five saves on the day. Despite putting pressure on Weets and the Hoyas defense, the Davidson attack remained unable to put the ball in the back of the cage, and the Hoyas came away from their opening game with a win.
Georgetown then remained in North Carolina, traveling to App. State on Sunday. Once again, the Hoyas scored early. This time, the goal came from van der Veen, who scored less than two minutes into the game on an assist from senior midfielder Helena Masiello. Masiello then scored her first goal of the season at the start of the second half to bring the score up to 2-0.
The Mountaineers maintained steady pressure on the Hoyas in the first half, outshooting them 7-4, and forced three saves from Weets. However, in the second half Weets wasn’t challenged once, and the Hoyas outshot App. State 5-3.
Longacre and the Hoyas will look to keep their perfect season when they return to the Hilltop on Friday against Sacred Heart (1-0, MAAC). Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for game day updates and breaking news.
