The No. 5 Georgetown women’s soccer team (11-0-2, 4-0 Big East) put on a commanding display Thursday evening in Omaha, cruising to victory over Creighton (4-8, 1-3 Big East), 7-1. This win keeps the Hoyas’ undefeated record intact and extends their winning streak to 10 games. Senior forward Caitlin Farrell led the attack, notching a hat trick, which moves her into a tie for the second-most goals in the country. That said, Farrell was far from the only Hoya to get involved in a busy offensive day. Junior forward/midfielder Paula Germino-Watnick notched two goals and assist, graduate forward Kyra Carusa dished out three assists, and sophomore midfielder Grace Nguyen and senior forward Amanda Carolan each added a goal, as well. This win solidifies both Georgetown’s position atop the Big East and its spot in the top five of the United Soccer Coaches national poll.
Head coach Dave Nolan’s squad dominated play from start to finish, holding the ball for long stretches and creating numerous opportunities. Within the first 13 minutes, they had already fired four shots, including three from Germino-Watnick. It was Germino-Watnick who eventually got the scoring started in the sixteenth minute. She used some dazzling dribbling skill to get herself an opening in the box and fired a shot from 20 yards out across the face of goal, beyond the reach of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Katie Sullivan.
The Hoyas kept the foot on the pedal with five more shots and two corner kicks in the next seven minutes, before doubling their lead in the 25th minute through Farrell’s 10th goal of the season. Germino-Watnick sent a ball into Farrell from midfield, and she put just enough on it to send it past Sullivan after a deflection. This marks the first time in Farrell’s career that she has reached double-digit goals on a season.
The Blue and Gray attack would not let up, and four minutes later it was Nguyen getting on the board for her first goal of the season. After receiving a pass from Carusa, she blasted a long shot over the Creighton defense and into the top right corner of the net, giving Sullivan little chance to react. After Georgetown’s third goal, Nolan made a series of substitutions, and the attacking pressure settled down for the remainder of the first half. Overall, the Hoyas had 12 shots in the first period, while their backline held firm, allowing just two shots from the Bluejays.
Early in the second half, Nolan put his starters back in and immediately got results. In the 50th minute, Farrell was again pressuring the Creighton backline, forcing Sullivan to make a nice save off the crossbar. However, the Hoyas would not be denied two minutes later, as Germino-Watnick put on another dribbling display, beating two defenders, and sent a left-footed shot in from 18 yards out at a tight angle.
Less than a minute later, Farrell scored her second goal of the game. Carusa found her with a through ball on the right side of the box and she made no mistake, slotting it past Sullivan for a 5-0 Hoya lead.
In the 56th minute, Creighton finally got an opportunity to get on the board. Junior midfielder Cassie Legband sent in a cross from the right side which found sophomore midfielder Keelie Fothergill. Fothergill quickly sent the ball across the face of goal to junior midfielder Taryn Jakubowski who slotted it into an open net. Nolan was satisfied with the performance, but disappointed about the defensive lapse.
“We are not happy giving up a goal,” he said. “But that’s the standard this team has for itself and we hope to improve versus Villanova on Sunday.”
The Georgetown attack kept the pressure on, and Farrell eventually scored her third goal in the 64th minute. Carusa delivered a pass through three Bluejay defenders, and Farrell converted for her hat trick.
Three minutes later, freshman forward Boo Jackson found Carolan inside, who slotted the seventh and final goal of the match past Sullivan.
Georgetown took 26 shots during the game compared to just five from the Bluejays. Senior goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman was only forced to make one save. After the match, Nolan reflected on a dominant showing.
“This was definitely an impressive attacking performance,” he said. “The scoreline was harsh for Creighton, who posed us some problems, but we simply scored some great goals.”
Georgetown returns home for a game against Villanova (9-4, 3-1 Big East) on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. A webcast and live stats can be found on guhoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for game day updates and breaking news.
