The Georgetown field hockey team (11-7, 2-5 Big East) fell on the final day of the season to No. 4 Connecticut (15-3, 7-0 Big East) by a 4-1 scoreline. Freshman back Sydney Stephenson scored the lone goal of the game for the Hoyas on a penalty stroke, while the defending national champions got goals from four different scorers to finish their perfect conference season.
Georgetown freshman goalkeeper Ciara Weets came diving at the feet of a Husky attacker in the sixth minute to prevent a breakaway, but UConn would score past her a minute later. Senior midfielder Amanda Collins found redshirt senior back Cecile Pieper behind the Hoyas defense, and Pieper played a delicate finish beyond Weets’ outstretched leg for 1-0 and her 18th goal of the season. The Huskies doubled their advantage in the 15th minute, when junior forward Svea Boker forced Weets to commit to her near post before squaring the ball to freshman midfielder Liz Romano to score with no keeper in front of her. The Hoyas had a clearance off the line and survived four penalty corners in 10 minutes before the end of the half but couldn’t create anything of their own. At the interval, UConn held a 9-0 advantage in shots.
“[We told the players] to just go after it” assistant coach Kelsey Smither said of the halftime team talk. “We had nothing to lose today and everything to gain, and that’s been the message throughout the season.”
Georgetown flew out of the gates in the second half, winning a penalty stroke in the opening 30 seconds. Stephenson lifted the ball to the right side of the cage, and the Hoyas were suddenly back in the match. However, it would be the Hoyas’ only shot of the game. UConn weathered the Hoyas’ early momentum and once again began to dictate proceedings as the half wore on, forcing a kick save from Weets in the 55th minute. Three minutes later, Boker found Collins in the right channel, and the senior captain hit a venomous shot to the far post that gave Weets no chance. UConn would hit the frame of the goal before freshman forward Maddy Wray added the fourth in the 68th minute, touching the ball past Weets before finishing into the empty cage.
“I felt the game went pretty well,” Weets said. “I don’t think the score really reflected how well we played.”
The Hoyas finished in 6th place in the Big East but have taken positives from head coach Christy Longacre’s first season in charge.
“At the end of the day, you have to think about the long term and the building of your program, and I think that the girls have bought into that and the culture that we’re creating,” Smither said. “They’re doing a phenomenal job, and I’m excited for the future with this team.”
For updates and breaking news on the rest of Georgetown’s sports programs, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
