The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (6-4, Big East) got back to winning ways against UC Davis (6-6, MPSF) with a 20-11 victory Sunday afternoon on Cooper Field. Senior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst scored five goals on the afternoon, and senior attacker Taylor Gebhardt added a hat trick. Junior attacker Amanda Outcalt scored four goals for the Aggies, while senior midfielder Taylor Cuenin also scored a hat trick.
Whitehurst opened the scoring in the third minute before Cuenin equalized three minutes later. From there though, the Hoyas went on a 5-0 run over the next ten minutes to give the team a cushion, with the goals coming from Gebhardt, sophomore attacker Caroline Frock, junior attacker Michaela Bruno, senior attacker Morgan Ryan, and sophomore midfielder Mary Pagano. Junior midfielder Natalia Lynch’s goal was sandwiched by two goals from junior midfielder Kate Graham, making it 7-3 with 11:38 to go in the half before the offenses stalled for a few minutes. Whitehurst, Lynch, and Whitehurst again extended the Hoyas’ lead just before the end of the half before Outcalt pulled one back to make it 10-4 at halftime.
As the scoreboard would suggest, the Hoyas were dominant in the opening period. Georgetown controlled 11 of 15 draws while outshooting the Aggies 26-9. UC Davis sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Mathieson made 11 saves in the first half.
“Our hands were free. We had opportunities to shoot the ball to the pipes and we shot it high at her stick or down to her feet,” head coach Ricky Fried said of the shooting performance. “You have to give [Mathieson] credit, she came up with 19 saves, but we need to take better shots when we have those opportunities.”
The Aggies began the second half on the front foot, with two goals from Outcalt sandwiching Gebhardt’s goal. Junior attacker Sorana Larson then scored a player-up goal before Outcalt made it 11-8 with 20 minutes to go.
“It’s just a wake up call to them that we can’t drift through games,” Fried said. “We need to make sure we come out with a higher sense of urgency from the beginning.”
The Hoyas picked it up from there, with goals from junior midfielder Liza Liotta, Whitehurst, and junior attacker Emily Ehle, restoring Georgetown’s six-goal cushion. Cuenin scored two straight goals to bring the Aggies close, but Bruno answered, making it 15-10. Sophomore midfielder Mar Alvear made it 15-11 with 7:56 to go, but Gebhardt started a 5-0 Georgetown run to end the game. Ehle, Ryan, Whitehurst, and freshman attacker Celia Walsh finished the game at 20-11.
Georgetown opens conference play on Saturday afternoon at Butler (3-7, Big East) with the opening draw scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET. For coverage of that game and all of Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
