The No. 11 Georgetown women’s soccer team (10-2-2, 4-0-1 Big East) will travel to Indianapolis to face the Butler Bulldogs (8-4-2, 3-1-1 Big East) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Hoyas are coming out of a tough tie against Creighton (7-5-2, 1-2-2) at home last Sunday, while Butler has won two straight in conference play against the aforementioned Creighton and St. John’s (4-10-0, 1-4-0 Big East). Butler has been the Hoyas’ biggest rival in the Big East in recent years and the game should be a tough battle.
In their last contest, Georgetown came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to tie the game 2-2 in the second half. The game started off with give-and-take of opportunities, but Creighton was eventually able to capitalize with a beautiful strike from outside the box that freshman goalkeeper Anna Leat had no chance of saving. The half continued with both teams taking shots on goal, but Georgetown dictating much of the game. However, right before halftime, on a free-kick right outside the box, sophomore midfielder Ansley Atkinson bent the ball over the Georgetown wall and into the top left corner to give Creighton a 2-0 lead.
The Hoyas came out of halftime with renewed spirits and it showed on the pitch, as they applied pressure on Creighton’s defense and created chances to start the comeback. The desired goal came in the 64th minute when freshman midfielder Julia Leas headed in a corner kick from sophomore defender Boo Jackson, giving the team a much needed boost. In the 73rd minute, Georgetown tied the game thanks to a magnificent play from graduate student forward Amanda Carolan down the right wing. Her shot was saved by Creighton’s redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Keelan Terrell, but the rebound was put into the top corner by freshman forward Sofie Fox for her first career goal. The Hoyas kept pushing for the winning goal until the end of regulation and through both overtimes, but it never came and the game ended in a tie. While the 2-2 draw would have seemed disappointing at the beginning of the game, it was a result to be proud of after the Hoyas’ early deficit.
Butler’s last game was a 1-0 win against St. John’s at home. The game was dominated throughout by Butler, who had 15 shots compared to the opponent’s nine, but the winning goal did not come until the 78th minute of the game when sophomore midfielder Katie Soderstrom found the back of the net after an assist from sophomore midfielder Celia Gaynor. The Hoyas will have to watch out for Soderstrom, who now has seven goals and seven assists on the season.
The game should be an exciting 90 minutes, during which Georgetown’s defensive efforts will be crucial and the Hoyas’ capacity to keep possession and play with patience will mark the outcome of the game. Georgetown’s duo of Carolan and senior forward Paula Germino-Watnick will be looking to return to the scoring sheet, while Butler’s pair of Soderstrom and sophomore forward Anja Savich will have to be closely followed by the Hoyas’ defense, led by senior Meaghan Nally.
In last season’s matchups at Shaw Field, the Hoyas won two out of two against the Bulldogs, including the Big East Championship game. For live coverage of the game follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter, and a live stream and stats will be available at guhoyas.com.
