On Friday, the Georgetown field hockey team (5-11, 1-4 Big East) will travel to Rhode Island to take on No. 25 Providence (10-5, 3-2 Big East). The Hoyas are coming off a 4-0 Senior Day loss to No. 17 Liberty (9-4, 4-1 Big East) while the Friars beat Quinnipiac (3-12, 1-4 Big East) 3-2 in a shootout and took down Merrimac (2-12, 1-3 NEC) 5-1.
The Blue and Gray played their last home game against Liberty last Friday. Before the game, the Hoyas honored their seven graduating seniors. The prematch festivities were the end of GU’s celebrations on the day. The Flames came out of the gates hot, pressuring sophomore goalkeeper Ciara Weets each time they had the ball. A one-on-one breakaway opened the scoring for LU in the 11th minute. Liberty picked up another goal in the second quarter off of a beautiful cross field pass. The Hoyas fought back in the second half, taking their only shot on target and holding the Flames scoreless in the third quarter. Liberty put the game out of reach with two quick goals, going on to win 4-0.
Junior forward Cami Osborne is the Hoyas’ lone double-digit scorer with 13 points this season. Freshman forward Ellie Maransky is knocking on the door with nine points; senior forward Lindsay Getz also has nine points but has been out for the last few weeks with a season-ending injury and will not feature in the Hoyas’ remaining games. In the cage for the Hoyas, Weets has accumulated 72 saves, even though she has been splitting time with freshman goalkeeper Megan Maynes, and is looking to take home the title for the most saves in the Big East.
Last Friday, the Friars hosted conference foe Quinnipiac at Lennon Family Field. Halfway through the first quarter, sophomore forward Niamh Gowing intercepted a QU pass. Moments later, Gowing found senior forward Izzy Mendez, who scored with her one-time effort. A defensive turnover in the second quarter let Quinnipiac back into the game, leveling the score at one goal apiece. The third quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams failing to find the back of the cage. The Bobcats took the lead in the 49th minute with a tap-in at the left post. A minute later, senior midfielder Allyson Parker capitalized off of a stroke to tie the game. The two teams entered sudden death overtime – however, the two OT periods could not separate the Big East opponents. Tied at 2-2 after OT, the Friars defeated the Bobcats 2-0 in a shootout. Quinnipiac failed to convert on their four attempts while junior forward Maddie Babineau and Parker scored for Providence.
Two days later, Providence hosted Merrimack in a non-conference matchup. The Friars opened up the scoring the 12th minute off of junior forward Sydney Cramer’s rebound. With two minutes left in the first half, junior forward Olivia Ward scored off of a pass from Babineau, before Merrimack cut the deficit in half three minutes into the second half. Babineau found a goal for herself, combining with freshman Lisa McNamara to give Providence a 4-1 lead with a quarter to go. With four seconds left on the clock, Ward scored the game’s last goal, earning the Friars a 5-1 victory.
The Friars are led by Mendez who has 20 points, with three other PC players making it into the double-digit scoring column. Graduate student goalkeeper Lydia Rice has been a staple in Providence’s goal. Rice is close to hitting the 1,000 minute mark in goal this season and has kept four clean sheets in her 10 victories. On Monday, Parker was announced as the Big East Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Friars’ weekend doubleheader. This is Parker’s first time earning this award, previously being named to the Big East Honor Roll three times.
Georgetown is 2-15 against Providence, falling last season to the Friars 2-1 in a shootout on Cooper Field. The Hoyas have not beaten the Friars since 2011, where they won 3-2 in overtime.
The game is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Live stats are available on guhoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for coverage and continuing coverage of fall sports at Georgetown.
