On Saturday, the No. 19/20 Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (1-1, Big East) lost 17-6 to No. 12/16 Pennsylvania (1-0, Ivy League). The Quakers dominated the game, scoring 17 goals in their season opener for the first time since 2012. The Hoyas had a bright spell in the second half but the Quakers bounced back and finished off a convincing win.
UPenn started the game with the ball, winning the first draw. The Quakers capitalized off of GU’s early offensive mistakes, earning a free-shot in the third minute. Senior midfielder Erin Barry opened up the scoring for the away-side, beating Hoyas’ senior goalie Micheline DiNardo at the near post. Six minutes later, a Georgetown turnover turned into Pennsylvania counter-attack and 2-0 lead. Barry struck once again for the Quakers, dribbling through three GU defenders and bouncing her shot past DiNardo.
In the 16th minute, senior attacker Gabby Rosenzweig dribbled in from the left side of the goal, finding the back of the net for a 3-0 Quaker lead. Three minutes later, UPenn junior attacker Zoe Belodeau intercepted a Georgetown pass, finding Rosenzweig wide open in front of the goal. Rosenzweig made no mistake and put away her second goal of the day. In the 21st minute, Rosenzweig found junior midfielder Elyse Decker from behind the net, extending the Quakers’ lead to five goals.
The Quakers went on to find the back off the net two more times before the Hoyas could respond with a goal of their own. In the 23rd minute, Barry finished off a first half hat trick with help from Belodeau. Two minutes later, sophomore midfielder Michaela McMahon added her name to the scoresheet for the away side. Sophomore midfielder Celia Walsh ended UPenn’s onslaught, scoring the Hoyas’ first goal of the game with an underhand shot into the bottom right corner of the goal. With 30 seconds left in the half, Barry ended Gerogetown’s short-lived celebrations to give the Quakers a 9-1 lead at halftime.
Georgetown struggled to gain momentum in the first half. The Hoyas could not maintain possession against an aggressive Quakers’ defense. Pennsylvania were clinical with the ball, wearing down GU’s defense until they found the right opening.
In the 34th minute, Belodeau found the back of the net to open up the scoring for the Quakers in the second half. The Hoyas gained momentum for the first time in the game following Pennsylvania’s ninth goal.
In a 30 second span, senior midfielder Natalia Lynch scored two goals for the Hoyas from free-shots. In the 44th minute, Walsh ignited the Hoyas with her second goal of the game. The Hoyas continued to put pressure on UPenn’s defense and picked up two more goals from sophomore attacker Ali Diamond and junior midfielder Mary Pagano.
After the Hoyas scored five goals in two minutes, both teams failed to score for the next four minutes. Rosenzweig broke the scoreless run of play, completing her hat trick and regaining momentum for the Quakers.
Pennsylvania controlled the rest of the game, adding seven more goals to the scoreboard before the final whistle. Freshman attacker Caitlin Cook, freshman attacker Niki Miles, and sophomore attacker Taylyn Stadler added their names to the scoresheet with Miles scoring twice. Decker, McMahon, and Belodeau added to their tally giving UPenn a 17-6 win.
Georgetown failed to get a foot in the game during the first half, which let Pennsylvania head into halftime with an eight-goal lead. The Quakers went on two seven-goal runs during the game and had eight different players find the back of the net.
The Hoyas struggled against their first nationally ranked opponent this season and will be looking to bounce back next week against Drexel (1-2, CAA). The Quakers improved to 7-2 against the Blue & Gray, avenging their loss in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
While SJU crumbled under GU’s strong attack in the first half, the Hawks fought back in the final half of the game. The Hawks took the same amount of shots as the Hoyas and only scored one less goal in the second half, compared to 13 in the first half.
The Hoyas will travel to Philadelphia for the first away game next Saturday against Drexel at 12 p.m. Live stats will be available at guhoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for coverage and continuing coverage of fall sports at Georgetown.
