This week, No. 11 Georgetown women’s soccer (6-1-3, 2-0 BIG EAST) defeated St. John’s (5-3-2, 0-2 BIG EAST) and Creighton (2-4-4, 0-2 BIG EAST) in the team’s first conference games of the season. After the wins, the Hoyas jumped up six spots in the United Coaches Poll from their previous rank of No. 17. Although it’s still early in the season, the Hoyas now sit atop the Big East standings and are the highest ranked BIG EAST women’s soccer team, 13 places ahead of No. 24 Xavier.
Win @ St. John’s (9/21)
On Sept. 21, the Hoyas traveled to New York to take on St. John’s in their first BIG EAST game of the season. Graduate forward Allie Winstanley opened the scoring for Georgetown in the eighth minute; she carried the ball past two defenders, then placed a powerful shot into the bottom left corner past the reach of St. John’s graduate goalkeeper Maria O’Sullivan. Nobody else got on the scoresheet in the first half, so it was a 1-0 matchup at halftime.
Then, in the 52nd minute, sophomore forward Natalie Means doubled Georgetown’s lead. She took advantage of a poor clearance by the Red Storm, settling the ball inside the penalty box and finding the bottom corner. In the 70th minute, graduate midfielder Emma Davis poked the ball free for graduate midfielder/forward Grace Sherman. Sherman unleashed a rocket from about 25 yards out that sailed past O’Sullivan into the top right corner. St. John’s got a goal back with eleven minutes left when graduate midfielder Jessica Garziano scored from close-range, but Garziano’s goal wasn’t enough to spark a comeback, and the Hoyas emerged victorious in their first conference game of the season. The team then continued their stretch of road games with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska to face Creighton.
Win @ Creighton (9/24)
Once again, Winstanley got Georgetown’s first goal of the game, cutting the ball inside onto her left foot before a low driven shot that just got past Creighton freshman goalkeeper Maddie Merrick. Winstanley again scored the only goal of the half, and the Hoyas outshot the Bluejays 11-6.
The second half was a much different story, though. Creighton got nine shots off, while Georgetown only managed two. Perhaps the most dramatic moment came in the 84th minute, when Creighton junior midfielder Azumi Manriki took a long-range shot that looked destined for the top right corner. However, Georgetown graduate goalkeeper Allie Augur made a fantastic diving save to preserve her shutout. Augur and the Hoya defense managed to keep that shutout for the whole 90 minutes, keeping the Bluejays off the scoresheet to secure a 1-0 victory.
Georgetown secured two important victories in the first two conference games of the season, both on the road.
Georgetown will look to stay undefeated in conference play when the Hoyas host the University of Connecticut Huskies (5-2-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) at Shaw Field at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, Sept. 28. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
