No. 22 Georgetown women’s soccer (4-0-4, BIG EAST) drew the Providence Friars (3-0-4, BIG EAST) 1-1 at Shaw Field on Sunday afternoon thanks to an exhilarating late game equalizer from junior forward Erika Harwood. The match was highly competitive, full of frustrating missed shots, with fierce physicality from both sides. Strong performances from sophomore midfielder Shay Montgomery, graduate midfielder Emma Davis and graduate goalkeeper Allie Augur, however, prevented a Friar shutout.
The Hoyas had a slow start, giving up the game’s first shots to Providence, including the first goal at minute seven from Providence senior forward Meg Hughes. She drove baseline and played the ball back to the top of the box, where she hit a shot to the back post, giving the Friars an early 1-0 lead. For the next 25 minutes, Providence controlled possession and pressed defensively, forcing the Blue & Gray to rush three attempted shots. Two were saved by Providence graduate student goalkeeper Katherine McElroy; the other was a Hoya goal overturned on an offsides ruling at minute 30.
Georgetown dominated the final 15 minutes of the half, though, as possession shifted and the Hoyas’ determination grew. Within seven minutes, the Hoyas fired four shots from Davis, junior forward Maja Lardner, sophomore forward Natalie Means, and graduate midfielder Grace Sherman, each of which were narrowly saved by McElroy. Despite these offensive chances for the Hoyas, Providence was able to stonewall the Georgetown offense, carrying the 1-0 lead into halftime.
Georgetown entered the second half with aggression, maintaining possession with impressive touches and passes that held the ball near the Friar goal. The Hoyas recorded five shots, including four from Montgomery, in the first 25 minutes of the half. They could not convert on any of the chances created, though, as Providence’s strong defense remained consistent. In the following 20 minutes, possession shifted between teams, and a series of fouls and offsides ensued, resulting in shots from Georgetown’s Davis and Providence senior forward Kyla Gallagher.Both were saved by the two teams’ respective goalkeepers.
With two minutes left in the half, Georgetown remained committed to scoring, beating defenders in the box and putting intense pressure on the Friars’ defense. In the 88th minute, Georgetown finally found the back of the net when Harwood scored her second goal of the season on a bouncing ball in the box from graduate midfielder Leas, marking her first assist and equalizing the game at 1-1. As the clock ran down, Montgomery attempted a final shot at minute 89 through the bottom center that was barely saved by McElroy, denying a Hoya lead and ultimately ending the game in a 1-1 draw.
“Today was a lesson we had to learn as in the BIG EAST, you can’t give teams a start. And today we gave Providence one, and that is something we couldn’t afford to do,”head coach Dave Nolan said after the game, per a press release from Georgetown Athletics. “All we can do is learn from it and get ready for a tough road game at Marquette on Thursday.”
The Hoyas are set to travel to Marquette (2-3-2, BIG EAST) on Thursday, October 19, at 7 p.m. for their final regular season road game. The game will be live on BEDN on FloSports, and a link to live stats will be available on GUHoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports on X for live updates of the game as well as coverage of all fall sports at Georgetown.
