In a BIG EAST conference matchup, the Georgetown Hoyas (6-5, 1-1 BIG EAST) took on Villanova women’s lacrosse (5-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) on April 2. In the history of these teams’ meetings, Georgetown has walked away with a victory 23 times to Villanova’s 6. Today, Georgetown added another to their win total, final score 13-9, earning their first conference win this season.
The Hoyas got off to a strong start with senior midfielder Rileigh Meyer’s goal in the first 37 seconds of the game. Freshman attacker Sophia Loschert scored again towards the end of the third minute of play. Both received assists from graduate attacker Hanna Bishop.
Junior attacker Gracie Driggs tacked on a third goal for the Hoyas with an assist from sophomore attacker Anne McGovern with 7:04 remaining in the first quarter. Villanova’s penalty shot soon after was no good with senior goalkeeper Leah Warehime defending the net. Bishop found the back of Villanova’s net for her own goal, 4-0.
A green card on Hoya junior attacker Molly Bryne with 4:30 left in the first quarter gave Villanova a one-player advantage, which they handily capitalized upon for a goal. Georgetown still led, 4-1.
Warehime had a great save at the opening of the second quarter that transitioned into a Georgetown possession. Villanova’s goalie had a save of her own off of a free position attempt by Driggs. The Wildcats had a free position in the resulting possession, and sophomore attacker Elena Torres scored for them to cut the Hoyas’ lead to 4-2.
Bishop continued her offensive drive with a blocked shot on goal in the last few minutes of the second quarter. With under a minute left, Meyer added onto the Hoya total. Shortly after the Wildcats scored one of their own to round out the half, 5-3.
Once more, the Hoyas started off the beginning of the second half strong. Senior midfielder Maley Starr scored one minute in, and two minutes later Villanova responded with one of their own, 6-4. Villanova scored again, but Georgetown responded thrice, 9-5. Loschert increased her goal total, but the other two came from senior attacker Emma Gebhardt within a minute of each other.
The Wildcats’ sophomore attacker Jillian Vaught scored two consecutive goals to open the fourth quarter, 9-7. They threatened Georgetown’s lead following yet another Loschert goal with another two of their own, 10-9. Luckily, the Hoyas didn’t permit any successful scoring attempts while putting three insurance goals on the board in the last five minutes, and left the field victorious, 13-9.
Loschert led in scoring with four goals, and Gebhardt and Meyer tied for second with three each. Bishop had three assists and Starr had two. Georgetown outshot Villanova 30-23, and had more shot attempts that hit the goal, 20-14. The Hoyas also won sixteen of the 25 total draws.
The win leads to the final five games of the season, all in-conference matches. Contributions from the underclassmen and getting on the board early will remain crucial for this stretch. Hoyas will go on to face Xavier University in another BIG EAST battle in Cincinnati on April 5 with the opening draw at 12:00 pm EST. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all sports at Georgetown.
