On October 22, Georgetown women’s soccer (13-2-2, 9-0 BIG EAST) beat the Villanova Wildcats (9-8, 4-5 BIG EAST) 1-0 under the lights on Shaw Field. Currently leading the BIG EAST and ranked No. 12 in the NCAA, the Hoyas looked to maintain their lead in their penultimate game of the regular season.
The Hoyas started the game with a strong and well-rounded attack. Within ten minutes, Georgetown racked up several strong shots that missed just over the crossbar. By the end of the first half, the Hoyas had put up seventeen shots to Villanova’s two. However, the Villanova defense was able to hold off the attack, and the first half ended scoreless.
Despite problems with finishing their shots, the Georgetown offense looked strong. They exhibited quick ball movement and played off each other well in the attacking third. This was a noticeable improvement from some of their games earlier in the season, where they struggled to connect passes and score assisted goals.
After halftime, the Hoyas’ offense came out hot—clearly, whatever head coach Dave Nolan told them at halftime worked. Just four minutes into the half, senior forward Henley Tippins, who had substituted out of the game in the first half after a rough tackle, broke through the Wildcat defense. Tippins avoided the Villanova goalkeeper and found the back of the net to put Georgetown up 1-0.
The Hoyas continued to relentlessly attack the Wildcat defense, putting up a total of 37 shots throughout the entire game, but senior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson kept Villanova fighting until the end. Dickinson ended the game with 15 saves and managed to hold the Hoyas to only a single goal.
Overall, the biggest focus of the game for the Hoyas was finding the back of the net. They dominated possession time and had sixteen shots on goal to Villanova’s two. However, as Hoya fan Ava Terosky (CAS ‘29) said, “there’s a lot of shots on goal and not a lot in goal.”
Georgetown’s win over Villanova was a key conference victory, and the Hoyas have quite a bit of practice time before their final game of the season against Xavier (12-2-2, BIG EAST 7-0-1) on November 1. This game will be important as they attempt to secure a victory over the second-place BIG EAST team and clinch the regular-season conference title heading into the BIG EAST tournament.
