This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writer Cory Weinberg.
It took only 32 seconds Friday for Georgetown to remind the women’s soccer team why the No. 23-ranked Hoyas are perennially a national contender.
Kailey Blain’s early goal saddled the Colonials with an early deficit, as District-rival Georgetown never looked back in their 3-0 win on Friday to spoil GW’s season opener at the Mount Vernon Campus.
“We just got caught off guard,” sophomore midfielder Alex Neal said. “ This was one of the best teams on our schedule, and we’ll learn from what happened.
The Colonials, who started five underclassmen, sputtered offensively against the non-conference opponent. The Hoyas, led by 2010 Big East midfielder of the year Ingrid Wells, controlled the tempo throughout the game.
The Colonials tried to muster some momentum after getting into an early hole, keeping the Hoyas off the scoreboard for the rest of the first half. That momentum was stifled, however, when Blain scored her second goal of the game – a header after a corner kick that squeaked by senior goalie Lindsey Rowe – early in the second half.
“Momentum swings are really tempered by junior and senior leadership. The more experienced a player is, the more they understand that the game is going to ebb and flow,” head coach Tanya Vogel.
Wells’s successful penalty kick two minutes later cemented the Hoyas’ victory, and continued Georgetown’s string of goals off of set plays – each coming after a throw in, a corner kick and a penalty kick, respectively.
Vogel said that GW would now zone in on improving their defense against set plays, and that she saw encouraging signs from the rest of her defense, including Rowe, who had 15 saves, and senior defender Samie Cloutier.
“Although it’s disappointing to give up three goals, to not five up any in the run of play is a tribute to Cloutier and Rowe and their senior leadership,” Vogel said.
Georgetown, who is the only nationally ranked opponent on GW’s schedule this year, is now 6-1 against the Colonials, whose sole win against the Hoyas came in 2003. GW finished 9-9 and failed to qualify for the Atlantic 10 tournament last season, marking eight consecutive years without a conference tournament bid.
GW will travel to the west coast next weekend to face Saint Mary’s in California on Friday and San Francisco on Sunday. The next home game for the Colonials will come on Sept. 2 against Iowa.
