This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Sophia Omuemu.

GW headed into this weekend with hopes of securing two wins in its final away games of the regular season but ultimately fell twice: 1-0 to the Rhode Island Rams and 4-0 to the Massachusetts Minutewomen.

The Colonials entered their game Friday aggressively with a 3-1 shot advantage. Prior to the game, the Colonials had emphasized the importance of finishing their shots and moving the ball forward.

“We always try to focus on possession with the intent to go forward and to create scoring opportunities,” head coach Sarah Barnes said.

Freshman Kristi Abbate took the first shot at the 10th minute that sailed by the net, followed by shot attempts from juniors Alex Neal and Jane Wallis. Despite the initial shot advantage, the Rams were able to score the lone goal off of a header at the 28th minute.

“We needed to be more precise with our decision making in the attacking third,” Barnes said. “We needed to put the ball in the box and shoot.”

Sunday, Barnes emphasized to her team the need for strong defensive play and better decision making in order to win.

Both teams battled until the 22nd minute when Massachusetts was able to rebound a shot and convert it into the first goal of the game.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half.  We were pretty optimistic going into the second half,” Barnes said. “But every time we made a couple mistakes, UMass punished us.”

After 42 seconds of play in the second half, the Minutewomen quickly dribbled the ball into the center and netted a goal into the top right corner.  The Colonials picked up their aggression defensively but Massachusetts was able to score a penalty kick goal at the 50th minute.

The Minutewomen scored their final goal at the 57th minute when they stole the ball from freshman goalkeeper Nicole Fasano which led to the final goal of the game being shot into an empty net.

“It’s really more about us then them. We need to focus on making good decisions when we have the ball,” Barnes said.