For the second year in a row, the win wasn’t to be. The team lost 4-1 Thursday afternoon, their frustration compounded by having kept, and at times even set, the pace before Georgetown imposed its will during a critical stretch of three goals.
“We run with them and then they just sprint ahead,” said junior forward MacKenzie Cowley. “But it’s good to play them because now we know we can play with them. We played better than them for about 25 minutes, I’d say. So now we just have to finish the game. We need to learn from them and stay at their level for the entire game.”
Not three minutes had passed when Cowley took a header from Nicole Belfonti and laid a strike off her right foot into the center of the net to give the Colonials the lead. It would not just be GW’s lone goal, however, but the Colonials only shot of the first half. Georgetown outshot GW 12-3.
GW was better in the other two thirds of the field than in the top one, aided by some impressive saves from redshirt sophomore goalie Miranda Horn to keep the lead through most of the first half. An offsides call with 15 minutes until halftime was lucky, and Georgetown would have scored without it, but Horn made three of her four saves in the first half.
With less than two minutes left until the break, however, Georgetown’s Taylor Pak tied the game with a beautiful ball to the top right corner from 22 yards out. There was no way Horn could have gotten to the ball, and she actually got remarkably close, launching herself to the right spot and missing by a couple inches with the tips of her gloves.
In the second half the Hoyas fitness and technical ability began to wear down the Colonials. GW could run, but couldn’t break through in the passing game against a Hoyas team that lasered first-time balls up, down and around the field to each other.
Eventually they broke down. In a ten minute stretch between the 54th and 64th minutes of play, Georgetown scored three times. Each goal was textbook, a cross to a player left open closer and closer to the net with each score, kicked in behind Horn.
“We were neck and neck for a while and as soon as they got that second one it was bam-bam-bam really fast,” said senior defender Emily Brown. “And I think that’s the sign of a good team. We were making mistakes and they capitalized. But I think as we’ve talked about before, our defense is a work in progress.”
Senior defender Brooke Bean, who has been out with what looked like a knee injury since the team’s game against Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 23, will not return this season, Barnes said after the game. She will redshirt, and be back next year. Senior defender Brooke Stoller will take over her role at centerback and the team will still primarily use a four-person backline.
In the end, the score wasn’t close. In the end, the players left the field angry and frustrated about the last 90 minutes of their lives, while their coach had a more optimistic outlook, thinking about a much broader scope of time.
“This is a great game for us,” head coach Sarah Barnes said. “Certainly disappointed for the kids because this is a big game for them and they really want to win, and it’s hard to be up and then lose and lose kind of badly, but I think the value of it in terms of growth and learning and moving forward in the season is really huge.”
The Colonials next match is on Sunday at Delaware at 3 p.m.
