This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Marty Fenn.
What: Women’s Soccer vs. No. 18 Georgetown
Where: Mount Vernon Campus
When: Thursday, September 15 at 3 p.m.
After suffering their first loss of the year at Liberty last weekend, the Colonials (6–1–0) will look to bounce back against their cross-town rivals, the No. 18 Georgetown Hoyas (6–1–0).
Last year, Georgetown was responsible for one of GW’s five total losses — defeating the visiting Colonials 4–1 last September en route to a 2015 NCAA Tournament bid.
Case for the Colonials:
Head coach Sarah Barnes has repeatedly stressed the paramount role that defense plays in her squad’s success. Thus far this season, the team has rallied around the back four.
Led by redshirt senior Brooke Bean and senior Kate Elson, the Colonials have allowed just four goals in seven games, (0.57 goals per game) despite being outshot by opponents 71–67.
Aside from the veteran experience, GW has been boosted by the maturing play of sophomores Megan McCormick and Dani Frese, who have shown great command and composure.
Likewise, redshirt junior goalkeeper Miranda Horn has been in good form and is especially confident coming off her line to challenge attackers. However, while the team has played well as a unit, they got away from that mentality last Sunday against Liberty.
“Defensively, we played more individually and that caused us to chase, which means we didn’t have the ball very much,” Barnes said. “When we did win it, we weren’t consistently composed enough to get the look we wanted and we were too slow in transition.”
The Colonials will certainly be hoping for MacKenzie Cowley to find the net again. After scoring in each of the Colonials’ first six games, Cowley was held scoreless against Liberty.
Junior forward Brittany Cooper could also add an additional boost on offense. Cooper has proved to be a strong and threatening figure on the ball this year, tallying two goals and one assist on the year.
All told, the Colonials are hoping that the Liberty game was a small blemish on what has otherwise been an impressive start to the campaign.
“Georgetown is a very strong team, and we’ll need to be organized,” Barnes said. “We are going to have to read pressure and then transition faster in order to generate possession and generate attack.”
Case for the Hoyas
Following a 3–0 loss at home against now-No. 1 Stanford, the Hoyas have rattled off five consecutive wins, including their most recent victory over a No. 2 ranked Virginia squad. In that time frame, the Hoyas have outscored opponents 17–4.
What Georgetown lacks defensively, they make up for in offensive firepower. Although the Hoyas have conceded 1.14 goals per game, they have scored an average of 3.29 and have outshot opponents a staggering 105–53.
The Colonials will have to contend with the fearsome duo of junior Rachel Corboz and senior Grace Damaska, who have already tallied seven goals apiece for the Hoyas. Corboz has been named Big East Player of the Week three times, and she is fourth in the country (and first in the Big East) with 20 points.
The win against Virginia was particularly inspiring for Georgetown. Already trailing 2–0 just 10 minutes into the game, the Hoyas exploded for three goals in a span of 24 minutes, playing the Cavaliers to a stalemate for the rest of the game to pick up a huge win.
The Bottom Line
The Hoyas come to the Mount Vernon Campus full of confidence and possessing deadly weapons. However, the Colonials proved in their upset of Arkansas that they don’t need much possession of the ball to still win the game.
Georgetown will control the tempo and get its scoring chances, but if Barnes’ defense is organized and Horn is on her game, the Colonials might only need one opportunity at the net to make the difference.
