WASHINGTON – Villanova hit the road to No. 22 Georgetown on Thursday afternoon and could not answer a Hoyas offense that peppered the second-most shots of a Wildcat opponent this season, falling 2-0 at Shaw Field.
This was the second time this season that Villanova (4-4-6, 1-4-1 BIG EAST) was held without a shot on goal, trailing in shots 19-2 with Georgetown (8-1-6, 4-0-3 BIG EAST) landing nine on frame. Both of Villanova's shot attempts came in the second half thanks to
Jackie Richards and
Susanna Soderman. The Hoyas got on the scoreboard first with a Natalie Means goal in the 28
th minute. Brianne Riley extended the lead in the 78
th minute with a goal coming out of a corner.
"The loss is a hard one to take in," head coach
Samar Azem said. "I think anytime that you lose and you feel like you spent a majority of the time in your half, it's going to be difficult and tough. I still can say I'm really proud of a lot of the things that the team did today."
The Wildcats had four corner kicks in the loss while Georgetown attempted 11. The 'Cats made seven total saves in the loss, four of those from
Payton Woodward.
Off a Hoyas' corner in the 18
th minute, Maja Lardner attempted to get a quick look into the bottom left corner of the net, but
Myla McLeod denied it. The junior defender used a quick toe to keep the ball out at the left post. Within the next five minutes, Villanova goalkeeper
Payton Woodward was called upon for a pair of saves.
The Hoyas peppered a pair of back-to-back shots in the 27
th minute before getting on the board in the 28
th minute with Means' goal. Means played a ball inside to Shay Montgomery who quickly sent it back to Means, launching a chance from 12 yards out and into the back left of the net to make it a 1-0 Georgetown lead.
Villanova was outshot 8-0 in the first half with the 'Cats having to make four saves, three of those grabbed by Woodward.
Richards had a one-on-one chance deep in the box against Georgetown keeper Allie Augur in the 59
th minute, but her chance went left of the goal. Julia Leas sent a shot off the crossbar in the 69
th minute, grabbing her own rebound to take another shot that was once again saved by the Villanova defense.
Georgetown scored its second goal of the game off a corner in the 78
th minute. Tatum Lenain played a ball inside off the kick that was sent in by Riley just over seven yards out, making it a 2-0 contest.
Coming into the match off the bench, Soderman had a shot attempt in the 87
th minute, but it sailed high of the net.
The Wildcats are back home Sunday to host Marquette for Senior Day. Kickoff at Higgins Soccer Complex it set for 1 p.m. with Senior Day festivities happening postgame.