The last time Marquette women’s soccer was on Shaw Field, the team posed with its BIG EAST Tournament runner-up trophy after losing 2-0 to Georgetown. After already winning a share of the BIG EAST regular season crown, an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament was inevitable.
But when the Golden Eagles returned to Shaw Field Thursday, that same optimism was nowhere to be seen. The team earned its fourth BIG EAST loss of the year, falling to Georgetown, 3-0, and losing a key match for its tournament resume.
Marquette struggled to muster any possession against Georgetown. With the Hoyas constantly on the offensive, Marquette’s inexperienced back line had to rely on long clearance shots instead of higher percentage, intermediate-length passes. The reigning BIG EAST tournament champions outshot the Golden Eagles by a whopping 22-3 margin. The Hoyas also held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Marquette sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Henry recorded eight saves, but that was not nearly enough against a stifling Hoya attack.
Georgetown senior Taylor Pak set the tone almost immediately, lining a shot from just outside the 18-yard box in the 16th minute to give Georgetown an early lead.
The Hoyas struck again in the 31st minute to expand its lead to 2-0. Paula Germino-Watnick rocketed a shot from the right side of the box into the top left corner of the net.
Jenna Menta sent the game out of reach with a picturesque cross to Amanda Carolan in the 84th minute to complete a one-two move and score the Hoyas’ third goal of the afternoon. Carolan leads the conference with nine goals.
With the loss, Marquette broke the program record for most losses in a BIG EAST season with four. Despite the team’s historically slow start, the team will end Thursday in either fifth or sixth place, depending on other conference results.
The Golden Eagles, currently sitting at 43rd in RPI, will not play another team in the top 200 during the regular season.
