No. 18 Georgetown Defeats Delaware 15-11

Recap, photo courtesy of Georgetown

WASHINGTON – The No. 18 Georgetown University women's lacrosse squad used a late second half run to pull away and defeat the University of Delaware Blue Hens (2-3) 15-11 on Saturday at Delaware Stadium.  With the victory the Hoyas improve to 4-1 on the young season.

"It was nice to win when we were not playing our best," said Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried.  "Our offense really carried us today, and if we can focus on both ends of the field on a consistent basis we'll be successful."

Senior attacker Taylor Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) led the way with four goals and
two assists for six points, while classmate Morgan Ryan (Maplewood, N.J. / Oak Knoll School) added four goals on the afternoon.  Senior midfielder Francesca Whitehurst (Baltimore, Md. / Roland Park Country School) posted two goals and two assists and junior attacker Emily Ehle (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / Christian Brothers Academy) had one goal to go along with a squad-high four assists.  In total, eight Hoyas scored a point in the victory.

The Hoyas outshot the Blue Hens 24-19 and pulled in 15 draw controls to Delaware's 13.  GU was 2 for 7 on free position shots while limiting the Blue Hens to a 2 of 4 performance. Additionally, the defense forced 16 turnovers, eight caused, as GU committed just 14 in the contest.  Freshman midfielder Jordyn Sabourin (Catonsville, Md. / Notre Dame Prep) led the Blue & Gray with five draw controls, and Whitehurst added two.  Senior defender Josephine Zinn (Franklin Lakes, N.J. / Immaculate Heart Academy) had a big game with three caused turnovers to her credit.  In goal, senior Haelle Chomo (Naples, Fla. / Barron Collier) managed five saves.

The Blue Hens scored first, but Georgetown answered with back-to-back scores from Ehle and Whitehurst.  The lead quickly moved back in Delaware's favor as the Blue Hens answered with a 2-0 run, but it was Gebhardt who would even it again as she was fed by Ehle to make it 3-3 at the 17-minute mark of the first half.

A takeaway on one end of the field gave the Blue & Gray a fast break as Ehle streaked down the field and found junior attacker Michaela Bruno (Garden City, N.Y. / Garden City) who shot through a pair of defenders to put GU on top 4-3 and force a Delaware timeout.  The break allowed both teams to regroup, but the Blue & Gray continued to push on offense as junior midfielder Natalia Lynch (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown West) found the back of the cage on a free position shot and Ryan scored less than a minute later on the pass from Ehle to give Georgetown the three-goal lead, 6-3, marking its largest of the game to that point.

Delaware stopped the 4-0 Hoya run with a goal at 8:49 which sparked a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game at six with 6:56 remaining in the first half.  Gebhardt broke up the momentum spinning around her defender for the goal, however, the Blue Hens added one more with 10 seconds remaining in the half to tie the game at seven at the break.

The Blue Hens opened the scoring with a goal three minutes into the second half.  As Georgetown searched for an answer, the Hoyas called timeout.  Out of the break, GU managed back-to-back scores as Lynch nailed the free position shot and Gebhardt fought through the defense to put the Hoyas back on top 9-8.

Delaware would score, but an unassisted goal from Bruno sparked a 3-0 run for the Blue & Gray including goals from Gebhardt and Ryan to put the Hoyas on top 12-9 and force a Blue Hen timeout.  In total is was a 5-1 Georgetown run spanning six minutes as GU looked to pull away.

Georgetown would be unable to capitalize on the momentum and went on an eight-minute scoring drought that included a Delaware goal to cut the lead to two.  At 10:12, Gebhardt passed from behind the cage to Whitehurst who shot it past the Delaware keeper to make it 13-10.  In the final minutes of the contest, Ryan would come up big with back-to-back goals to put the Blue & Gray on top by five.  The Blue Hens scored with three minutes remaining, but it would not change the outcome as the Hoyas held on for the 15-11 victory.

Georgetown will return home on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. matchup against George Washington University at Cooper Field.  The game will be a doubleheader with the Hoya men.  Live stats and a webcast featuring Monika Moore will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.