Oct. 17, 2008
Morgantown, W. Va. - The No. 19/16 Georgetown women's soccer team (10-2-2) lost an absolute heartbreaker in Morgantown, W. Va., on Friday night, 2-1 in double overtime to the No. 20/21 West Virginia (9-2-5) Mountaineers. Samantha Baker (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) had pushed the Hoyas in front during the 71st minute off some crisp passing and an assist from Stephanie Zare (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) before WVU countered. Goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) was outstanding on the other side of the field, tying a season-high with seven saves. "We knew it was always going to be a tough and extremely difficult contest because West Virginia felt that their backs were against the wall," Head Coach Dave Nolan said. "This was just an example of two good teams that went at it tonight." Baker's goal was her seventh of the season, pushing her to ninth on the single-season goals list and sixth on the single-season points list. The assist for Zare was her fourth of the season and gives her points in three of the last five contests. "I thought Jackie [DesJardin] played really well tonight and Gabby [Miller] was solid at center back for us," Nolan said. "Steph [Zare] was her usual solid self in the midfield and for the third or fourth game in a row, I was really pleased with the progression of one of our freshmen, Camille [Trujillo]." West Virginia was able to pull level in the 88th minute when Greer Barnes scored her first goal of the season, of the first helpers of the season for Blake Miller and Robin Rushton. Miller would eventually score the game-winner in the second overtime off a pass from Kelsey Fowler.
"Overall, I can't complain about our effort, it just got disappointing late for us," Nolan added. "They had been pressing us for long stretches of time and a mental lapse hurt us." Georgetown had the first scoring chance of the game when Norah Swanson (Alamo, Calif./San Ramon Valley) sailed one high in the 12th minute. After that point, GU weathered seven WVU shots to head to into halftime tied at 0-0. The Mountaineers' two best chances in the first half came courtesy of Miller. In the 15th minute, Miller hit a shot that pinged off the left post, skidded across the goal-mouth and was kicked over the endline by a GU defender resulting in a WVU corner. In the 29th minute, Miller picked up steam into the GU offensive area, but DesJardin came out to deny her attempt head on. A back-and-forth second half of play started with WVU creating two great chances as Carolyn Blank and Amanda Cicchini were both denied by DesJardin within the first five minutes. After Toni Marie Hudson (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) put a header just over the bar, Deanna Everrett had a chance blocked in the penalty area by the GU defense. In the 58th minute though, things started to change in favor of the Hoyas. The Blue & Gray created a corner-kick opportunity and both Baker and Zare had shots blocked in the penalty area. Another GU corner would follow the Zare attempt and Baker had a shot saved by the outstretched arms of Kerri Butler. It was during this same possession that the Hoyas took the lead. The Mountaineers started to swing momentum back in their favor during the 71st minute when Chelsey Corroto was denied by DesJardin and Fowler had her header turned away. Despite the Hoyas ability to maintain possession and milk the clock with three-corner-kick opportunities, Everrett had the best chance in the following eight minutes. However, much like it had been all night, her try at tying the game was stymied by DesJardin. During the ensuing counter-attack, Nicole Smith (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) put a shot high over goal for Georgetown in the 81st minute. It would be the Hoyas' last offensive gasp of regulation before Barnes' goal and another save on a Miller try for WVU. In the first overtime, Baker had the best try for either team with a shot-on-goal that was blocked in the 96th minute. Georgetown now travels to Pittsburgh for a contest against the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m. |
 
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