Georgetown erases 2-0 deficit to beat No. 3 Virginia

WASHINGTON D.C. — Georgetown women's soccer coach Dave Nolan said that after No. 3 Virginia scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes of play, he was looking to race to his car. But by the time the first half ended, Georgetown had scored three goals in a span of 24 minutes and held on for a 3-2 win over the Cavaliers at Shaw Field on Sunday afternoon.

Georgetown won its fifth straight game and improved to 6-1-0 overall. It is the second win over a ranked team in the last three games for the Hoyas, who beat then-No. 12 Rutgers 2-1 last week. It was the first loss of the season for the Cavaliers, who fell to 7-1-0 overall. The Cavaliers had not allowed a goal all season, and the goals scored by Georgetown were the first against UVa in 976 minutes dating back to last season.

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"Make no bones about it, it was a huge win for this team and it was a huge win for the program," Nolan said. "You're going against one of the perennial national championship contenders. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and we knew we were going to have to dodge a couple of bullets. We have the ability to score goals and whenever you have the personnel that can score goals, you always have a chance.

"I just felt that we would get counter-attacks against them the way they play and it was just a matter of whether we could score more goals than they could. I'm just grateful we scored one more than they did."

Trailing 2-0 after the opening 10 minutes of play, the Hoyas withstood several chances from Virginia in the opening third of the first half. Georgetown broke through in the 14th minute, when junior midfielder Taylor Pak intercepted a failed defensive clearance and fired a shot from 25 yards out that beat Morgan Stearns to the far post.

That goal seemed to pick up the Hoyas. Twelve minutes after yielding their first goal of the season, the Cavaliers gave up their second. In the 26th minute, junior midfielder Chloe Knott slipped a ball past the defense to sophomore forward Amanda Carolan, who beat Stearns in a one-on-one opportunity from just inside the 18-yard line.

The Hoyas took the lead for good in the 38th minute. A foul was called on Virginia in the center of the field and a free kick was awarded. Junior midfielder Rachel Corboz took the free kick and launched it over the wall and the hands of the goalkeeper, giving GU a 3-2 lead at 37:00.

The Cavaliers had jumped out to the early lead, with Veronica Latsko heading a ball in off a pair of deflections in the seventh minute. Two minutes later, UVa increased its lead to 2-0 on a goal from Taylor Ziemer.

The second half was dominated by midfield play, but Virginia had the best chance in the 53rd minute when a free kick was awarded on the near side of the box. The Cavaliers got off two shots, but both were blocked as the Hoyas held off the attack and went on for the win.

Virginia outshot Georgetown 15-8 and had an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.

The Hoyas are back in action again on Thursday, visiting George Washington. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.