WASHINGTON - Georgetown University’s women’s soccer team blanked visiting No. 22 Rutgers in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at Shaw Field. The shutout is the 14th of the season for the Hoyas who improve to 18-2-3 overall on the season.
With the victory, Georgetown advances to face No. 15 Virginia in the third round on Sunday, Nov. 20, at noon. The contest is a rematch of the Blue & Gray’s 3-2 victory over the then-third ranked Cavaliers on Sept. 11. Virginia defeated Penn State, 3-0, in the other second round game of the day to set up Sunday’s rematch against the Hoyas.
Amanda Carolan (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional) and Marina Paul (Aliso Viejo, Calif./Laguna Beach) each scored goals for the Hoyas while Rachel Corboz (Green Brook, N.J./Pingry) tallied an assist on both of them.
Carolan scored her goal in the 19th minute to give the Blue & Gray an early 1-0 lead. She took a long pass from Corboz down the middle of the field and beat the Rutgers keeper one-on-one for her 10th goal of the season. Her 10 goals give the Hoyas four different players with double-figure goal totals this season.
“I thought we played well,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “In the first half particularly, I thought we looked good. For us, it was a matter of ‘could we get that second goal?’ If we could get that second goal, it would kill the game. We got one off a strong header from Marina (Paul), which would be tough for any goalkeeper to handle.”
Georgetown added an insurance goal at the 81:58 mark to silence any threat of a Scarlet Knight comeback attempt. Corboz set the play up perfectly, launching a cross to the middle of the box to connect with Paul on a header. The Rutgers keeper initially made the play, but Paul’s ball was too strong for her to handle as the ball careened off her hands and across the goal line.
The Hoyas dominated possession throughout the majority of the game and held Rutgers to just four shots in the match and only two on target. Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif./La Jolla Country Day/UCLA) earned the shutout and collected two saves while Drew Topor (Madison, N.J./Pingry) shut down the Scarlet Knights’ top offensive threat, Madison Tiernan.
Live stats and a live video stream of Sunday’s game against Virginia will be available through the Georgetown Athletics website, www.GUHoyas.com, with Matt Present calling the play-by-play and Nick Eilerson handling the color.