Nov. 14, 2008
Washington, D.C. - The 2008 season was a successful one for the Georgetown women's soccer program. The team attained their best BIG EAST regular-season finish (8-3-0, 24 points) and finished one win shy of the single-season record set in 2007. The graduating class of seniors will leave the Hilltop with the most wins of any group, 44, and helped lead the Hoyas to the BIG EAST Tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Blue & Gray also set new team records for shutouts (11) and fewest goals allowed (14) while achieving the highest single-season winning percentage.
The Blue & Gray hosted a BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal for the first time and had five players (Toni Marie Hudson, Kelly D'Ambrisi, Jackie DesJardin, Caitlin Durkee and Stephanie Zare) named to BIG EAST Postseason Teams, the most ever for a Hoya team.
DesJardin, Durkee and Zare were also named Regional Academic All-Americans as Georgetown had the most players honored of any BIG EAST team. The squad collected numerous BIG EAST Weekly Awards and various other soccer media outlets (TopDrawerSoccer.com, SoccerBuzz Magazine, Soccer America) recognized the play of GU's student-athletes.
Individually, five players made jumps on the all-time and single-season Georgetown charts. Hudson led the team in goals (10) and tied for the single-season record. She also moved into a tie for ninth on the all-time goal-scoring list. Her 24 points put her in fourth place on the single-season scoring list.
Freshman Samantha Baker's eight goals put her in a tie for fifth on the single-season list and her 10 assists tied her with Durkee for the team lead and third on the single-season helpers list. Her 26 points tied her for the single-season high with Jessie-Beers Altman (2002).
DesJardin continued her charge on the goalkeeping records, breaking her own single-season shutout tally with nine blankings. Her 120 career saves and 16 shutouts have her fourth and second on the all-time lists, respectively. Finally, Zare will graduate Georgetown tied for 10th all-time in assists.
The 2008 season got off to an auspicious start as the Hoyas fell behind cross-town rival American before rallying for a win in their opening contest. The Hoyas knotted the game in the second half off a goal from Hudson and in the extra frame, Baker collected her first points as a Hoya when she tallied the game-winner.
The Hoyas rolled over UMBC in the first game of the D.C. Invitational, 7-0, behind goals from five different players and won the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Ohio. Against the Retrievers, freshman Camille Trujillo scored her first goal as a Hoya and junior Erika Roberts earned her first point at GU with an assist. In the Ohio contest, Sara Jordan put the Blue & Gray on the board in the first half and Zare scored with 16 minutes remaining to provide some breathing room. The opener was the first seven-goal game for GU since 2004 and the win over Ohio was the first against a Mid-American Conference opponent since 2001.
Georgetown defeated its first SEC opponent ever with a 3-0 victory over Mississippi State at the George Mason Tournament. Hudson had two goals and an assist while Michaela Buonomo added the third score. The win made them the first GU women's soccer team to win its first four games. In the second game, the Hoyas played to a scoreless tie with Hartford that snapped their win streak but kept their undefeated streak intact.
GU closed non-conference play with two contests on North Kehoe Field. First up for the Blue & Gray was a 3-0 win over Towson. The Hoyas received a goal and two assists from Hudson along with tallies from freshmen Baker and Trujillo. The final matchup before BIG EAST play kicked into gear saw Georgetown draw with Penn, 2-2. After falling behind by two goals, Nicole Smith scored her first of the season in the 77th minute and Hudson was awarded an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty kick three minutes later. The senior converted and the ensuing draw meant the Hoyas had made it through their non-league games without a mark in the loss column (5-0-2).
The Blue & Gray opened BIG EAST play against Villanova for the fourth consecutive season. However, the matchup of unbeatens didn't live up to the hype as a Georgetown dismantled the Wildcats, 3-0. Hudson found the back of the net within the first 10 minutes to set the tone and added another in the second half before D'Ambrisi ended the scoring. It was the first win ever at Villanova, the first win over the Wildcats in seven years and only the second win in 15 all-time meetings between the schools.
On a rainy night in South Orange, N.J., the Hoyas defeated Seton Hall, 2-0. Georgetown's pair of freshmen forwards did the damage as Baker scored early, Trujillo tallied late and the Hoya defense blanked their fifth opponent in six games. It was GU's first win at Seton Hall in six tries over a span of 13 years. Two days later, the Hoyas were home again to play Rutgers in a pivotal BIG EAST National Division game. Despite not getting in much of an offensive flow during the contest, the defense held strong yet again. DesJardin made four big saves and D'Ambrisi scored her only game-winner of the season in the 71st minute, a beautiful curling ball that found the corner of the goal. The 1-0 victory was the first win at home over Rutgers in nine seasons.
After becoming the first Georgetown women's soccer team to stay undefeated through their first 10 games, they prepared to welcome the No. 1 team in the nation and eventual undefeated BIG EAST champion, Notre Dame. After falling behind 1-0 on a penalty kick, Zare was able to get her head to a long Baker throw-in. Not only did the ensuing goal tie the score, but also got the crowd back into the contest and swung the momentum for the next couple minutes. However, Notre Dame scored a disputed goal to retake the lead and added another in the second half to hand the Hoyas their first loss, 3-1.
The Hoyas responded with convincing home wins over DePaul and Syracuse to apparently get back on track. Due to a viral outbreak on the Georgetown campus, the DePaul game served as Senior Day for GU and they controlled the tempo from the starting whistle. In a 4-0 victory, Durkee dished out a season-high three assists and received the first collegiate goal from junior Norah Swanson. Hudson would score twice and the Hoyas would benefit from an own goal in a 3-1 win over Syracuse two days later. It was the first win at home over Syracuse in 11 years.
Georgetown's toughest decisions of the year came the following weekend. In a Friday night game at West Virginia, Baker scored at 70:01 and the team looked poised to knock off the defending BIG EAST Champions. However, WVU evened the score with three minutes remaining and won the game in the first overtime period. On Sunday, an early Pittsburgh goal put the Hoyas in a hole that they dug out of thanks to a second-half goal from D'Ambrisi. The game seemed destined for a tie as it entered the second overtime, but the Panthers scored with four seconds remaining on a bouncing ball. Georgetown dropped its second-consecutive overtime game that ended in a 2-1 loss.
Heading into their final week of the regular season, the Hoyas still had work to do and goals to attain. Sophomore Courtney Kent started the second half against St. John's and headed in a throw-in from Baker for her first collegiate goal. The defender who was moved to the front due to her height recorded the game-winner for the Blue & Gray.
That weekend, the team hit the road for games with Louisville and Cincinnati. A late Baker goal gave the Hoyas their first win ever against Louisville on Friday night and a Buonomo header in double overtime earned the team their first win ever at Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon. Baker's goal was her team-leading fourth game-winner of the season and Buonomo's goal capped off a week where the Hoyas won every game, 1-0. The three-game sweep of BIG EAST opponents earned Georgetown a BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal game against UConn, which they lost, 2-1
