Nov. 19, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's soccer team hits the road today for an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen meeting with the University of Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 20 in Minneapolis. The Hoyas will kick off against the Gophers on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET) at Elizabeth Lynn Robbie Stadium.
Georgetown advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after beating Siena, 5-1, for the program's first-ever postseason win last Friday. In the second round, the Hoyas, now 14-6-2 overall, topped No. 4 Maryland in penalty kicks to reach the third round.
The advance to the Sweet 16 was made possible in large part to the work done by senior goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), who made two saves in penalty kicks against Maryland. Junior Ingrid Wells (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair), freshman Kaitlin Brenn (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) and junior Samantha Baker (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) all connected on penalty kicks to provide the Hoyas the 3-2 win.
The Hoyas finished the regular season with a 13-5-1 overall record, including a 7-3-1 mark in the BIG EAST, which helped the team earn the No. 2 seed in the National Division of the BIG EAST Tournament. Georgetown started the season off with a program-best 7-0 record and the team had two wins over NCAA Tournament teams, a road win against James Madison, and a 3-1 win over South Florida. The Hoyas closed out the regular season with a 1-1 draw against No. 10 Notre Dame.
Wells, the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and a candidate for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, leads the team in scoring with nine goals and 10 assists for 28 points. Wells, who was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer.com Team of the Season earlier this week, was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection for the third-straight year. Her 28 points are not only a career high, but are tied for the most in a single season in Georgetown history. She enters the weekend two points shy of tying Sara Jordan (C'10) for the all-time lead in school history.
Wells is one of four players in double figures in scoring for the Hoyas, joined by First Team All-BIG EAST midfielder Kelly D'Ambrisi (Trumbull, Conn./Lauralton Hall Academy). D'Ambrisi, a junior, has scored four goals and four assists this season for 12 points.
Junior forward Camille Trujillo (Albuquerque, N.M./St. Pius X), an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection, is tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 goals and two assists for 28 points, tied for Wells for the most points in a single season at GU. Her 13 goals are the most in a single season and Trujillo has 22 career, which ranks tied for fifth all-time.
DesJardin, an ESPN Academic All-District 2 First Team selection, enters the weekend with a 13-6-2 overall record and a 0.80 goals-against average. She has recorded seven shutouts this season and has 29 for her career, the all-time lead on the Hilltop.
The defensive unit by has been led by senior Michaela Buonomo (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock) and freshman Kailey Blain (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack). Buonomo, who has started every game of her career, has been part of a defensive unit that has recorded eight shutouts this year and last year set a Georgetown record for fewest goals allowed in a season (14). Blain, selected to the Top Drawer Soccer.com All-Rookie Second Team, has scored one goal and is second on the team with six assists for eight points.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Georgetown and the Gophers. The Hoyas are 0-2 all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota, 15-5-3 overall, enters the weekend with a five-game unbeaten streak. The Gophers hosted the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds last weekend and emerged with wins over Creighton and No. 9 Texas A&M to reach the Sweet 16. The Gophers rebounded from a first-half deficit against Creighton to win 4-2, with Katie Bethke scoring a pair of goals. In the win over Texas A&M, Tamara Strhota and Bethke each scored goals and Cat Parkhill recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
Live video and live statistics of the game will be available on www.gophersports.com.
