WASHINGTON - First year Head Coach Shannon Soares and the Georgetown field hockey team (4-8, 0-2 BIG EAST) will make the trip to Villanova this Friday to take on the Wildcats (3-10, 0-2 BIG EAST) at 7 p.m. at Villanova Stadium in a BIG EAST matchup. Both teams are looking for their first conference wins.

The matchup with Villanova will be the 25th meeting between the two programs, with the Wildcats holding an all-time record of 21-3 over the Hoyas. Last year's matchup, at the University of Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex was a 1-0 win by Villanova on Georgetown's Senior Day.

The Hoyas are looking to come out of a slump that has seen them drop four of their last five contests. After being on the road for three-straight games, GU returned home and played host to Providence and Saint Joseph's last weekend.

Aliyah Graves-Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg Academy) was able to break through the defense in the 49th minute to score her fourth goal of the season against Providence. The Friars still stifled the Hoyas, however, and held them to two shots en route to an 8-1 victory.

On Sunday, the team was quick out of the gate with Sarah Butterfield (Bridgewater, N.J./Oak Knoll) scoring at the 1:39 mark in the first half and jumping to an early lead. The team was unable to hold on to the lead, giving up four goals over the remainder of the game, losing 4-1 to Saint Joseph's.

Graves-Brown and Butterfield are currently tied for first place in goals with four each. They are two of the seven Hoyas who have scored this season. Graves-Brown and Butterfield, coupled with Emily Weinberg (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), have combined to take 44 of the team's 74 shots.

Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Skonecki (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Red Land) has more than quadrupled her save total from last season. Having started 11 games, Skonecki has recorded 57 saves in cage for GU, placing her third in the conference. Defenders Molly Thompson (Sunnyvale, Calif./St. Francis), Devin Holmes (Fleetville, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and midfielder Louise Chakejian (Chester Springs, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) have also come through for the Blue & Gray recording defensive saves. Thompson is tied for first place in the league with two, while Holmes and Chakejian have one apiece.

This year's Villanova team is led by Jessica Swoboba, who has a team high 6 goals for 12 points, she is tied for seventh place in the league in that category. Abigail Freitag is second with four goals and four assists for 12 points as well.

In the cage for the Wildcats is Jordyn Clipstone, who has started all 13 games. Over the course of the season, she has made 89 saves, which leads the BIG EAST.

Like Georgetown, Villanova comes to the Hilltop on a losing streak having dropped its last five games.

Following the Friday night game, Georgetown will return home to take on Colgate on Multi Sport Field at 1 p.m. on Sunday.