Box Score

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's lacrosse squad (1-7) led early, but couldn't hold on at No. 16/19 Loyola University's (6-4) Ridley Athletic Complex Wednesday evening in Baltimore, Md. The Hoyas completed a three-game road swing and will return home on Saturday to open BIG EAST Conference play.

Freshman midfielder Hannah Seilbel (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) led the way with two goals, while senior attacker Caroline Tarzian (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) added a goal and an assist for the Blue & Gray. Seven different players tallied a point for the Hoyas in the loss.

Georgetown was outshot, 25-21, but held the slight 17-16 advantage in ground balls. Loyola pulled in 14 draw controls to GU's eight and forced 12 Hoya turnovers.

Sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Fisher (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) took the loss in the cage with four saves, junior keeper Megan McDonald (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) added two saves in the final 16 minutes.

Just two minutes into the game, the Greyhounds managed a goal to take the early lead. However, Georgetown gained possession off of the ensuing draw and Seibel found the back of the cage to tie it up.

Seibel's goal sparked a 3-0 run spanning just five minutes as the Blue & Gray rattled off two more goals to take the 3-1 lead. Senior midfielder Mollie Caputo (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius) hit a tally at 24:17, and freshman attacker Amanda Ignacio (Cooksville, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) hit her first of the game at 22:14 as the Hoyas were rolling.

Loyola answered with a goal at 21:18, but Georgetown had one more scoring on a counter as junior midfielder Kassandra Bowling (Monkton, Md./Bryn Mawr School) passed it to GU's leading scorer Kristen Bandos (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame of Namur) to move the advantage back to two, 4-2, at 18:31.

Less than two minutes later, Seibel scored her second of the evening to make the score 5-2 and force a Greyhound timeout to regroup.

Loyola regained momentum with back-to-back goals over the next six minutes as the Greyhounds dominated the draw controls early and controlled possession at this point in the game. It was up to Fisher and the defense to hold onto the lead as the sophomore keeper came up with some big saves.

With less than two minutes left, the Greyhounds scored the equalizer and would add a free position goal with 25 seconds to go to give Loyola the 6-5 advantage going into the break.

It was Tarzian who got on the board early in the second as the Hoyas tied. The even score lasted only a minute, however, as Loyola went low to find the back of the cage and move back on top.

That goal sparked a 2-0 run for the Greyhounds, but a huge defensive play by the Hoyas stopping a 1v1 situation shifted the momentum. Sophomore attacker Colleen Lovett (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) responded with a goal on the right side to cut it back to one.

It continued to be a back-and-forth game as Loyola made it 9-7, but Georgetown pushed to regain the lead. Senior attacker Sammy Giordano (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) cut it to one once again as she faked high and went low with 12:51 remaining.

Unfortunately, a ground ball putback by the Greyhounds got through the Hoya defense to give Loyola the two-goal lead with time winding down. A foul after the play gave Loyola the ball handing the squad possession as the Greyhounds slowed it down to burn the clock.

The defense came up with a big turnover, and Georgetown regained possession with five minutes remaining. A free position attempt went wide, and GU called timeout to put a play together. The Hoyas had options, but couldn't connect and Loyola got the ball with less than two minutes to go.

The Georgetown defense managed one more big takeaway and got a shot off through a double team. The ball was saved and Loyola took control as the Hoyas pulled their keeper to try to force the turnover. The Greyhounds took advantage and fired twice to make the final 12-8.

The Hoyas will open BIG EAST Conference play and return home on Saturday as the squad welcomes the Vanderbilt University Commodores to Multi-Sport Field. It is Vanderbilt's first season in the BIG EAST. Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.GUHoyas.com.