WASHINGTON – The No. 10 Georgetown women's soccer team shut out the Columbia Lions, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Shaw Field. The contest wrapped up GU's nonconference slate and tallied the squad's fifth shutout of the 2018 campaign. With the win, the Hoyas move on to 7-0-2 while the Lions fall to 3-4-1.
 
Four different Hoyas contributed goals to the victory. Senior Caitlin Farrell (Wallingford, Conn. / Choate Rosemary Hall) recorded her fifth goal, while senior Meghan Shaver (Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Dana Hills) and juniors Paula Germino-Watnick (Chevy Chase, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and Carson Nizialek (Chantilly, Va. / Freedom) scored their first goals this season. Germino-Watnick also tallied two assists against the Lions and Farrell and graduate student Kyra Carusa (San Diego, Calif. / Del Norte / Stanford) recorded one apiece.
 
The Blue & Gray held the possession for most of the game and it did not take long for the team to find its rhythm or enter the scoring column. Farrell gave Georgetown the lead in the 10th minute on the left side of the 18-yard box. The senior had a clear opportunity to score once she was found by Germino-Watnick across the field, who was given the assist.
 
The Hoyas played with a great team effort against Columbia, especially in the 18th minute when senior goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day / UCLA) was recovering from a blocked save that deflected off of her body back to the Lions and sophomore Kelly Ann Livingstone (Glen Ridge, N.J. / Glen Ridge) stepped up her defensive skills to stop Columbia from scoring while Schechtman was still down.
 
Georgetown took a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute when Germino-Watnick found herself directly in front of Columbia goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse and blasted the ball past her in the net. Carusa recorded an assist in the play as she found Germino-Watnick from the left corner and crossed the ball over to her in the six-yard box.
 
The rhythm remained the same going into the second half and the Blue & Gray found more scoring opportunities. Shaver added another goal to the board in the 53rd minute from the six-yard box and headed the ball into the back of the net. Germinio-Watnick found Shaver from the right side of the field and was credited with the assist.
 
The Lions had an opportunity to score in the 60th minute but Schechtman used her body to block the ball from hitting the back of the net. They had another chance 10 minutes later when Columbia was on a breakaway and headed down the field towards Schechtman, but junior defender Meaghan Nally (Herndon, Va. / South Lakes) snuck up from behind to stop Columbia from shooting.
 
The final goal of the game occurred in the 65th minute when Nizialek had a clear opportunity to score from the top of the box after being sought out by Farrell. Nizialek's shot soared right past Whitehouse into the net to give the Hoyas a 4-0 lead.
 
Georgetown outshot the Lions, 14-8, and took five corners to Columbia's three. Schechtman recorded four saves, while Whitehouse had two.
 
Next up, the Blue & Gray will open up BIG EAST play next Sunday at St. John's in Queens, New York. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Monika Moore calling the action. Live stats for the game can be found at www.GUHoyas.com.
 
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