WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's soccer team defeated the Xavier Musketeers 2-0 on Thursday afternoon securing the Hoyas' third-consecutive regular season title. With the win, Georgetown improves to 12-2-4 and 8-1-1 in conference action while Xavier slides to 14-3-2 and 7-2-1 in BIG EAST play. GU has now secured the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP next week.
 
Head Coach Dave Nolan
"Today was every bit the battle we thought it would be. I thought we started very well, and we came out very hard and were on top of them quickly. In all honesty, I thought we had a 20-minute spell where we could have had a couple. We were able to get the penalty kick which Eliza Turner finished very well. Give them credit, they didn't go away, and they kept hanging around while playing more direct down the field. We were dealing with a lot of second balls, and I think our defenders, for the most part, positioning was spot on every time.
 
There were things we looked at and thought we could do a little bit better, and I said to our team at halftime that it is hard to shut this team out. I thought that we needed a second goal and Natalie Means had a great finish on the second goal. Then all of a sudden it became a matter of managing the clock, their chaos and their pressure. They got desperate then which made it far more predictable to deal with but there is a chance we see these guys again in the conference tournament if we are both fortunate enough to get back to the final and I am sure it will be another great affair as they are a great team with great players. It is great for our conference to have two top teams."
 
About the Match

• Just minutes into the game, GU had a golden chance as Claire Manning served a ball into the box that Shay Montgomery got on the end of. The junior hammered a one-timer on frame that went off the crossbar before the Xavier goalie jumped on it.  
• In the 22nd minute, Henley Tippins pressured a ball played back to the Musketeer goalkeeper. After poking it free, she was taken down in the box giving GU a penalty kick. Eliza Turner stepped up to the spot and converted her third penalty kick of the season, giving GU an early 1-0 advantage.
• GU took the 1-0 advantage into the break after outshooting the Musketeers 11-8.
• The start of the second half was an even battle as both sides were able to create a few good opportunities.
• In the 59th minute, Xavier was one-on-one with Anna Karpenko and the graduate student stood tall making a point blank save to preserve the 1-0 lead.
• In the 79th minute, Natalie Means found a ball on the left flank and drove toward the goal. The junior smashed a shot from outside the box toward the far post just past the outstretched hands of the Xavier keeper giving GU a 2-0 advantage.
• Georgetown was able to fend off the Musketeers' comeback efforts securing its third-consecutive regular season title.

 
Notable Stats

• Turner converted her third penalty kick of the season in the first half.
• Means tallied her fourth goal of the season in the second half.
• Cara Martin and Karpenko combined for GU's 13th shutout of the season in goal.
• Martin and Karpenko each made five saves.
• GU has now won three-consecutive BIG EAST Regular Season Championships.
• Georgetown will be the No. 1 overall seed in the BIG EAST Championship next week.

 
WHAT LIES AHEAD
The Blue & Gray will return to action on Thursday, November 7 in the BIG EAST Conference semifinals. The semifinals and final will be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland. More information will be made available on GUHoyas.com.