Georgetown thought it had the break it needed against Maryland junior midfielder Dana Dobbie, the nation’s toughest draw control specialist. Having cut the Terrapins’ lead to five goals and poised to close the gap further early in the second half Tuesday afternoon, the Hoyas finally had a draw fall their way.
But just when Georgetown’s Bridget Noon appeared to have control of the ball and momentum on her side, it popped right back into the stick of Dobbie, who released teammate Lauren Cohen for a breakaway score to restore Maryland’s six-goal advantage. The Terps held firm, and their first-half dominance proved to be enough in a 14-10 win at Georgetown.
“We’ve been practicing that a lot,” said Cohen, who had a team-high four goals — two in transition — and one assist. “I just read it really well. I cut down, they see me open, and it’s there.”
No. 3 Maryland (10-1) led 9-4 at halftime after a 6-1 first-half run full of unselfish goals set up by quick cuts and crisp passing in front of the Hoyas’ goal. Senior Krista Pellizzi (one goal, three assists) twice fed Casey Magor (three goals) and seven of the Terps’ first nine scores were assisted.
“Our offense, when we found our openings, looked really sharp at times,” said Terps coach Cathy Reese. “We were moving the ball quickly, finding the open people, and someone ended up being open and was able to score against a great goalie.”
Georgetown senior goalie Maggie Koch made six first-half saves, but the seventh-ranked Hoyas (6-4) trailed at halftime for the first time this season. The second stanza was a goal-for-goal affair due to strong individual efforts from Hoyas senior attacks Coco Stanwick (four goals, one assist) and Schuyler Sutton (two goals).
“It really came down to the first half,” said Hoyas head coach Ricky Fried, “They were getting some easy goals — to their credit — with their movement off ball. We looked we were chasing a little bit and reacting to what they were doing.”
Empty nets
» Maryland junior Dana Dobbie won the draw battle in the first half, 9-5, but the Hoyas toughened in the second half, in which each team won 6-of-12 draws.
» The Hoyas played without 2005 Big East defender of the year Chloe Asselin, who broke her ankle in a loss to North Carolina. Junior defender Karla Herrera (St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes) made her first career start.
» Maryland junior midfielder Kelly Kasper had a goal and an assist in each half, and Georgetown junior attack Zan Morley came off the bench to score two unassisted goals in the first half.
