After an intense and physical game, one that saw over 100 total fouls called, the Georgetown Hoyas fought back to defeat the Bobcats in overtime. The win marked the Hoyas’ first Big East win of the season and their first since Oct. 2021.
The Bobcats, who were looking for their first win since Sept. 15 against Merrimack, started the contest off hot. Just 2:26 into the game, junior forward Cameron Brower tipped the ball into the goal to give her team the early 1-0 lead.
“I’m very proud of her,” head coach Nina Klein said. “She’s a great leader…I did see she was very confident today and it was good to see her get a goal for us.”
With Brower’s second goal of the season, Quinnipiac held the lead for the rest of the first half.
The physicality from both teams was imminent as Quinnipiac was awarded 13 penalty corners as opposed to Georgetown’s four.
“We just had to take some deep breaths,” Klein said on dealing with the physical pressure. “It was getting a bit chippy at times, so we were just trying to reset the play and consistently play to the game plan.”
As Quinnipiac continued to stifle the visitors, the fan section came alive. Members from the men’s ice hockey team and the women’s rugby team began to chant and pound their knees, reminiscent of “We Will Rock You.”
After the scoreboard roared to signal the start of the second half, the Hoyas came out with a different mentality. Georgetown began to control the neutral zone and deflect Quinnipiac’s scoring opportunities.
“We were struggling in the second half,” Klein said. “I thought we came out pretty strong, but then the possession game kind of got away from us.”
Just under five minutes into the second half, the Hoyas found the 1-1 equalizer. Freshman forward Riley Fitzgerald perfectly deflected a laser beam pass from sophomore midfielder Elena Perez Alejandro into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal.
Men’s ice hockey once again attempted to swing the momentum in favor of the Bobcats, singing a rendition of “Sweet Caroline.”
Though she didn’t see much action in the first three quarters, junior goalkeeper Cristina Torres was on her toes in the fourth. Georgetown outshot Quinnipiac four to one in the fourth quarter and forced Torres to make three crucial saves.
One of these saves came on a penalty shot with about eight minutes left in the regulation. Torres faced down Georgetown’s sophomore midfielder Izzy Lee. Lee attempted to go bottom right corner, but Torres read it all the way and threw her legs out to her left, making a clutch save to keep her team alive.
With 2:42 remaining in regulation, it seemed like the Hoyas would win. Junior midfielder Sydney Yodh whistled the ball into the middle and senior midfielder Elena Leahy tipped it past Torres. The Hoyas celebrated the goal, but it was short-lived. The officials gathered and decided the goal would not stand, and the game moved into overtime.
The first of two ten minute sudden-death periods began, and it didn’t take long for Georgetown to correct themselves. Alejandro found a bouncing ball and carefully placed it into the net to give the Hoyas a much-needed victory.
The Bobcats will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they take on Lehigh at home in Hamden.
