Goal from Adams lifts Georgetown women past Virginia Tech, 3-2, in overtime for NCAA Tournament first round win

Freshman midfielder Sarah Adams (San Diego, Calif./Westview) took a feed from sophomore forward Jessica Clinton (Avon, Mass./Thayer Academy) and scored in the 94th minute, lifting the Georgetown University women’s soccer team to a 3-2 overtime win over Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Blacksburg, Va.

The win advances Georgetown to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Hoyas are now 16-3-3 overall, while Virginia Tech finishes its season with a 13-6-1 record. GU will play Baylor on Friday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. at the University of North Carolina.

“Once you get into overtime, it’s gonna come down to a big play or a bad mistake,” Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “It just takes someone having the goods to make a play, and they had a couple of good plays. We got a quality ball into the box, and [Sarah Adams] just took a chance to go for it. The ball could have gone anywhere, but it was a great finish and we were happy to see it go in.”

The Hoyas started the first half with an early goal to go up 1-0 three minutes into the game. Sophomore midfielder Daphne Corboz (Green Brook, N.J./Watchung Hills) sent a cross into the 18-yard box and Colleen Dinn (Kensington, Md./Holy Cross) connected on it about 10 yards out to the lower right corner.

Back-and-forth play continued for the next 30 minutes. Tech received its first chance to put a point on the board in the 27th minute with a Katie Yensen shot that went high. The Hokies took two shots and a corner before notching their first goal. Kelsey Loupee took a free kick about 35 yards out and found Ashley Meier, who headed it into the far corner to tie the game at one with five minutes left in the half.

Georgetown responded with a shot by Marina Paul (Alisa Viejo, Calif./Laguna Beach), but the midfielder sent it high. Tech got the ball back two minutes later and Anne Lumpkin fed a racing Jazmine Reeves down field who connected on a low shot to the opposite corner at the 43:34 mark.

The two teams went into the break with the Hokies up 2-1. The Hoyas out shot Tech 6-5, while the Hokies took the 2-1 corner advantage in the first. Tech’s goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts stopped three Georgetown shots, while Emma Newins (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) notched one save for the Hoyas in the first 45 minutes of play.

Both teams came out of the break trying to create opportunities. Georgetown took the first shot of the half three minutes in, but Colpitts was there to make the stop. The Hokies responded with two from Mayrose in the 50th minute, but both went wide.

At the 65:58 mark, Meier took the ball up field and gave Tech the next opportunity to increase its lead. The midfielder dished the ball to Mayrose who beat the defender and went one on one with the keeper and fired a hard shot but Newins was there to make the grab.

The Hoyas tied the score at two in the 78th minute. Junior defender Mary Kroening (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) fed the ball from the right sideline, close to the five-yard box and junior forward Kaitlin Brenn (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) jumped up and headed it in over Colpitts’ head.

The extra period started with a Tech corner kick but the ball was quickly cleared out by the Hoyas. Less than two minutes later Georgetown moved the ball down field and Clinton crossed it from the left side to Adams, who lifted the ball over Colpitts and into the back of the goal.

Georgetown outshot the Hokies just 10-9 in the game, but Tech took the 5-1 edge in corners. Colpitts finished the game with five saves, while Newins made two saves for the Hoyas.