WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite No. 24/23 Notre Dame holding an overall better run of possession and several solid scoring chances, including two shots that hit the crossbar or post, it was No. 11/14 Georgetown that made the most of its opportunities, scoring twice in the second half to take a 2-0 BIG EAST Conference victory over the Fighting Irish on a breezy Friday afternoon at North Kehoe Field in Washington, D.C.

The loss snapped Notre Dame’s eight-match unbeaten streak and dropped the Fighting Irish (10-4-2, 6-1-1) out of a first-place tie with Georgetown in the BIG EAST’s National Division with two matches remaining in the regular season. It also was Notre Dame’s fifth match against a ranked opponent this year, with the Fighting Irish earning a win and a draw in those five contests thus far.

GU (13-1-2, 7-0-1) broke the ice in the 50^th minute, as Colleen Dinn scored an unassisted goal. The Hoyas then got the critical second score with less than 17 minutes remaining, when Daphne Corboz re-directed a cross from short range for her nation-leading 16^th goal of the season.

Notre Dame’s best looks of the day were denied by the frame, first in the 26^th minute when junior midfielder/tri-captain Mandy Laddish (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Lee’s Summit) collected a short clearance off a corner kick and fired a right-footed volley from the top of the box that skimmed off the top of the crossbar.

In the 79^th minute, sophomore forward Lauren Bohaboy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) capped a dynamic passing sequence by the Fighting Irish in tight quarters at the edge of the offensive third, ripping a laser that beat GU goalkeeper Emma Newins, but clanged hard off the left post and then was covered by Newins.

Georgetown finished with an 11-7 edge in total shots, including a slim 4-3 advantage in shots on goal (the latter count not including the two Fighting Irish shots that clipped the woodwork). Notre Dame also had the better of chances from the corner flag with a 7-4 margin on corner kicks.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Voigt (Middleburg, Fla./St. John’s Country Day School) registered two saves in the Fighting Irish net, while Newins was credited with three saves to record the shutout in the Georgetown goal.

“I thought we looked pretty sharp in the first half, both in creating good chances and possessing offensively, and keeping Daphne (Corboz) in check,” Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum said. “Unfortunately, we showed our youth a little early in the second half and had a breakdown in the midfield on that first goal and good teams punish you when you make that kind of mistake. Once that happened, we had to decide if we were going to try and get that goal back with the way we were playing, or really go after it, and we chose the second option. In doing that, you run the risk of giving up a second goal, and that’s what happened. This was another good learning experience for us, and now we need to get refocused tonight and begin to look ahead to Sunday at Villanova.”

In a tightly-contested first half that saw just five combined shots, it was Notre Dame who had the better chances. In addition to Laddish’s shot, the Fighting Irish had another strong opportunity in the 38^th minute, as freshman midfielder Cari Roccaro (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) connected with her classmate and forward Anna Maria Gilbertson (Davis, Calif./Davis) on an overlapping run down the right side. Gilbertson then drove a cross back to Roccaro in the area, but she wasn’t able to get her body turned for a shot, instead playing back for Laddish, and the GU defense was able to recover before Notre Dame could get a shot off.

Georgetown’s first good scoring chance of the afternoon was all the hosts needed to grab the lead. The Hoyas picked off a square pass in midfield and played ahead for Kaitlin Brenn at the top center of the attacking third. The Fighting Irish backline looked like it had the run stopped, but the ball deflected out wide in the left channel to Dinn, who had time and space to push forward and then tee up a 15-yard left-footed shot that snuck inside the far right post past a diving Voigt (49:13).

With Notre Dame now being forced to chase the game a bit, Georgetown capitalized and doubled its lead, as Brenn patiently waited at the top of the box before swinging a pass wide on the left side of the area for Audra Ayotte, who in turn fed the ball to the top of the six-yard box. Corboz made a timely run and was able to sneak a foot in front of her defender, poking it home at 73:29.

Notre Dame will wind up its two-match East Coast road swing at noon (ET) Sunday contest when it takes on Villanova at the VU Soccer Stadium in Villanova, Pa.

For more information on the Notre Dame women’s soccer program, follow the Fighting Irish on Twitter (@NDSoccer and @NDsoccernews), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/NDWomenSoccer) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the main page at UND.com.

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POST-MATCH NOTES: Notre Dame has been either leading or tied at the half in 15 of its 16 matches this season (8-0 record when leading, 2-3-2 when tied) … the Fighting Irish have shared or held the upper hand in the corner kicks department in 13 matches (9-3-1 record); in their last seven matches, the Fighting Irish have earned a massive 52-23 edge in corner kicks … this was the fourth time this season Notre Dame has been shut out, but the first since the last Fighting Irish loss, a 3-0 verdict at No. RV/22 Washington on Sept. 9 … this was the first defeat suffered by Notre Dame since Laddish and Roccaro returned from Japan Sept. 14 after helping the United States win the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup title … the Fighting Irish fall to 16-3-1 all-time against Georgetown (6-2-1 in Washington, D.C.), with the Hoyas having won back-to-back series matches for the first time (following a 1-1 draw on the team’s previous matchup in the nation’s capital in 2010) … Georgetown was the fifth ranked opponent for Notre Dame this year, and first since the Washington match — the Fighting Irish are 1-3-1 against Top 25 teams this season, defeating No. 24/16 Santa Clara (2-1 on Aug. 31 at Alumni Stadium) and drawing at No. 19/18 Portland (1-1 on Sept. 7 at Merlo Field), with the other match against a ranked foe being a 1-0 loss to No. 19 North Carolina on Sept. 2 at Alumni Stadium.

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