D’Ambrisi, Wells Lead Georgetown Past James Madison, 2-0

September 9, 2011

WASHINGTON – Senior midfielder Kelly D’Ambrisi (Trumbull, Conn./Lauralton Hall Academy) scored one goal and had an assist as the Georgetown University women’s soccer team beat James Madison, 2-1, under the lights at the Multi-Sport Field on Friday night.

It was the second-straight win for the Hoyas, who improve to 5-2-0 overall, while James Madison falls to 3-2-1.

D’Ambrisi scored an unassisted goal in the 23rd minute as the Blue & Gray took a 1-0 lead at intermission and she assisted redshirt senior midfielder Ingrid Wells (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) on a goal in the 73rd minute to seal the win.

“I thought it was a fair result,” Head Coach Dave Nolan said. “I thought we played well and I thought that we were comprehensively the better team. I never really felt they gave us much trouble other than, if they were going to score, it was going to be off a set-piece. In the first half, I thought we dominated possession without looking really as dangerous as we should.

“We talked about a couple of things at halftime and we did a better job of that in the second half. Eventually we wore them down also because they were chasing the ball a lot.”

After several chances in the first 20 minutes, Georgetown broke through in the 23rd minute. A shot from sophomore forward Kaitlin Brenn (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) was blocked in the 22nd minute, resulting in a throw-in. The throw from senior Samantha Baker (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) went to the near post and sophomore defender Mary Kroening (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) flicked it toward the goal. After a scramble in front of the net, D’Ambrisi corralled the ball and put it past JMU goalkeeper Kate Courter at 23:14, giving the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.

The Hoyas had controlled play through the early portions of the game, playing aggressively from the outset. In the third minute, freshman Daphne Corboz (Greenbrook, N.J./Watchung Hills) missed connecting on a cross to senior Camille Trujillo (Albuquerque, N.M./St. Pius X), who was coming through the box. About six minutes later, a shot from Trujillo from about 12 yards out was blocked.

In the 30th minute, Baker served a ball to Brenn, but a defender knocked ball out of bounds. On the ensuing throw-in from Baker, Kroening got a head on the ball, but it was punched away by Courter. In the 45th minute, freshman Jessica Clinton (Avon, Mass./Thayer Academy) sent a ball through the box off a corner to Vanessa Skrumbis (Encino, Calif./Sierra Canyon), whose shot went just wide.

The Dukes had a couple of opportunities in the 17th minute, but a chance was cleared by sophomore defender Emily Menges (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City). James Madison’s first real opportunity came off a free kick in the 36th minute from Becky Sparks from 40 yards out that was saved by senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Hanna (Waxhaw, N.C./Weddington).

Georgetown controlled play during the first 10 minutes of the second half, with play entirely in the North end of the field after a series of four corner kicks from Wells resulting in four shots, all of which were off the mark.

It wasn’t until the 72nd minute when the Hoyas would add the second goal, with Corboz playing a ball to D’Ambrisi, who threaded a ball to Wells at the six-yard line. Wells took control of the ball and was able to get a shot off before she was taken down. The ball hit the far post and bounced in toward the near post, giving GU a 2-0 lead at 72:38.

Georgetown out-shot JMU, 16-3, and held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

The Hoyas close out their two-game homestand on Sunday, Sept. 11, hosting St. Francis (Pa.). Kickoff at North Kehoe Field is slated for 1 p.m.