Following a four-game losing streak, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (8-7-0 overall, 4-4-0 BE) hoped to climb out of the skid against two ranked opponents this past weekend. Georgetown faced visitors No. 22 Notre Dame (8-5-2 overall, 4-4-1 BE) and No. 15 Creighton (8-2-3 overall, 3-0-0 MVC) at home, splitting the pair of games.
“We dug ourselves a hole,” junior defender Tim Convey said. “We’re just trying to get out of that right now.”
On Saturday, the Hoyas pulled themselves back up by defeating the Fighting Irish 1-0. Injuries continued to slow the team, but the players gutted it out with a courageous performance.
“During a game like this you cannot worry about injuries and have to just go out there and play your game,” junior goalkeeper Andrew Keszler, who stepped up with six saves in the shutout, said.
Georgetown looked to its bench for key contributions to carry them through the contest. The defense worked together in the absence of a healthy senior defender Jeff Curtin. Junior midfielder Daniel Grasso came off the bench with the Hoyas’ best effort. Grasso led the team with three shots on goal and the game’s deciding score in the 33rd minute. After intercepting a Notre Dame pass, Grasso scored unassisted past the diving Irish keeper Chris Cahill. Grasso’s play earned him a place on the Big East Honor Roll.
“Our bench was something that had been lacking in the last couple weeks,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said. “The guys who came off the bench today gave us a huge lift.”
The Irish never quit fighting, especially in the second half when they controlled the time of possession. Notre Dame produced 14 shots to the Hoyas’ four in the second half. However, the Georgetown defense made the Irish struggle and preserved the 1-0 win.
“They didn’t give us a lot of easy chances,” Notre Dame’s Head Coach Bobby Clark said after the match. “I would have been happy with a few more clear-cut chances.”
Creighton, however, buried any progress Georgetown made against Notre Dame with a 6-0 stomping on Wednesday. The defeat was the Hoyas’ second 6-0 shutout at the hands of a ranked opponent.
The Bluejays set the tone early, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the contest and once more just seven seconds before the half. Creighton continued to shovel on the points in the second half, scoring three more times. Senior defender Matt Wieland scored for the first time this season tallying two goals, including one with a bicycle kick for the Jays.
Georgetown fired 16 shots, but struggled to maintain possession of the ball and construct an effective attack against the Bluejays’ defense. Creighton’s sophomore keepers Matt Allen and Zac Gibbens combined for the shutout, with Allen making a save on senior forward Ben Jefferson-Dow’s lone shot on goal for the Hoyas.
The Hoya’s Big East win against Notre Dame placed them at fourth in the Blue Division with three more conference games. Georgetown begins this stretch by traveling to Marquette (5-7-1 overall, 1-4-1 BE) on Saturday.
