The Georgetown men’s soccer team is back in the playoffs after winning two matches in a row and four of five. The Hoyas notched their third victory in four matches by defeating Pittsburgh 2-0 on Saturday. After a loss to Pitt (2-13-2, 0-9-1 BE) doomed them to an early off-season in 2006, Georgetown (6-10, 4-5 BE) returned the favor in 2007, downing the Panthers in front of the 1997 Hoyas NCAA tournament team, which was back for Goals Unlimited Alumni Weekend.
“It’s nice to be mathematically in there,” Head Coach Brian Weise said of the postseason berth. “We tried to sell it to the guys that we were in already even though you’re not. We try to get the guys to play relaxed so there wasn’t added pressure.”
In a physical game on the muddy North Kehoe field courtesy of last week’s rainstorms, the Hoyas were constantly on the attack. The Blue and Gray kept Pitt junior goalkeeper Jordan Marks busy all day, out-shooting the Panthers 17-8 with 10 shots on goal for the match. One of the Hoyas’ best chances came in the 70th minute when sophomore midfielder Scott Larrabee’s volley off senior forward Mike Glaccum’s cross from the right was stopped by Marks, who saved 8 of 10 in the loss.
The big strike finally came in the 79th minute when freshman midfielder Ibukun Otegbeye played the ball into the middle of the box. Junior Sean Bellomy’s header sailed over the reach of Marks, and gave the Hoyas the lead.
Ten minutes later, Bellomy, named to the Big East Conference honor roll for the week, notched his second goal of the game and third of the season (and week) on a blast from the middle of the box to the left side of the net. He was assisted by freshman forward Chandler Diggs and freshman midfielder Robert Burnett.
“Last year Pitt put us out of the tournament and this year we were coming for them,” Bellomy said.
Freshman keeper Matthew Brutto made his seventh start and gained his third shutout of the season for Georgetown on a day in which Pitt made no shots on goal.
“We’ve been in almost every game and at some point either don’t make a play to score and don’t make a defensive play,” Pitt Head Coach Joe Luxbacher said. “We didn’t play poorly. We had opportunities. To win you have to capitalize on those.”
On Wednesday, Seton Hall was the next victim in the Hoyas’ path. The Pirates struck first in the 19th minute when freshman midfielder Brayan Martinez took the pass from junior forward Eliseo Giusfredi and got his fourth goal of the season past Georgetown’s Brutto from twenty yards out. Within seven minutes, though, the Hoyas had an answer in the form of an Alex Verdi strike from the middle off a free kick by sophomore midfielder Scott Larrabee. It was the freshman midfielder’s first tally of the year.
In the 60th minute, junior midfielder Conor Neusel took a long pass to center from Seth C’deBaca and found the right side of the net for the game-winner and his first score of the year.
Brutto again held tough in his eighth start, making two key saves late in the match and stopping four in total. His counterpart Sean Carr saved four in the Hall’s loss. Martinez had seven attempts for his side, but the Hoyas out-shot the Pirates 18-17 and held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.
After a lackluster offensive start to the season, Georgetown has scored nine goals in the past five matches, of which they have won an impressive four.
“I think we’re starting to get a lot better team chemistry,” said C’deBaca after the Pitt match. His teammate Bellomy agreed. “We are really starting to come together as a team.”
They will host No. 9 Notre Dame in the regular season finale this Saturday at noon on North Kehoe.
