The Georgetown men’s soccer team (4-2-1) may have gotten knocked down, but they got up again this past weekend. Facing hostile crowds at both away games, Georgetown managed to split the weekend, losing to St. John’s on Friday but defeating Syracuse on Sunday.
Luckily for the Hoyas, they will get to play conference rivals Villanova and Rutgers in front of their home crowd. The atmosphere should be particularly energetic because of Homecoming this weekend.
The unwelcoming fans this past weekend wasn’t the only thing holding the Hoyas back. About half the team was sick, which kept some from reaching their full potential, and forced others to stay off the field entirely.
Facing the Red Storm always makes for a tough match, and unfortunately for the Hoyas, they fell short when St. John’s scored two goals in the final ten minutes.
“I thought we played really well, but I think we did run out of legs, and you could see it with the guys who were sick,” head coach Brian Wiese said. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t get a result from it, but that [kind of] soccer from a good team on the road is just tough.”
After the exhausting loss, the team couldn’t sit around feeling sorry for themselves, as they had to get right back on the bus and prepare for a difficult road match against rival Syracuse. Georgetown needed someone to step up, and three freshmen made the biggest impact. Freshmen Jimmy Nealis and Tommy Muller helped shore up the defense as senior Mark Zeman went down with a head injury, and junior Ibu Otegbeye was unable to make the trip. On the frontline, freshman Andy Riemer’s energy gave the Hoyas new life in the second half, scoring a brilliant goal to seal the game.
“I just ran and good things usually happen when I run or anyone runs. We ended up getting another goal and it was a good 2-0 win,” Riemer said.
Coming into another weekend of Big East matchups, the Hoyas are healthy and ready to show the league who they truly are.
“These are two games that are as much rival games for us as any in the league, because we play Villanova and Rutgers this weekend every single year,” Wiese said. “I don’t think we’ve had a game against these two opponents in the last few years that weren’t one goal games.”
The Hoyas definitely have their work cut out for them. Rutgers is one of two unbeaten teams left in the Big East, and Villanova is always a tough matchup for Georgetown in any sport.
Look for the Georgetown soccer team to rebound from a tough weekend with the support of the Homecoming crowds.
The Hoyas face Villanova at 4 p.m. on Friday and Rutgers at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Both games are at North Kehoe Field.
