The better team doesn’t always win, and unfortunately for the Georgetown men’s soccer team, that was true Wednesday afternoon against Notre Dame. The Hoyas (8-6-1, 5-4-0 Big East) lost a heartbreaker after outplaying and outshooting the Irish for the majority of the game.
Regulation wasn’t enough to decide the match, and Notre Dame scored seven minutes into the first overtime for a 2-1 victory.
“It hurts real bad,” junior midfielder Seth C’deBaca said. “We needed this win really badly, and we all thought we fought hard. We all thought we played well, and so to come out with nothing, especially after outplaying a good team like Notre Dame like that, it definitely hurts.”
After going down 1-0 in the first half, the Hoyas came out of halftime firing and maintained their up-tempo play throughout the second half. Their hard work was rewarded about five minutes into the period, when senior Scott Larrabee headed a beautiful cross from freshman Jimmy Nealis into the back of the net.
Nealis, still learning the ins and outs of the collegiate game, has been a huge help for the Hoyas this season, providing energy whether coming off the bench or starting.
“He always plays well,” C’deBaca said. “It’s always nice to have him come off the bench and give us a spark because he’s fast and he can beat people. Whenever he’s on the field, he’s creating chances.”
The Hoya assault didn’t let up then, as more players crashed the net looking for opportunities to send the Irish home empty handed. A total of seven different players combined to put the ball on goal five more times than the Irish, but for one reason or another, the ball just didn’t go in.
In the end, Georgetown ran out of energy. Notre Dame controlled the final minutes of regulation and rode that momentum into overtime. The Hoyas were forced into a tough spot when they were forced to resort to their third goalie, sophomore Erik Garciamendez, in overtime because a knee injury put starter Matt Brutto on the bench, and backup Mark Wilber was out with a concussion.
Garciamendez couldn’t have been put in a more difficult situation for his Georgetown debut, and to make matters worse, the setting sun was glaring in his eyes. Notre Dame junior Bilal Duckett shot a laser from 25 yards out that barely passed Garciamendez’s outstretched arms for the win.
“It was not his fault, the guy had time to shoot it,” senior captain Mark Zeman said. “It’s tough to come in when he hasn’t played a minute yet of his college career and it’s really tough, especially with the sun in his eyes.”
The Hoyas did not want to make any excuses, but it didn’t help that many players were forced to the bench because of injury. Joining the two injured goalkeepers were freshman starter Ian Christianson, who is out with a bad knee, and classmate Tommy Muller, who is recovering from a concussion. Junior forward Jose Colchao, who always makes defenders work hard, had to come out of the game because of bad leg cramps.
“I’m proud of the performance, but at the end of the day, no one’s going to look back and say, ‘Hey that Notre Dame game you guys played great, so let’s give you some extra bonus points for that,’” head coach Brian Wiese said.
As much as this loss may sting, the Hoyas can’t let it affect them for long, because this Saturday they must travel to Morgantown to face a talented West Virginia team. With three games left in the regular season, Georgetown hopes it has saved its best for last.
