Last weekend, the Georgetown men’s soccer team took to the pitch for two matchups against Ivy League opponents. Despite their tough play, the Hoyas emerged from the Ivy-clad gauntlet winless.
The Hoyas opened the weekend with a Friday night matchup in the Garden State against the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers came out with tons of energy and jumped on Georgetown early, creating numerous chances and forcing senior goalkeeper Matthew Brutto off his line multiple times.
Georgetown couldn’t hang on, however, and a defensive miscue in the 27th minute led to an easy Princeton goal. The half ended with the Hoyas trailing 1-0.
“They were given a goal without earning it,” head coach Brian Wiese said. “The first half was one-way traffic in our favor.”
After a Princeton shot rang off the post to open the half, the Hoyas were able to equalize the score with a strike from senior standout Seth C’deBaca.
The goal shifted the momentum of the game, and Georgetown opened the floodgates with an offensive onslaught. The Tigers’ goalkeeper was up to the task, turning away multiple shots, including a breakaway from sophomore midfielder Andy Reimer. Regulation time ended with the sides deadlocked at one.
Both teams had tired legs in the overtime periods and no real opportunities developed. The game ended in a stalemate. Despite not getting the win, Georgetown dominated the stats. They outshot the Tigers 21-14 and were awarded nine corner kicks to Princeton’s one.
“We’re very disappointed with the tie,” senior captain Jose Colchao said. “We ran that game. … It was all us.”
Georgetown returned home Sunday afternoon to face 22nd-ranked University of Pennsylvania, the team coached by Georgetown soccer alumnus Rudy Fuller (MSB ‘93). They got off to a hot start, scoring the game’s opening goal in the 10th minute. Sophomore defender Tommy Muller connected with a header off a C’deBaca corner kick, depositing the ball into the left corner of the net.
It was clear, however, that the Quakers were on the verge of a breakthrough, and after going into the half down, they were able to capitalize off a deflection in the 52nd minute.
UPenn added two more goals in the second half to put the game out of reach, handing the Hoyas a 3-1 loss.
“We didn’t come out and close the game out like we did against Michigan State,” Wiese said. “We stopped working for each other and we looked tired.”
The Hoyas need to regroup during this week of practice before beginning Big East play this weekend. Wiese’s challenge is in getting his team to play at its full potential for the entire game.
“We’ve proven we can perform against great teams and be scary good,” Weise said. “The question is if we can be scary good for 90 minutes.”
The Hoyas look to scare the Bearcats of Cincinnati in Ohio on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
