November Madness does not have the same ring to it as March Madness, and no one has ever really thought about the concept. I’m not talking about Georgetown’s most popular sport, basketball. This month, soccer rules the Hilltop: for the first time ever in the same year, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams are in the NCAA tournament.
When they beat Siena 5-1 on Nov. 12, the Georgetown women’s soccer team won its first postseason game in program history. In an even more impressive feat, they made it to the Sweet 16 by beating local juggernaut University of Maryland on their own turf. The Hoyas came out on top after the game was decided by penalty kicks. The instant classic was only the program’s second appearance in the 64-team tournament.
It’s safe to say that after the win, no one scrambled to check their brackets to see if they had predicted the upset, but it should have made some noise on campus. March Madness can never be duplicated—the Cinderellas, the buzzer-beaters, the non-stop action on the first weekend—everything just works. The construction of the tournament leaves just enough room for the Davids and the Goliaths and gives us games for weeks. It’s perfect.
But Hoya fans haven’t had a lot to cheer about in the last three years. While the NCAA soccer tournaments will not heal all wounds, it could provide a lot of excitement. Why wait until March when there is something almost as good going on right now?
Today, the men’s soccer team kicks off their journey in the first round against UNC Greensboro. It is the third time in the program’s history that they have earned an NCAA Tournament berth and the first since 1997. The team is looking for redemption after they were eliminated in their first game of the Big East Tournament by Providence.
The loss was a disappointment, considering the success the team had in the regular season, which included a nine-game winning streak. They are also looking for revenge on the Spartans, who have always had Georgetown’s number and beat them in all three of their previous matchups. If the Hoyas can get through the first round, it doesn’t get any easier—No. 2 North Carolina is waiting in the wings.
Luckily for the die-hard sports fan, there is still time to fill out a bracket for the tournament. But don’t count on ESPN—you’ll have to make your own. Soccer still hasn’t reached the level of basketball, for which “bracketologist” is an actual job title at ESPN. But after this summer’s World Cup, it is apparent that soccer does have a place in American sports. People are willing to support a team they can relate to, like their national squad. Similarly, students shouldn’t find it difficult to get behind their school, especially when they are competing for national recognition on a level they rarely attain.
The excitement level on campus isn’t as high as it was before March Madness last year, but with every step each soccer team takes toward the College Cup—Soccer’s version of the Final Four—November will get a little crazier. Who knows—if either of the squads make the College Cup, which is scheduled for the beginning of next month, we might have some December Madness on our hands.
