Upon arriving at Georgetown’s campus one thing is immediately clear: this place has history. From the imposing statue of John Carroll to the incredible images on the walls of Gaston Hall, it’s plain that staff and students alike value the historical identity of the Hilltop.
But that’s not to say new chapters in the chronicle of Georgetown aren’t welcome to be penned. Thankfully, the Georgetown men’s soccer squad (18-3-2) was more than willing to take up authorship.
The No. 3 seeded Hoyas downed the Syracuse University Orange (14-6-1) 4-2 on penalty kicks after battling their opponents to a 1-1 stalemate. This win ensures the continuation of a journey in the NCAA Tournament for the squad, which will play in the Elite Eight for the first time in the program’s history.
“I think there are a lot of things to it. I think the fact that we didn’t have Tommy Muller playing was huge,” said Head Coach Brian Weise of his team’s performance. “That was a game-time decision. You walk into the game saying to yourself ‘it’s on’ of these two lineups. The guys didn’t know and I think they stepped up and did a great job.“
The game began brightly for Georgetown, as freshman forward Brandon Allen got his first look in on goal, shooting high. The 20 minutes following that chance were fairly uneventful for the Blue and Gray; both Syracuse and Georgetown won free kicks and fouls, but neither squad really threatened the other’s net.
The team’s season started to look like it might be coming to an end in the 29th minute of the game, when Syracuse’s Jordan Murrell served up a long free kick right to Orange midfielder Jordan Vale. The ball would find its way into the top left corner of the Georgetown goal, and the first half ended 1-0, Orange.
The second half brought better fortunes for the Hoyas as they seemed to grow into their style of play. The Blue and Gray outshot Syracuse 21-5, and took nine corner kicks to the Orange’s three.
As the game entered its final stages, the season seemed all but over for Georgetown, until a scuffle for the ball in front of the Syracuse net made an instant hero out of Allen. Georgetown tied the game 1-1 in the 85th minute.
During extra time, the Hoyas seemed to further fall into the rhythm of the game.
“In the NCAA tournament in the end of a game, when you’re losing, it’s really easy to change who you are,” Coach Weise said. “When one sees single digits on that clock, a lot of players would have just started panicking… If you had watched that game and had not known the circumstances, you still would’ve recognized our style of play. The guys were almost agonizingly calm.”
Extra time finished and the game went into penalties. Soccer fans know that penalty kicks are an excruciatingly nerve-wracking way to decide a game. However, sophomore goalkeeper Tomas Gomez was thankful to hear that whistle blow.
“For me I was kind of happy that the game went to [penalty kicks]. In overtime you can get on the wrong side of the result,” said Gomez. “If they score, the game is over and the season is over. I knew that if we went to PKs we could pull it out. I was hoping just to make one save. They missed wide and we made all of our PKs so everything turned out for the best.”
Syracuse missed its first penalty kick, blazing a shot wide of the goal. They followed up the miss with two well-struck balls that Gomez could do nothing about. Georgetown would bury their four penalties; a surprising result for a team that missed all three of the penalties awarded to them this season. On the Orange’s fourth kick, Gomez would come up with a huge save and seal the game for the Hoyas.
Georgetown will now face the San Diego Toreros (14-8-0) at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Toreros defeated Tulsa in the Sweet Sixteen 2-1 and will be looking to build on their strong performances in the tournament so far.
“At this stage in the tournament, there’s not one team that you get a warm and fuzzy feeling about facing,” Weise said. “San Diego has some real threats and weapons. They have players who are playing well and who can make plays…this is the team that we’re dealing with. They’ve gone to three away sites and won. They’re not going to come here and be afraid of us.”
