With their win last Saturday against the University of San Diego (14-9-0) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, the 2012 Georgetown men’s soccer team (19-3-2) has written themselves into the Georgetown sports lore. All that remains is their trip to Alabama for their first NCAA College Cup. Although the Hoyas have never ventured this deep into the postseason before, Head Coach Brian Wiese believes their arduous regular season schedule has prepared them for the challenges of the playoffs.
“This is the advantage of playing in the Big East,” said Wiese. “If we weren’t in this conference, you might see a group that is thinking about what it’s getting into. The funny thing is, despite being the first soccer team to go to a College Cup, this group feels about as seasoned as seasoned can be.”
The team’s maturity showed early in the game against USD and continued throughout. Neither team was able to clearly grasp momentum in the opening stages of the match, but the Hoya underclassmen made their presence known. Freshman forward Brandon Allen and freshman midfielder Cole Seiler both put in admirable performances from the kickoff. Allen created a few opportunities, while Seiler made key interceptions to deny the Toreros several shots on goal.
The half ended scoreless as both Georgetown and USD fought back and forth to break the deadlock. With the number of chances being created, it was completely reasonable that fans expected a few goals in the match. The Hoyas would not disappoint.
After USD scored the game’s first goal, the Hoyas immediately responded with the equalizer. From there the game belonged to Georgetown as they began to settle into their rhythm. Senior forward Andy Reimer put the game out of reach with his effort in the 88th minute of the second half. Reimer’s initial shot bounced off the post but would find its way back to his foot. He then chipped the ball over both a defender and the keeper to put the final nail in the coffin.
Reimer later said, “I thought it was going to hit the post and go in so I was going to follow it into the goal. Luckily it bounced right back to me and I decided to just finish it. When that happens, you can’t really think of anything. I just let my instincts take over and tried to keep as calm as possible.”
As the game finished 3-1 in favor of Georgetown, the attention of the Hoya coaching staff shifted over to College Park, Md. where the University of Maryland (20-1-2) and the University of Louisville (14-5-1) were playing to decide who would meet the Hoyas in the Cup.
Maryland had appeared in 11 College Cups before their game against Louisville. This particular match held special significance for UMD, as it was the Cardinals who ended the Terps’ 2011 postseason run. Maryland put three goals on the board to get the win and advance to their 12th College Cup.
The Terps and the Hoyas are slated to meet on the pitch in Hoover, Ala. this Friday at 5:00 p.m. The last time the Terps faced the Hoyas in competitive play, they edged out the Hoyas 2-1.
Junior forward Steve Neumann echoed his coach’s confidence when asked about Maryland. “They’ve gotten a lot of press this year being one of the top five teams in the nation,” he said. “They’re obviously talented, they’re deep, they’re athletic. It’ll be another good test for us, but I think our Big East play has definitely prepared us for this.”
