For most of this year, the No. 8 Georgetown men’s soccer team (9-2-1, 2-0-1 Big East) has struggled to find an identity. Between an ever-changing back line, a lack of team understanding, and the integration of freshmen into the starting line up, Head Coach Brian Wiese has been trying to find how the puzzle fits together. After the Hoyas’ 8-0 drubbing of the Seton Hall Pirates in an intriguing Big East matchup, it looks as if everything is finally falling into place.
“I thought we did a really good job in possession,” Wiese said. “I thought our midfielders were keeping it well. I thought [senior midfielder] Stevie [Neumann] was finding it and doing good things with it and it was just another game and the next one’s gonna start 0-0. You don’t start with an 8-0 lead against Providence.”
While Wiese remains grounded in his approach to the rest of the upcoming season, his team has every right to be excited about the show they put on for fans at Shaw last Saturday. Team captain Steve Neumann should be especially happy with his performance as he led the Hoya charge from the front scoring a hat trick and his 100th career point as a Georgetown Hoya, the fourth player in the history of the soccer program to do so.
“Obviously, it’s a big honor. We’ve had a lot of guys get impressive point tallies throughout the years at Georgetown, and it’s an honor to be in that category and it’s a testament to how good the program’s gotten,” Neumann said. “Over the past couple years, for it to provide for me those chances, it’s a great honor.”
The Hoyas began the game brightly. The first goal sailed into the net in the 11th minute thanks to an own goal by a Seton Hall player. Junior midfielder Tom Skelly received the ball from Neumann and fired across the box onto the foot of the unfortunate pirate to make it 1-0 Hoyas.
The Hoyas combined beautifully for their second goal only a minute later. Sophomore defender Keegan Rosenberry sent a cross into the box to freshman forward Alex Muyl. He, in turn, crossed the ball back to Neumann at the other end of the box where he put the ball in. Muyl would get involved again in the 23rd minute when a corner found the head of junior midfielder Tyler Rudy, the foot of Muyl, and then the back of the net.
Freshman forward Brett Campbell scored his first goal from a corner kick by Neumann to make the score 4-0 for the Hoyas. In the 43rd minute, Neumann and junior midfielder Austin Martz combined to give Neumann his second goal of the game. The Hoyas went into the break up 5-0.
The Hoyas have struggled to get on the board this year, but worry lines left Wiese’s face as he reflected on the chances Georgetown created. “Today we played how we train and it was very good and we created a ton of chances. I think we match up well with Seton Hall,” Wiese said. “With how we play and how they play, it’s always been hard for Seton Hall to play us. And today the goals just came in.”
After the break, a Neumann penalty kick and a double from sophomore forward Brandon Allen ensured the score ended at 8-0. At the the final whistle, Neumann recorded his second career hat trick, and the Hoyas left Shaw Field with their heads held high.
“We did a lot of things right,” Allen said. “I thought we held up the ball well, great combinations out wide, and we made everything happen. We found the net when we had chances.”
After a 0-0 tie against Creighton over Homecoming weekend, the Hoyas are looking to improve on their conference record. Georgetown is slated to play a tough game against Xavier this Saturday and Coach Wiese isn’t taking any team lightly.
“It’s really hard. We have maybe the hardest stretch of our season coming up with at Providence and at Xavier,” Wiese said. “Providence is having a very good year and playing them at home is never an easy task for us to get results. And Xavier has probably underachieved in terms of results for how good they are.”
The Hoyas stepped up to the challenge on Wednesday, defeating Providence (7-2-2, 2-1-0 Big East) 1-0 in a tightly contested match. Freshman Bakie Goodman provided the game-winner in the 69th minute off of a cross junior midfielder Tyler Rudy.
Georgetown will play the last leg of their two game roadtrip this Saturday in Cincinnati against Xavier (5-5-2, 1-2-0 Big East) at 7p.m.
