Fresh off of their first victory of the season, the No. 25 Georgetown men’s soccer team (1-2-1, Big East) will play host to the Radford Highlanders (5-0-2, Big East) on Saturday at Shaw Field at 1 p.m.
Following a tough start to their 2015 campaign that included narrow losses at the hands of USF and Akron, the Hoyas were able to bounce back and defeat the No. 1 UCLA Bruins (1-2-0) by a final tally of 3-1 in the chippy, Labor Day contest.
“I feel a lot of relief,” said Head Coach Brian Wiese after Monday’s victory. “To be honest, this is probably the most talented team that I’ve ever had, and we’re off to the worst start that I’ve ever had. We haven’t had a fully healthy group since preseason ended.”
Within the past few weeks, the Hoyas have been ravaged by a slew of injuries, including a hamstring pull that has sidelined All-American junior defender Joshua Yaro and an ankle injury that has slowed senior centerback Cole Seiler. Though Yaro missed the match against the Bruins and Seiler was initially considered unlikely to play, the Hoyas put together their strongest 90-minute showing against the highest-ranked team in the nation, and will have had four full rest days before hosting Radford on Saturday.
“Matt Kingsbury, our athletic trainer– I need to take him out for dinner or something,” Wiese said. “I think having a little bit of time off and just the one game this weekend will be wonderful for us.”
After starting their season with a scoring drought of more than 300 minutes, the Hoyas’ offense had great success against UCLA by turning defensive build-up play into chances on goal and slotting three clinical finishes into the back of the net. Georgetown received attacking help in the form of two goals from junior striker Brett Campbell and one goal from sophomore midfielder Arun Basuljevic. The striking duo of junior Alex Muyl and senior Brandon Allen wreaked havoc in the attacking third, combining for three assists and helping create space and chances for the Hoyas in and around the penalty box.
With injuries forcing Wiese to experiment with various lineups and tactical changes, the coach is thankful that he’s got such depth on his roster.
“I have hard decisions every game for who’s playing and when because we’ve got so many talented kids who we still aren’t selecting,” said Wiese.
Due to the aforementioned talent, the Hilltop has been buzzing about the prospects for this year’s team. In two consecutive home games, the Hoyas have broken student attendance records, with 933 students coming to Shaw Field to cheer on the Blue and Gray against UCLA on Monday.
“That rivaled any crowd we’ve ever had here,” said Wiese. “When things start going well, the crowd starts getting into it and we start pushing. It was special for the guys and we were really proud to be a part of Georgetown soccer today. It was really awesome.”
The Hoyas hope that students and supporters are out in full force for Saturday’s contest, which will pit them against the undefeated Radford Highlanders. Fresh off their 3-1 defeat of Howard last week, the Highlanders will face their first nationally-ranked team when they travel to the Hilltop on Saturday.
