Three games into the 2015 season, the prospects for the Georgetown men’s soccer team (9-2-2, 5-0-0 Big East) looked bleak. After entering the season ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation, a seemingly promising season suddenly had its doubts. A three-game winless streak in which the team lost to South Florida and Akron, and drew Florida Gulf Coast, saw the team fail to score a single goal. And with No. 1 UCLA visiting Shaw Field for the next game, it seemed as though the storm would not let up.
But despite their slow start, the Hoyas remained confident. The goalless streak ended as did the Hoyas’ winless streak, when they downed No. 1 UCLA by a score of 3-1 in front of nearly 3,000 rabid fans at Shaw Field. Since that Sept. 7th victory, the team has accumulated a ten-game undefeated streak, which includes a stretch of four-straight victories over ranked opponents (Maryland, Providence, Xavier, and Butler, respectively).
Georgetown junior attacker Alex Muyl cited the team’s experience as a key factor n the team’s unbeaten run.
“We have a lot of seniors and older guys who make sure that everyone comes in each day and keeps the right mentality,” said Muyl. “If we go into a game and don’t play hard enough, (a loss) can happen. Our mentality comes from the strength of the seniors.”
Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese attributed much of the success to the mental development of the team.
“The players have to solve little problems and challenges and make adjustments. They need to be really good at taking what the opponent is giving us,” said Wiese. “ I think this team has really evolved a lot throughout the season and become much, much better at recognizing what the opportunities are. (adventurelandri.com) ”
The return of multiple key players from injury has also tremendously helped the team. Senior defenseman Josh Turnley and junior defender Joshua Yaro have provided the back four with consistency and experience, which has been key in the recent Hoya run. With Turnley and Yaro both in the starting lineup, the team has allowed just two goals in the past seven games, a stretch which includes five straight shutouts.
Yet despite the recent success, the Blue and Gray are well aware that they have much more to accomplish. Yaro noted that the team could not afford to let up at this point in the season.
“Our focus is not just a game or two. We are looking ahead, asking how can we be a better team than we were last week?” said Yaro. “Even though we’ve had a lot of success, that should not keep us from working extra hard. All the best teams out there are doing well…and we know how hard as a team we have to work to beat the best teams in the country.”
With just four games left in the regular season, the Hoyas are in a prime position to capture the Big East regular season title. Georgetown shares the top spot in the conference with No. 1 Creighton (14-0-0, 5-0 Big East), who is undefeated this season. If the Hoyas and Creighton win their next three games, it will set up a Nov. 5 showdown on Shaw Field to crown the conference champion.
“You’re always preparing for something bigger- which is the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament,” Yaro said. “We don’t get ahead of ourselves, we just keep preparing everyday wanting to be better than we were the previous day.”
While Wiese was happy with the team’s play of late, he stated that mental toughness was crucial in postseason play. He emphasized that it’s necessary for every game, whether it’s a home showdown with undefeated Creighton for the league title or a matchup at cellar-dwelling St. John’s (3-8-3, 1-2-2 Big East), who the Hoyas will face next on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
“The guys are in really good form- complacency is the biggest worry,” said Wiese. “I think postseason preparation is no different from any other game. If your team is being handled right, the approach to what we’re doing for St. John’s should be no different from the approach for what we do to win a national championship.”
The team is prepared to finish what they started, as Muyl noted.
“This year, we’re in a really special spot where we are thinking about the postseason. We want to make history… Before the season that was one of our goals and it’s looming, and we’re just excited for it.”
But before they can think about the postseason or even a potential blockbuster regular season finale against Creighton for the Big East regular season title, the Hoyas have to take care of the business at hand: St. John’s.
Muyl and his teammates are eager to not just extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games, but potentially through the remainder of the season.
“We’re a hungry, hungry group,” said Muyl. “ We want to go through the season without losing, and I think that mentality is what carries us through.”
