Following a grueling 1-0 win over the St. John’s Red Storm (3-9-3, 1-3-2 Big East) this past Saturday, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (10-2-2, 6-0 Big East) will look to continue its winning ways versus the Seton Hall Pirates (0-12-1, 0-6 Big East) this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. on Shaw Field.
The team’s dominant effort at St. John’s extended its undefeated streak to 11 straight games. The Blue & Gray outshot the Red Storm by a total of 20-5 in the game. Despite the high shot volume, the Hoyas’ lone goal came in the 59th minute off of a penalty kick from Georgetown senior attacker Brandon Allen, marking his sixth goal of the season.
While the low score was not reflective of the statistical dominance, Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese was very pleased with his team’s performance.
“I thought we played really, really well,” Wiese said. “I thought the second half was arguably one of the better halves of soccer we’ve played all year. We only had one goal to show for it, but we have no complaints on the road against a tough St. John’s team on the road.”
Since the start of Big East play just over a month ago, the Hoyas have yet to allow a goal, shutting out six straight opponents. Georgetown senior defender Cole Seiler has been a core piece in the defensive effort. Maintaining such a high level of play is difficult for any team, but Seiler noted that staying focused was greatly important in continuing to stop opponents.
“We try not to put any more added pressure on ourselves. I think if we just keep paying close attention to the details, our game on the defensive side of the ball will figure itself out,” he said.
The team must now take care of Seton Hall at home in order to continue their quest to remain undefeated in conference play.
“Seton Hall has players that can hurt you. If we don’t come in and play really well, we could walk out of the game with a loss,” remarked Wiese.
Last year, the Blue & Gray lost at Seton Hall in what proved to be a crucial game in the conference championship landscape. With the loss, the Hoyas fell out of contention for the title, something that still haunts the team today.
Seiler remembers that game well, noting “(It’s) definitely still a fresh wound. In our long term goals for the season, we see this as another stepping stone that we need to accomplish.”
Seton Hall will mathematically fall out of postseason contention with any result other than a win, and that desperation could be a factor in Wednesday’s game.
Coach Wiese was well aware of this fact.
“Any time you’re facing a desperate team that’s in that kind of position, you have to be ready for it. You have to compete with that.”
