After grinding out a tough road victory against rival Villanova on Halloween night, the No. 6 Georgetown men’s soccer team (12-2-2, 8-0 Big East) will face its scariest opponent of the season this Thursday at Shaw Field when they host No. 3 Creighton (16-1-0, 7-1 Big East). Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.
With their road win over the Wildcats, the Blue and Gray clinched at least a share of the Big East regular season title. The Hoyas sit three points ahead of second-place Creighton, meaning that a win or a draw would secure the team the Big East crown as well as home-field advantage throughout the conference tournament. Any result other than a loss would also be historic for the program, as no Georgetown soccer team has ever completed conference play undefeated. The stakes could not be higher for the Hoyas, as Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese noted.
“The season has sort of progressed to this,” Wiese said. “Can we be perfect through the league? Can secure the top seed? Can we set ourselves up for the opportunity to maybe win the first Big East tournament championship in the program’s history at home? That’s really what we’re playing for.”
Winning the conference outright will not be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Creighton is widely heralded as one of the nation’s most powerful teams. The Blue Jays controlled the top spot in the national rankings for much of the season, thanks in large part to their 15-game winning streak. Following a loss to conference foe Xavier, Creighton has slipped to No. 3 nationally but can still steal home field advantage in the Big East tournament from the Hoyas with a win.
“It’s kind of got a final exam feel to it,” Coach Wiese explained. “Creighton is has some really talented pieces, they can handle you 1 v. 1, and they finish with impressive efficiency. They will make you be good at everything- and if you have a weakness they are built to find it and exploit it.”
The Hoyas will need to have all of their pieces in the right place in order to pass their toughest test of the season. In their past two games, Georgetown has had to come back three times, and this resilience is something that will be key the team’s championship aspirations.
“I think it was important that we had to do that (come back),” remarked Wiese. “It was really good for the guys to work through that and see themselves come out on top.”
This is a game that many in the college soccer world have been waiting for. With the stakes being raised with championship implications on the line, Thursday’s game could shape up to be one of the most important regular season games in the history of the program.
“This game is what the guys have really been looking forward to. It’ll be a fun challenge,” Wiese said. “Every great game needs two great teams.”
