Photo courtesy of Georgetown Sports Information Georgetown Sports InformationPhoto courtesy of Georgetown Sports Information
The No.3 Georgetown men’s soccer team (14-2-2, 9-0 Big East) continued their winning ways as they defeated the third-seeded Xavier Musketeers (12-6-1, 5-4-1 Big East) 1-0 Thursday afternoon at Shaw Field. Senior attacker Brandon Allen scored the lone goal for Georgetown. The Hoyas will face second-seeded Creighton in the Big East Tournament Final at home on Sunday. Kick off is slated for 1:00 p.m on Shaw Field.
The win over Xavier moves the Blue and Gray within one win of securing their first conference tournament championship in program history. Despite having five appearances in the championship game, the team has never sealed the deal. The win also extends the team’s unbeaten streak to 15 games, which includes a program record 12-straight wins.
After an erratic first ten minutes of play, the Hoyas found their groove and began asserting their dominance in the game. That dominance came to a head in the fifteenth minute, when a counterattack charge led by Georgetown junior midfielder Bakie Goodman ended in a left-footed goal by Brandon Allen. The break was initiated by a one handed save from Georgetown freshman goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski. The ball was played to Goodman, who weaved down the left side of the field, eventually connecting with Allen at the top of the box. Allen took one touch and finished in the top-left corner of the goal.
“Bakie played a great ball to my feet,” Allen said. “I was able to open up my hips and find the back post.”
The Musketeers would not go away easily, however. Xavier matched Georgetown in shots, and forced Marcinkowski to make three saves on the day. In the closing minutes, Xavier missed their best chance to tie the game, as a ball that was sent to the back post ended up just wide of the goal. Following the ensuing goal kick Georgetown was able to burn the final minute of play, securing their place in the final.
Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese was proud of his team’s win, but he also acknowledged some the weaker aspects of the performance.
“Any time you’re playing in a semi-final or any knockout tournament, finding a way to win is the primary goal,” Wiese noted. “I thought it wasn’t one of our best performances, but you have to give Xavier a lot of credit for that.”
The Hoyas now turn their focus to their rematch on Sunday with Creighton, a team Georgetown just recently defeated in the regular season finale to win the regular season conference title.
“It’s a really quick turnaround. It’s all about getting the guys mentally prepared and physically ready for the game,” said Wiese.
After 24 Big East tournament appearances without a title, this team is hungry to finally come out and win the championship that has been so elusive.
“I think the boys are ready for it,” remarked Wiese. “We’ve talked about this all the time with this team, you know, can we achieve little bits of history? I think Sunday is a great opportunity to do that.”
