The No. 10 Georgetown men’s soccer team (11-2-1, 5-1-0 Big East) will host the Providence Friars (4-7-3, 1-2-3 Big East) this Wednesday at 2:00 pm. The game will be played at Shaw Field and is Georgetown’s second to last home game. The Hoyas have lost only once at home this season—an Oct. 9 loss to No. 18 Duke (10-3-2, 3-3-1 ACC)—while the Friars hold a 1-4-1 record on the road this year. The Blue and Gray have won their last three matches, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 6-0. Providence is also unbeaten in their previous three matches, beating Brown (6-4-2, 1-2-1 Ivy) and Seton Hall (5-8-1, 2-4-0 Big East) before tying Creighton (8-4-2, 2-2-2 Big East).
Last season, Georgetown bested a No. 10 Providence team 1-0 on the road. That year, the Friars finished first in the Big East, while the Hoyas failed to make the conference tournament. At the beginning of the year, many people thought the results would repeat, as Providence was predicted to finish atop the conference standings.
“They had a couple pieces that got injured and were more or less out for the season [last year],” Georgetown head coach Brian Wiese said when asked why Providence was favored going into the 2017 season. “They went on and won the league anyways…Those pieces are all back.”
Despite their current seventh place standing in the Big East, Providence still has those key players and remain a threat to Georgetown’s crown. Right now, the Hoyas are tied with Butler (9-4-1, 5-1-0 Big East) for first in the conference, but own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bulldogs. With three games still left on the schedule, a win against the Friars is a crucial to securing a spot atop the table. Winning the conference is the only way to ensure home field advantage in the tournament, something that would benefit the Hoyas, who are 7-1-0 at home. That being said, their last three opponents are Big East rivals and will try everything they can to dethrone Georgetown.
When asked about the added pressure of the next few games, freshman forward/midfielder Derek Dodson replied, “I don’t think it changes that much. We just gotta go out and play like we know how to play… Not really changing anything about our mindset just keep doing what we’re doing.” About tomorrow’s match with the Friars, he said, “We know they have really good players on their team so…. We know they have the quality to go out and beat any team in the nation so we just have to play as best we can and hopefully we can get a result tomorrow.”
For live updates throughout the game, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter. The game can also be streamed on the Big East Digital Network or tracked at www.GUHoyas.com with live stats from the match.
