On Monday, the No. 13 Georgetown Hoyas men’s soccer team (1-0-0, Big East) will take on the Temple Owls (0-1-0, American) at Shaw Field and attempt to stay unbeaten in 2019. The Blue & Gray soundly defeated rival Syracuse (0-1-0, ACC) 3-1 in their home opener on Friday, while the Owls were shut out 1-0 at home by Rutgers (1-0-0, Big Ten) on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Junior forward Derek Dodson was crucial to the Hoyas’ victory on Friday, as the team captain slotted home Georgetown’s first goal of the season just minutes into the second half. Dodson, who led the team with 19 points a year ago on nine goals and one assist, will likely be a critical part of a potential Hoyas win on Monday. Senior forward Achara, the Hoyas’ second-leading goal scorer from last season, was out with injury on Friday.
Senior midfielder JB Fischer and freshman midfielder Dante Polvara added the other goals in quick succession with about 15 minutes remaining to secure the victory. Sophomore goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis was solid in goal, saving four of the five shots on goal. Nikopolidis had a save percentage of 81.7 percent to go along with eight shutouts a year ago.
The Owls will likely play their offense through senior forward Lukas Fernandes. Fernandes was held off the scoresheet his first time out but hit three of his five shots on target. Last year, when he was an All-American Athletic Conference selection, Fernandes led Temple with six goals. Additionally, Fernandes was a unanimous AAC Preseason All-Conference team selection this year. Georgetown freshman defender Daniel Wu and junior defenders Rio Hope-Gund and Sean O’Hearn, who started on the backline on Friday, will have their hands full if head coach Brian Wiese chooses the same defensive lineup.
This will be the first meeting all-time between the two teams.
Live stats and a stream are available at guhoyas.com. For live updates of the game and continued coverage of all Georgetown fall sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
