The No. 3 Georgetown men’s soccer team continued its scorching run through the Big East, winning 2-0 at Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Junior forward Derek Dodson and junior midfielder Jacob Montes supplied the goals at Higgins S. Complex, while the impenetrable Blue & Gray backline held the opponents scoreless for an eighth straight outing. With just one game remaining on their schedule, the Hoyas have a chance to go undefeated through conference play.
On the strength of seven straight victories, Georgetown (14-1-1, 7-0-1 Big East) came into this road game oozing with confidence, but the last-place Wildcats (8-8-1, 1-6-1 Big East) came out aggressive. After 16 minutes, senior midfielder Evan Vare had two looks on goal and Villanova had already committed four fouls including an early booking. By the quarter-hour mark though, the Hoyas had settled into the game and began to dominate both possession and opportunities.
In the 17th minute, Montes forced a save out of junior goalkeeper Carson Williams and followed that up with a pair of corner kick deliveries that nearly put the Hoyas on the board. Six minutes later, the Villanova defense’s aggressiveness came back to bite them, committing a foul in their own box that brought Dodson up to the spot. He calmly slotted the ball past Williams for his seventh goal of the season, giving the Hoyas a first-half lead that they would not relinquish.
Dodson nearly doubled his tally in the 29th, forcing yet another stop out of Williams who was forced into action early and often Saturday. Over the remainder of the half, Georgetown created several more opportunities through senior forward Jack Beer, junior midfielder Paul Rothrock, and freshman forward Will Sands, all of whom came on as substitutes. On the other side, Villanova’s defensive assertiveness soon devolved into sloppy play, as the Wildcats received two more yellow cards before the break.
Villanova showed more offensive poise coming out of the intermission, generating three shots in the opening eight minutes. Junior defender Richie Schlentz led the charge from the back, forcing freshman goalkeeper Tomas Romero into a save in the 51st minute. Georgetown stayed strong though, and after a quiet 20 minutes, found a second goal in the 73rd minute.
Montes found an opening at the top of Villanova’s box, and after receiving a pass, slid the ball over to senior forward Achara for an open look. Achara’s shot towards the far post looked to be going in, but a spectacular goal-line clearance prevented the goal. Luckily for the Hoyas, it came right back to Montes who fired into the open net.
After the second goal, the Hoyas kept their foot on the gas, creating several more opportunities that did not come to fruition, while ‘Nova failed to generate any more significant chances.
The Hoyas have now secured a share of the program’s sixth Big East regular season title with a chance to take sole ownership in their final match of the regular season against Creighton (7-6-1, 3-4-0 Big East). Kickoff against the Bluejays is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Shaw Field. Live stats and a stream can be found at guhoyas.com. For continued coverage of all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
