Every week, the Voice will supplement our daily soccer coverage with a wrap-up that includes news, notes, and observations on the men’s and women’s soccer teams. Two perfect weeks for the Hoyas, as men’s soccer (13-1-0, 7-1-0) shook off their first loss of the year, while the women’s team (11-0-6, 7-0-2) seems to be hitting its stride. With an eye to the Big East Tournament, the women’s team has clinched a bye as the number 2 seed in the conference, just behind Xavier. This means the road to the conference championship will go through Cincinnati. The men’s team is in the driver’s seat for the number 1 seed which would mean the conference semifinals and finals would be hosted at Shaw Field.
WSOC Game Recaps:
2-0 at Marquette
- The Hoyas made short work of the Golden Eagles, outshooting them 9-3 and dominating possession
- Junior goalkeeper Allie Augur was forced to make just one save to log her 8th shutout, as the Georgetown backline smothered the Marquette offense
- Junior midfielder Julia Leas kicked off the scoring in the 31st minute. Sophomore midfielder Tatum Lenain made a play in the midfield and got the ball to junior striker Gia Vicari who teamed up with her fellow forward, freshman Cyanne Doyle, to get the ball to Leas who slotted in her third of the season
- Vicari and Doyle would team up again in the second half, getting the ball to senior midfielder Devon Lis for her second on the season
3-0 at Seton Hall
- This was the Maya Fernandez-Powell show. The senior midfielder registered three assists, upping her total to 10 on the year.
- Graduate defenders Sydney Cummings and Kelly Ann Livingstone both notched goals off of set pieces triggered by Fernandez-Powell.
- Leas scored for the second game in a row, this time with a header off a Fernandez-Powell cross
- Augur made 4 saves for another shutout. The Hoyas have not given up a goal in 490 minutes.
- With Xavier’s win over UConn, they secured the Big East regular season title. Georgetown is the only team to have beaten the Musketeers this season
A review of week 1 analysis: This week we will look back at the analysis from our very first TWIS and see what we hit on (and missed)
Kelly Ann comeback: In retrospect, any worry about Kelly Ann Livingstone was incredibly shortsighted. The graduate defender has spearheaded a defense in front of Allie Augur that has only conceded seven goals in the entire season. She also has two goals and four assists, to go along with playing nearly every minute for the Hoyas (despite missing one game). Livingstone, Cummings, and freshman Eliza Turner have been a dynamic backline all year and have done their best to make things simple for Augur. In the first game of the year, Livingstone had an unfortunate gaffe that led to a goal – this has rightfully been forgotten. Along with Jenna Royson, Livingstone is the only remaining starter from the Hoyas’ last appearance in the College Cup, and her experience in the back is undeniably a boon for a team that has its eye on the first championship in program history.
MFP playing like an MVP: All Fernandez-Powell has done this season is start every game while leading the entire Big East in assists, with 10 on the season. Fernandez-Powell is tied for 10th in Hoyas history for assists in a season, and she has shown no signs of slowing down. The senior captain is a menace on set pieces, and has proved to be a player that opposing teams need to gameplan around, which will be an incredibly valuable asset for the Hoyas in the National Tournament. Every minute opposing teams focus on someone other than Gia Vicari is good for this team. Last season, Daisy Cleverley won Big East Midfielder of the Year by playing superb defense and scoring 2 goals. While Fernandez-Powell spends more of her time in the offensive hald, she has put herself in the conversation to take this award home, an impressive feat for a player who was not a full time starter before this season.
The Missing Menta: We were worried at the start of the season that Georgetown would not find a replacement for Jenna Menta, whose Wake Forest team could be a potential postseason matchup for the Hoyas. The worry was that not having someone like Menta would leave the burden of scoring completely on Gia Vicari’s shoulders. For much of the start of the year, this was prescient, as it seemed like the Hoyas could not get anything going if it wasn’t Vicari producing it. Along came Cyanne Doyle. Doyle, a freshman from Colorado, has come on strong in conference play, scoring 3 of her 5 goals and 4 of her 5 assists against Big East opponents. Doyle has started every game since the third game of the season and has been an adept partner of Vicari’s, which is just what Georgetown needed. The aforementioned Fernandez-Powell has also contributed largely in the offensive third, and the three players have been more than enough to keep the Hoyas afloat.
News: Julia Leas named Big East Defender of the Week and Maya Fernandez-Powell named to the Big East Honor Roll- Leas dominated this week, scoring goals in both contests, and contributed to two more Hoya shutouts. Leas has looked like one of the best players on the pitch throughout the year, but was largely held off the scoresheet before the past month. Leas, along with Fernandez-Powell, will have a claim to Big East Midfielder of the Year.
Rankings: Top Drawer Soccer: 15 US Coaches Poll: 21 NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI: 9
Upcoming Schedule:
October 28 vs UConn
MSOC Game Recaps:
- Junior defender Aidan Rocha’s golden goal won the game for the Hoyas with less than a minute remaining in overtime.
- Graduate goalie Ethan Koehler started in net for the Hoyas and allowed one goal, saving four
- Two minutes into the game junior forward Stefan Stojanovic finished a pretty play triggered by senior midfielder Sean Zawadzki and sophomore midfielder Kyle Linhares
- St. John’s and their junior goalkeeper Luka Gavran have one of the staunchest defenses in the league, which made it tough for Georgetown to get good looks
- Read more at the link above
3-1 at Xavier
- Junior defender Will Sands was at his best in this one, scoring two goals and assisting on another.
- Graduate defender Chris Le scored his first career goal off a rebound from a Sands shot in the 77th minute. This was Le’s 48th game as a Hoya, spanning over 5 seasons.
- Xavier actually scored first in the contest, but Koehler tightened up after the 15th minute. Koehler made 2 saves in the win.
- Sands’ first goal came off a cross from sophomore forward Marlon Tabora. His second was courtesy of a pass from sophomore Kyle Linhares
- Freshman Blaine Mabie has seen his minutes increase in recent weeks, and made a great play to set Le’s goal in motion
Dillow + Stoj = Dodson? : The ghost of Derek Dodson hung over Georgetown throughout the end of last season, as the team struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. As a Hoya, Dodson scored 78 points in 72 career games, with his 32 career goals sitting 7th on the all-time Hoyas list. While Stefan Stojanovic will likely never produce to the exact level of Dodson, he’s coming close. The junior attacker has 7 goals and 1 assist in 14 games, scoring on 25% of his shots. While freshman Ronan Dillow’s impact has been nonexistent since the first few games of the season, it hasn’t mattered, as Stojanovic has frequently put the team on his back. As the Hoyas start looking toward the National Tournament, they will have plenty of hungry attackers such as sophomores Kyle Linhares, Marlon Tabora, and Chris Hegardt ready to swing crosses into the box. The Hoyas will need Stojanovic to keep finishing at a steady clip if they want to return to the College Cup.
Meet the Wu: An argument can be made that with a fit Daniel Wu last season, the Hoyas could have pushed past Marshall and returned to the College Cup. No Wu meant no Sean Zawadzki in the midfield, which meant for a struggle to hold onto the middle third of the pitch. Well, Wu is back and arguably better than ever. One of three starters in the 2019 National Championship game still on the team, Wu has stabilized a backline that has seen both Kenny Nielsen and Aidan Rocha miss time. It is Wu who has started every game and has notched a Big East Defender of the Week award as well as a separate nod to the Big East Honor Roll this season. The junior from Cary, North Carolina can also be an offensive weapon when called upon, as he is a capable set piece finisher and can fire lasers over the defense. Most of all, Wu is so cool, calm, collected on the backline that it is never a surprise to see him sweep balls away before high danger chances are created.
Double Trouble: We posited at the beginning of the season that senior goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis and Koehler may split time to keep Nikopolidis fresh for the stretch run. For most of the season, however, the Greek national received the lion’s share of the minutes while Koehler would periodically spell him against inferior opponents. Yet, Nikopolidis had two rough games recently, in the loss to Providence and the win over Villanova, and Koehler has taken two starts in a row, where he has acquitted himself well. Both players have three shutouts to their name, but the team as a whole has conceded more in recent weeks. In the first 7 games of the season, the Hoyas allowed 2 tallies, but have given up 9 goals in the 7 games since. Nikopolidis is still the more experienced and talented goalkeeper and it will not be a surprise to see him start throughout the Georgetown postseason. However, Koehler has done enough to warrant some minutes, especially if Nikopolidis shows some early struggles.
News: Will Sands named Big East Defender of the Week- An unsurprising honor after Sands dominated Xavier in every phase of the game on Saturday. This is the second time Sands has won the award this month, as the wing-back seems to be rounding into form.
Rankings: Top Drawer Soccer: 1 US Coaches Poll: 1 NCAA Men’s Soccer RPI: 2
Upcoming Schedule:
October 30 at Marquette
