On Dec. 11, the No. 3 Georgetown Hoyas men’s soccer team fell 2-1 to the No. 2 University of Washington Huskies in the NCAA College Cup semifinals. The match was a back-and-forth stalemate at Wakemed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina which ended with only two shots on goal for both teams. The deadlock was first broken in the 54th minute, then again in the 57th minute as the Huskies rapidly went up, 2-0. The Hoyas fought hard, scoring a goal in the 80th minute. Unfortunately for Georgetown, that would be the team’s only goal of the night.
Early on, the match looked like it could go either way, with Washington settling in for and forcing the Hoya defense to lock-in. Georgetown would weather the storm and almost took the lead in the 35th minute on a quick counterattack. Junior Stefan Stojanovic put in a tough left-footed cross in the right spot to senior Zach Riviere, who sent a finesse shot just wide of the Huskies’ goalpost.
John Picker
Despite this momentum, the Hoyas went into halftime tied 0-0.
Washington’s Lucas Meek was the first to get on the board as what looked like it was supposed to be a cross took a slight deflection and ended in the goal just left of senior goalie Giannis Nikopolidis. Riding the newfound momentum, the Huskies scored again three minutes later in the 57th minute off of a beautifully placed goal from Charlie Ostrem, who sent the shot in from just outside the box.
The abundance of Georgetown students, who traveled to Cary to cheer on the team, did not back down with their support and earned a shoutout from the commentators on ESPNU. Georgetown would look to feed off the students’ energy, pushing consistently for a goal with maintained possession of the ball, but few penetrating chances, through the strong Washington defense.
John Picker
It took until the 80th minute for the Hoyas to get on the board, to the delight of the hopeful fans. A beautiful ball from freshman Kieran Sargeant found Riviere by himself on the right side of the box. Riviere powered home a header right through the hands of the Huskies’ goalie who could not stop it.
Georgetown kept pushing in those last ten minutes, with the best chance of the game coming as time expired. The Hoyas set up for a free kick about halfway to the midfield line and as the ball was sent in, it found Riviere again lurking in the box. He had to force a tough close-range shot off the half-volley that sailed over the bar as the game concluded, securing the Huskies the 2-1 win.
The men’s soccer team finished the season with an 18-3-1 record as Big East Regular Season and Big East Championship Champions, advancing to the semifinals of the national tournament. Washington would go on to lose 2-0 to No. 8 Clemson in the championship game. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all fall sports at Georgetown.
