Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MEN’S SOCCER | Freshmen Deliver Victory on Senior Day

AISHA+MALHAS+FOR+THE+HOYA%0ASophomore+midfielder+Dylan+Nealis+has+two+assists+in+16+games+this+season.
AISHA MALHAS FOR THE HOYA Sophomore midfielder Dylan Nealis has two assists in 16 games this season.
AISHA MALHAS FOR THE HOYA
Sophomore midfielder Dylan Nealis, center, has two assists in 16 games this season.

It may have been senior day, but it was the freshmen who came through for Georgetown with two goals in a 3-1 victory over Creighton in the regular season’s final match, days after a tough 1-0 defeat at the hands of St. John’s.

Before the freshmen’s big performance, the No. 18 Georgetown Hoyas (12-3-2, 6-2-1 Big East) travelled to New York to face the St. John’s Red Storm (8-7-2, 5-3-1 Big East) in their penultimate game of the regular season last Saturday.

From the start, it was evident that the matchup would be a tough road test for Georgetown. Early on, the Hoyas and the Red Storm traded chances. The Hoyas started the game on the attack and had the first chance of the game in the fourth minute with a header that just trickled wide.

The Red Storm followed that up with two chances of their own that sailed over the crossbar. In the 17th minute, senior midfielder Christopher Lema’s free kick forced St. John’s keeper, Andrew Withers, to make a difficult save.

Georgetown kept attacking and pushing for the opening goal, but St. John’s broke the deadlock off a set piece in the 31st minute. St. John’s midfielder Harry Cooksley played the ball into the box from a free kick, where defender David Enstrom eventually put it into the back of the net, giving St. John’s a 1-0 lead.

Despite having a few more shots before halftime, the Hoyas were unable to convert and went into the break trailing 1-0.

“They were probably looking at trying to get the game, so that we weren’t scoring and hopefully something happened, and that’s exactly what happened,” Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese said.

The second half began with a flurry of shots from both teams with neither breaking through. The best chance of the half for either team came in the 77th minute as senior midfielder Declan McCabe saw his effort hit the crossbar and ricochet away. This shot would be the last decent look on goal for either team as Georgetown ended up falling 1-0 to St. John’s.

“They were very committed to defending. They had a clear game plan to make it, so we weren’t going to score,” Weise said. “They wanted to make sure they had really good numbers behind the ball and that we were going to have to work for every possession, and they succeeded.”

The Hoyas outshot the Red Storm 15-9 and both keepers finished the game with two saves apiece.

The final game of the regular season for the Georgetown Hoyas was a Wednesday fixture at home on senior day against the Creighton Bluejays (9-6-2, 3-4-2 Big East).

The Hoyas began the game flat-footed as the Bluejays put them under pressure with a number of good chances. Junior goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made a few definitve saves to preserve the deadlock.

However, in the 27th minute, Creighton was finally able to break through following a header by Ricky Lopez-Espin, making it 1-0.

Immediately following the goal, Marcinkowski made another save, keeping the game within reach before the Hoyas were able to equalize in the 30th minute.

McCabe put a sizzling cross in the box that Creighton goalkeeper Michael Kluver was able to get a hand on and punch away. However, freshman forward Jack Beer proceeded to receive the ball and finished it past Kluver, tying the game at one with his first goal as a Hoya.

The game stayed deadlocked at one into halftime.

In the second half, Georgetown was finally able to take the lead after a goal by freshman forward Derek Dodson. Lema fired a shot from outside the box that Kluver again could only parry straight into the path of Dodson. He calmly slotted it home and gave the Hoyas a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Georgetown was able to put the game away in the 83rd minute with Dodson’s second goal of the game. Following a great buildup play, junior midfielder Ethan Lochner dribbled through the Bluejays’ defense and played a ball that left junior midfielder Edson Martinez in on goal.

However, instead of taking a shot, Martinez slotted it to Dodson on his left who had an easy finish to make the game 3-1 to the Hoyas. Dodson has consistently found himself in great scoring positions all season and this goal was his team-leading eighth of the year.

“They’ll tell you where they want to look for you, so if I can just get there I know they’ll have the quality to just put the ball in that spot. So, just really listening and learning off of guys like Lema and [senior forward] Zach [Knudson has been key],” Dodson said.

The score would last for the remainder of the game as Georgetown earned a big 3-1 win over Creighton on senior day. The Hoyas outshot the Bluejays 19-11 and both goalkeepers had impressive performances. Marcinkowski had four big saves earning the victory for the Hoyas while Kluver had five saves in the losing performance.

“It’s an incredible feeling, first of all, just to win on senior day. And obviously winning after a couple of bad results really changes the dynamic of the team and switches the momentum, so now the team is in a good spot. We’ve gone back to our old ways of winning and being able to play our style of soccer,” Lema said.

Following the draw between St. John’s and Providence in their final Big East game, Georgetown has earned a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament. The Hoyas’ next game will be at home Nov. 8 against the winner of the game between St. John’s and Creighton.

Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Shaw Field.

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