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

Hoyas Obliterate Pirates in Shutout

After defeating American last Wednesday, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (7-4-1, 3-1 Big East) continued its mid-season dominance with conference wins on the road at Providence (5-5-1, 0-4 Big East) and home against Seton Hall (3-8-1, 1-3 Big East). The Hoyas escaped Saturday’s contest in Rhode Island with a 1-0 result before sinking the Pirates 6-0 at North Kehoe Field on Wednesday.

The Blue and Gray have now won three straight Big East games and five consecutive matches overall, and four of those last five victories have been shutouts.

“The team has settled into it a little bit,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said after Wednesday’s dominating win over Seton Hall. “Guys are finding their roles, and sometimes that takes time.”

One Hoya who has certainly found his niche in Wiese’s system is freshman midfielder Steve Neumann. The reigning Big East rookie of the week leads the team with 17 points – nine more than the second-highest mark on the squad – after scoring three goals and recording one assist in Georgetown’s last two games.

His current points-total through the first 12 games of the season is already the most for any player in a single season in program history since forward Ricky Schramm put up 24 points in 17 games back in 2006.

“Schramm was a selfish player, so that’s not a surprise to me,” Wiese joked after Wednesday’s match. “[Neumann]’s just confident. He puts himself in good spots and does it without a lot of flash and dash. He’s just a very efficient player.”

GEORGETOWN 1, PROVIDENCE 0

The team picked up its first conference road points on Saturday thanks to a late first-half goal, but the Hoyas were tested in the second half by a resilient Friar attack.

After the sides traded missed chances for the first 42 minutes of the opening half, Georgetown capitalized on a nice combination play between sophomore defender Jimmy Nealis, senior midfielder Henry Tembon and Neumann. Tembon entered as a substitute in the 43rd minute and made an immediate impact, flicking his first touch of the game on to Neumann in the box to set up the freshman’s fourth goal of the season.

“I thought we played a good first half in a tough place to play,” Wiese said.

But the second half was a different story. Providence, desperate to avoid an 0-3 start in the Big East, barraged Georgetown in the final 45 minutes with a number of opportunities off free kicks and corners.

Sophomore defender Tommy Muller and the backline felt the heat in their defense of the slim 1-0 margin.

“In the second half we were under a lot of pressure, but again, we were able to keep it organized and get the shutout,” he said.

The Hoyas held on and traveled back to the District with three points in hand.

“It was one of those games where you’re looking at the clock a lot,” Wiese said. “Three points on the road in the league is massive, and you’ll take it. No matter how it happens, you tuck your tail and get back on the plane and head back home.”

GEORGETOWN 6, SETON HALL 0

Wednesday’s afternoon matchup with the Pirates seemed to have all the makings of an equally trying conference game. The Hoyas were outplayed for the first 15 minutes and failed to string multiple passes together, prompting Wiese to be more vocal from the bench than usual during the early phases of the match.

“I thought for the first 15 minutes [Seton Hall] bossed the game,” he said.

But the head coach got the chance to settle his team down when play was halted in the 16th minute to allow a helicopter to land adjacent to North Kehoe Field at Georgetown Hospital.

“It was like a basketball timeout,” Wiese said, joking later that he had to call John Thompson III for advice on what to say to his team during the respite.

After the break, the Blue and Gray were a different team. In a span of eight minutes, Georgetown jumped on Seton Hall with three goals. Neumann assisted Muller’s near-post headed goal with a free kick from the left side to break the 0-0 tie, and senior forward Chandler Diggs followed up soon after with his first goal of the year on a shot from the middle of the 18-yard box. Neumann then tallied his first score of the game from the left side of the area to give the Hoyas a 3-0 lead.

The super-sub capped his points-total for the game at five with another goal just before the half, nudging a header past Seton Hall freshman goalkeeper Kevin Bonder from close range to make it 4-0.

The unexpected luxury of such a large advantage – which grew in the second half with the help of finishes by senior forward Jose Colchao and freshman forward Gabe Padilla – allowed Wiese to give players on the bench like senior goalkeeper Mark Wilber significant chunks of playing time in the late minutes of the game.

“Wilber needs to stay sharp, so those were important minutes for him,” he said. “Today was a good opportunity to get guys who are training well into a game environment.”

Georgetown’s next contest comes tomorrow at home against Villanova. With first place in the Big East Blue Division just one point out of reach, a win could send the Hoyas to the top of the table.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us,” Muller said of playing the Wildcats. “But we need to get a result again.”

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at North Kehoe Field.

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