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 | 2-1 Overtime Win Advances GU to Third Round of NCAA Tournament

CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA Junior forward Brandon Allen scored in the 74th minute of the match to tie the game at 1-1 against Old Dominion.
CLAIRE SOISSON/THE HOYA
Junior forward Brandon Allen scored in the 74th minute of the match to tie the game at 1-1 against Old Dominion.

The No. 11 Georgetown men’s soccer team had its most dramatic win of the season Sunday afternoon at Shaw Field, defeating No. 23 Old Dominion 2-1 in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman midfielder and Big East Rookie of the Year Arun Basuljevic won the game with a sudden-death “golden goal” just seven seconds before the end of the final overtime period.

The Hoyas (13-4-4, 6-2-1 Big East) entered the game as the eighth seed in the tournament and were coming off of a first-round bye. The Monarchs (13-7-1, 4-3-1 Conference USA), meanwhile, had handily dispatched the St. Francis-Brooklyn in their first game.

For nearly the entire game, the Georgetown defense stifled Old Dominion’s offense. The visiting team managed just three shots the entire match compared to Georgetown’s 19 shots, and senior goalkeeper and co-captain Tomas Gomez had to make just one save. The only phase of the game in which the Monarchs had a chance to pose a threat was set pieces, one of which led to their only goal of the game.

“We knew that Old Dominion was going to be very good on set pieces, and, of course, they score on their first corner,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said. “We knew they were going to be dangerous on that, and if you look at the run of the game … it was just set pieces. Not really much [else].”

That one goal, however, was enough to give the Monarchs the lead and a chance to upset the Hoyas. An Old Dominion corner kick in the 26th minute swung in towards the near post, and defender and co-captain Keegan Rosenberry got his head to the ball. He was unable to direct it away from goal, however, and Georgetown went down 1-0.

The second half definitively favored the Hoyas, who needed to find an equalizer to keep their playoff hopes alive. Sophomore forward Alex Muyl and junior forward Brandon Allen led the attack, with two and three shots in the half, respectively.

“It was just a matter of playing urgently, but calmly. Don’t panic. Keep the tempo high. [Old Dominion] held a little bit of a high line. … We were a little more direct because they let that happen,“ Wiese said. “Old Dominion continued to do that through the second half. They didn’t pack things into the box.”

The breakthrough came in the 74th minute and came from the player that the Hoyas have counted on for goals for the past three seasons. Allen had hit the post in front of an open net in the 64th minute, but continued to generate chances for himself. His work paid off when he received a pass at the top of the 18-yard box, worked his way around several defenders and then buried the shot to the left of the keeper.

“[Allen] hits the post in front of a more-or-less open net and you are thinking ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in my life. …’ To his credit, I think that really would have shattered a lot of guys, … and then he did unbelievably well to get the first goal,” Wiese said.

Regulation ended at 1-1 and the game entered sudden-death overtime. The first 10-minute period passed without a goal, as did well over nine minutes of the second overtime period. The Monarchs committed a late foul, and the referee stopped the clock with 13 seconds remaining, which gave the Hoyas enough time to push players into the box. Allen sent the kick towards goal and it bounced in front of net before falling to Basuljevic.

“I almost didn’t see it because I was trying to figure out who our penalty kick takers were going to be,” Wiese said. “[Junior defender] Cole Seiler was in there and he was challenging for the first ball, and the ball fell. It wasn’t a pass, it was just a challenge. The ball falls, and [Basuljevic] was very, very optimistic and just quicker than everybody on Old Dominion.”

The goal advanced Georgetown to the third round, where it will face Syracuse (16-3-1, 5-2-1 ACC), a team that fell on penalty kicks to Georgetown in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Georgetown’s old rival played an impressive conference schedule and features one of the top players in the nation in junior goalkeeper Alex Bono.

The Orangemen are the ninth seed in the tournament despite their higher ranking in the NCAA coaches’ poll, so the game will be held at Shaw Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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