Piercing through mist and rain, Brandon Allen’s overtime strike propelled the No. 13 Georgetown men’s soccer team over No. 9 Xavier (10-4-2, 4-1-2 Big East) by the score of 1-0. Wednesday’s win marks Georgetown’s second consecutive win over a top-10 opponent and pushes its record to 9-3-4 on the year and 4-2-1 in Big East play. Georgetown has since vaulted to No. 8 in the national RPI poll.

“This was a really gutsy win,” Wiese said. “We stayed disciplined and focused and didn’t get impatient. The fact that we can get ourselves back in the conversation for being one of the top two in the league is great.”

After dropping consecutive games to Providence (10-2-2, 5-0-2 Big East) and Big East bottom-dwellers Seton Hall (4-7-4, 1-4-2 Big East), the Hoyas’ season appeared to be in turmoil. Wiese admitted that following the two losses, “little seeds of doubt [started] creeping in” to the minds of members of the team. Since then, the Hoyas have responded emphatically, grinding out wins over two of the top teams in the country, as the Xavier win was preceded by a 1-0 away win against No. 10 Creighton (12-2-2, 5-1-1 Big East) on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Wiese is eager to look toward the future following the pair of close wins.

“This is the Big East,” Wiese said. “Not all games are going to be really pretty and easy, but you’ve got to find ways to get results. Today was one of those days where we got three points and want to move forward very quickly.”

After generating few quality scoring chances throughout the game, Georgetown’s breakthrough came due to some good fortune. In the 96th minute, a Georgetown low cross into the penalty box was handballed by the Musketeers defense in a failed clearance attempt. Allen buried the resulting penalty kick, ending the game. College soccer is based on a golden goal model, in which the first team to score during overtime wins.

“You feel for those guys and that player; that’s a really hard way to lose.” Wiese said. “But our most dangerous chances today were balls out wide and balls going in through the six [yard line]. We said at halftime and before the game that the game winner is probably going to be one of the ugliest goals you’ve seen all season.”

Xavier is known as a stout defensive club, and the poor weather conditions may have reinforced its conservative style of play. Prior to the loss, the Musketeers had allowed a mere four goals in their previous 12 games.

“Xavier knows what they do well; they are really hard to break down,” Wiese said. “They never make it easy. I would venture to say they are probably happiest when they don’t have the ball because they are always one turnover or bad pass away from great position.”

Straight away, the game was a physical affair and a defensive struggle. Hindered by the slick playing surface, the two teams combined for more fouls (16) than shots (13). Balls consistently skidded past their intended targets and turnovers abounded on the rainy fall afternoon.

“The field became more slick, which might have taken away from our play a bit,” sophomore midfielder Jon Azzinarri said. “It becomes tough to move the ball.”

After making his first career start last weekend, Azzinarri provided the Hoyas with a spark off the bench. His headed effort late in the first half narrowly missed giving Georgetown the lead.

His contributions were especially necessary given that usual starter, sophomore forward Alex Muyl was sidelined due to sickness.

“[Azzinarri] has come on and given us exactly what we need from him,” said Wiese. “He’s looking dangerous in terms of generating some chances. We didn’t have many good chances but he was one of them. Against Seton Hall he generated three really nice chances. … It’s not easy when you come on and play 10 to 15 to 20 minutes and then be sharp, but he’s been able to do that.”

After two more conference matches to close out the regular season, Georgetown will compete in the Big East championship beginning on Nov. 11. Playing some of its best soccer of the year, the team feels confident heading into the postseason.

“Coming off those two losses, it was definitely a big deal for us to get these two wins,” said Azzinarri. “To have this momentum going toward [the] postseason, I think it’s huge for us.”

Junior defender Cole Seiler echoed Azzinarri’s sentiments.

“We have some injuries to deal with,” Seiler said, “but if we can start getting some attack and start getting some more goals, we’ll be ready for the postseason.”