The Georgetown men’s soccer team got off to a strong start with a 3-1 victory over rival Syracuse in the season opener Aug. 30, followed by a 3-0 win over Temple on Sept. 2.

The Syracuse game got off to a slow start, without a single goal before halftime. The action picked up immediately into the second half, however, with junior forward Derek Dodson scoring off of a perfect setup from junior midfielder Paul Rothrock.

The Orange were able to quickly equalize the score with a timely penalty kick in the 50th minute. The game remained tied 1-1 until the 74th minute when senior midfielder JB Fischer netted a goal off a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Zach Riviere. Georgetown secured the win just one minute later with a goal from freshman midfielder Dante Polvara, playing his first game at the collegiate level.

Following the win, in an interview with GUHOYAS, Head Coach Brian Weise declared his pride and high expectations for the team, particularly the freshmen.

“We have a really unique team this year in that we have a really great group of freshmen and we don’t need any of them to be playing so they can be injected as needed when they’re ready. It was great to see a lot of guys get on and contribute today,” Weise said.

Lacking the initial intensity or furious comeback seen in the Syracuse game, the game against Temple was a dominant victory, with Georgetown generating a number of opportunities to score and landing two goals in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Sean Zawadzki got into great position to score on a cross from Rothrock in the 25th minute, an opportunity which he converted. In the 39th minute, Rothrock was able to tally another assist as he sent in a corner to senior captain and midfielder Dylan Nealis who headed it home. Like the game against Syracuse, Polvara sealed the victory again — he rocketed a shot from outside the box off a one-two pass combination with Dodson.

While celebrating a 2-0 start to the season, unlike last campaign, which saw the Hoyas lose to Coastal Carolina in the season’s second match, Rothrock heaped praise on his teammates in an interview with GUHOYAS.

“I’m lucky because all three assists have had nice finishes so I haven’t been doing that much. This team is easy and fun to play with, we’re enjoying ourselves out there and I think it shows and the confidence level shows as well,” Rothrock, who leads the team with three assists in just two games, said.

This weekend, No. 21 Hoyas, according to RPI rankings, will hit the road as they play two away games in California, hoping to extend their undefeated start to the season. They face No. 18 UC Irvine Friday and No. 41 UCLA Monday. Georgetown will return home next Saturday for their matchup against the University of Connecticut.