The No. 2 Georgetown University men’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday to the No. 17 Louisville Cardinals in Louisville, Ky. This match broke a six-game winning streak for the Hoyas.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as both sides traded strong scoring chances. Louisville (4-1-2, 1-0-1 Atlantic Coast) had the first real chance of the match in the 19th minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis was called into action early for the Hoyas (6-1-0, 1-0-0 Big East) as he blocked a shot from the Cardinals. The rebound bounced straight back to a Louisville attacker who put another effort on net. However, junior defender Rio Hope-Gund dealt with the danger well and kept the game scoreless by clearing the ball off the goal line.

In the 33rd minute, Georgetown had its best scoring opportunity during the first half when junior midfielder Paul Rothrock hit a low strike on net that was saved by Louisville’s keeper. The rebound bounced back to Rothrock, who sent it across the face of goal, but no Hoya could get on the end of the cross, leaving the game to reach half goalless.

The second half was far less eventful than the first as neither team was able to generate much going forward. Both senior defender Dylan Nealis and freshman forward Will Sands had dangerous shots that went just wide of the target in situations where the Cardinal’s goaltender would have been hard pressed to make a save. Toward the end of regulation, Georgetown had a flurry of attacking play that put Louisville’s defense under immense pressure. However, the Hoyas were unable to muster any shots on target in the second half, and the Cardinals managed to get just one shot on target. At the end of regulation, both teams were still scoreless, and the match went to overtime.

The first overtime period was fairly uneventful as neither team registered a shot. The best opportunity for either team in that period came when a ball was sent across the face of goal toward junior forward Derek Dodson. However, Dodson was unable to get a foot on the end of the cross, squandering that chance.

Early in the second overtime, Georgetown’s Nikopolidis was called into action once again as he made a diving save on a low shot off of a heavy deflection from a Hoya defender to keep the game scoreless.

Moments later, Louisville would break the deadlock following a set piece from a corner kick. The ball was whipped into the box where a Hoya defender headed the ball clear toward the back post. However, a Louisville attacker then headed the ball back toward the middle of the box where another Cardinal was able to get on the end of it to head it in for the winning goal.

With this 1-0 defeat to the Cardinals, the Hoyas suffered their first loss of the season. Louisville outshot Georgetown 12-11 and had five shots on target to Georgetown’s two. Nikopolidis took the loss in net despite making three saves.

The Hoyas will be back on the pitch Saturday, Sept. 28, as they host Big East conference foe, Providence University, on Shaw Field at 1 p.m.