Charles Nailen/The Hoya Sophomore forward Kemmons Feldman steals the ball from an opponent. Georgetown allowed just one goal in the 28th minute, which ultimately made the difference in the game.

A sliding one-timer during the 28th minute defined the men’s soccer game. Unfortunately, this one shot – taken directly off a throw-in – gave Boston College a 1-0 win over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon but failed to capture the tension, aggression and effort that went into this battle between the two Big East rivals.

While Hurricane Isabel dumped copious amounts of rain on the East Coast, the schools decided to move the matchup, originally scheduled for Friday, to Sunday in order to ensure safe field conditions. The Hoyas, having already faced St. John’s and Towson in the past seven days, enjoyed the delay, offering them more time to rest. The team looked energized enough on Sunday to measure up to the Eagles’ play under a partly cloudy sky at the lightly-attended Newton Campus Soccer Field.

“The team is good at adapting to changes and we had a great week of training prior to the game. The weather threw some kinks into our plan, but the team was ready to go on Sunday,” Georgetown assistant coach Jonathan Pascale said.

The teams waged war primarily in the midfield and the players on both teams had trouble getting inside the box, leading to a number of shots taken from 18 yards or beyond. Neither side could gain the advantage over the other, despite some near-misses on both sides. Hoya freshman defender Tim Convey came close to scoring with a kick from 25 yards out, but senior goalkeeper Mike Cardenas came up with the save, his first of six through the night.

The only goal of the night came after 27:16 of playing time, when B.C. freshman midfielder Jalen Amato passed the ball on a throw-in to fellow freshman midfielder Jarryd Goldberg, who took the ball right off the pass and sent it toward the goal.

“I think it was our own goal, after looking at the tape, that a defender knocked in while trying to clear it out,” Pascale said. “It was a gift to them, and other than that one mistake, it was a totally even game.”

Georgetown could not retaliate with its own goal, and the half ended at 1-0. Both teams came up with eight shots throughout the first 45 minutes, and while both teams taxed their opposing goalkeepers, both sides managed to keep the score down with solid defense.

“[Junior defender] Guy Melamed was tough to play against on defense, and he’s been floated around as an All-American candidate. He got a number of balls in the air when we tried to get it inside the box,” Pascale said.

In the second half, the battle raged on as both teams gave a strong effort. Neither Georgetown nor Boston College, however, could get the ball past the goal line and the scored remained stuck at 1-0. When the final buzzer ended, the Hoyas had to concede defeat, not having been outplayed, but losing on an unlikely goal.

“It was a very close game. The goal that won was a fluky play, but it wasn’t the best chance that Boston College had to score. Both sides had chances to score, and in the end we were a bit unlucky,” Pascale said. “We were playing against an extremely organized team, and we lost after a tough game.”

The Eagles had one more shot in their column at the end of the game, edging the Hoyas 16-15. Both Cardenas for Boston College and senior goalkeeper Tim Hogan for Georgetown made six saves during the game, and Cardenas notched his second shutout of the season. The teams committed a combined total of 32 fouls, with one yellow card issued to Convey during the 75th minute. The Hoyas had eight corner kicks compared with their hosts’ five, but the squad could not capitalize on any of them. The Eagles had a slight advantage getting at loose balls and second chance balls, according to Pascale, as the Hoyas continue to struggle in that aspect.

“They are a very athletic group, and they were able to get a lot of the balls that got loose inside their box, which hurt our offense,” Pascale said.

Boston College improves to 3-3-0 for the season and 1-1-0 in the Big East, evening their conference record after losing their first game of the season against Pittsburgh. The Eagles have not yet shown the form that led them to the Big East Championship last year, but still remain a difficult team to beat in the conference. Georgetown falls to 2-3-2 for the year and 0-2-0 in the Big East.

The Hoyas have another chance to grab a Big East victory when Virginia Tech comes to visit North Kehoe Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m. While the Hokies demolished the Hoyas 4-0 last year, the team looks to exact revenge at home this week. Still, Virginia Tech has come out strong this year, winning six of their first eight games for a 6-1-1 record.

“That loss was the worst game of last season, but it also woke us up and refocused the team. After that game we went on a good stretch of wins,” Pascale said. “We’re amped up for this game, and we’ve played pretty well at home this season, but Virginia Tech has had a good start. We still want that first Big East win, though.”