Louisville is the perennial favorite to win the Big East championship, and when they visit McDonough Gymnasium Sept. 23 they will be looking to repeat their 3-0 victory over the Hoyas from last season Despite the lopsided, Georgetown pushed two games to 30-27.
While the Cardinals were bumped in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament, they return all but two players from last year’s 25-6 (13-1) squad. Louisville also offers Hoya fans a chance to review for map of the modern world with players from China, Uzbekistan, Slovakia, Latvia, Russia and towering 6-foot-8 freshman outside hitter Katharina Gaertner of Germany – that’s as tall as sophomore forward DaJuan Summers of the men’s basketball team.
– Fiore Mastroianni
The Georgetown women’s soccer team has started this season off 4-1-0 in five road and neutral games, which is an impressive feat for a squad that posted a 1-6-3 away record last season. If the Hoyas can defend their home field like they did last season, when they finished with a 4-1-1 record at North Kehoe Field, the Pirates will be in for a long day.
Last season, Seton Hall’s goalkeeper Amanda Becker made eight saves in a 1-0 shutout of Georgetown in South Orange, N.J. Becker, now a senior, has allowed only one goal in the Pirates’ first four games.
After Becker and the Hoyas battle for 90 minutes, take a quick breath but don’t leave the stands. The men take North Kehoe Field for the first time in the 2007 season, facing Rutgers at 3 p.m.
– Kevin Wessel
Yes, the football team has struggled, but football is football. Combine that with homecoming, and the Hoyas’ Sept. 29 bout with Cornell is worth turning out for. Before the game, head out to the McDonough parking lot to see old friends and enjoy a few beverages, and then move over to the Multi-Sport Facility for the 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Big Red, picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League, will be a formidable foe for the Hoyas, with a stellar offensive line and enough offensive weapons to take advantage of it. Couple that with a sound defense anchored by senior captain cornerback Colin Nash, and Cornell is unlikely to resemble the squad that Georgetown throttled 42-20 in 2003. Still, despite their 0-2 record, the Hoyas should make homecoming exciting.
– Bailey Heaps
Forget the MLS. For soccer-buffs on the Hilltop, your best bet for finding some top-level soccer comes on Nov. 3 at North Kehoe Field. When Notre Dame hits the Hilltop for the final game of the regular season, take the opportunity to watch a national title contender. Ranked ninth in the preseason, the Fighting Irish opened the season with a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 1 UCLA. Notre Dame is led by senior forward Joseph Lapira, who led the nation with 50 points and 22 goals in 2006.
By the time the Hoyas square off with Head Coach Brian Wiese’s former squad (he was an assistant in South Bend from 2001-2005), their postseason fate will likely already have been decided, but the season finale should be a good test of how far the program has come.
– Bailey Heaps
