The No. 8 Georgetown men’s soccer team (8-3-4, 3-2-1 Big East) had its marquee win of the 2014 regular season Saturday evening, defeating the No. 9 Creighton Bluejays (11-2-2, 4-1-1 Big East) 1-0 in Omaha, Neb. After draws against four ranked teams, including No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 University of California-Irvine, Georgetown finally defeated Creighton, then ranked second in the nation. Freshman midfielder Arun Basuljevic scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute.

The Hoyas entered the game after a difficult week that saw losses to two Big East opponents. The defeats meant a 14-place drop in the coaches’ poll, from No. 3 to a season-low No. 17, and an uphill battle in order to have a chance to compete for the regular-season conference title.

“You can lose games in soccer. I think that a lot of people were saying ‘Oh you lost not just once, but you lost twice, so the sky is falling and everything is a problem.’ But that just happens sometimes,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said. “I think it was an important win because you don’t want to start really believing that you are in the losing way.”

The match against Creighton not only saw a new outlook on the final games of the season for Georgetown, but also a new starting lineup. Sophomore midfielder Jon Azzinari and sophomore forward Brett Campbell both earned the first starts of their careers. They replaced junior forward Brandon Allen, the team’s leading goal scorer, and sophomore forward Alex Muyl, the leader in assists.

“It is a luxury to [be able to] think about [Campbell and Azzinari] coming on and giving us a little bit of energy, giving us a bit of pop and opening up the game a little bit. I thought they did that. … And those guys have been playing well. When you are on the road, you need guys to be able to step up, and I think they deserved the turn in the lineup,” Wiese said.

Neither team was able to generate a great deal of offense, especially in the first half. The Hoyas had only one shot in the first 45 minutes when Campbell forced Bluejays junior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow to make a save in the 18th minute in order to protect the 0-0 score line. Senior goalkeeper and co-captain Tomas Gomez did the same for Georgetown in the 32nd minute.

The second half lacked offense almost as much as the first half did, with the exception of Basuljevic’s strike. The Hoyas managed just three more shots to make a total of four in the game, the lowest total of the season. Creighton had nine shots and six corner kicks, one of which led to a shot that missed high, as the Bluejays were unable to convert on any of their chance.

“When you are playing a team as good as Creighton, at Creighton … you are going to have to defend well for parts of that game,” Wiese said. “I thought the guys did a really good job of that. I thought they were very committed.”

The match’s lone goal arrived in the 73rd minute and was set up by players in nearly all positions. The buildup began with sophomore defender Joshua Yaro, went through senior midfielder Austin Martz, who earned the assist, and Muyl, before Basuljevic finished the chance with a shot from the left side of the box that hit the left side of the goal.

Georgetown improved to 5-1-1 on the road with Saturday’s win in Omaha. The team has scored over half of its goals in away matches while limiting the home teams to just three goals all season and earning five of its eight shutouts. These numbers are all the more impressive when considering the intimidating home-field advantage that many of the Hoyas’ opponents feature. Nearly 5,000 fans attended the season opener at No. 8 Indiana University, and 3,023 watched Saturday’s game in Omaha.

“When you play on the road, it focuses you, and I think when this team is focused, we are tremendous,” Wiese said. “When this team is focused, it does a lot of little details right. … I think this group has really identified itself with being very comfortable on the road against anybody.”