Freshman midfielder Arun Basuljevic scored his fourth goal of the season Friiday in the 85th minute against Villanova, giving the Hoyas a 2-1 win.
No. 11 Georgetown narrowly won its final regular-season game Friday, needing a late goal by freshman midfielder Arun Basuljevic to defeat the Villanova Wildcats 2-1 on the road. The Hoyas (11-3-4, 6-2-1 Big East) will host the Marquette Golden Eagles (8-5-4, 2-3-4 Big East) on Tuesday in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The Hoyas are the third seed in the conference, while the defending tournament champion Golden Eagles are the sixth seed. Six teams make the tournament, while the top two teams, Creighton (14-2-2, 7-1-1 Big East) and No. 15 Xavier (12-4-2, 6-1-2 Big East), earned byes into the semifinals. Georgetown finished just one point behind Xavier in conference play, denying them the bye.
Georgetown started the Villanova game quickly, something it has not done often this season. Wildcats sophomore goalkeeper Will Steiner had to make two saves in the first four minutes in order to preserve the scoreless tie. Steiner made a third save on a shot by junior forward Brandon Allen but could not hold on to the ball. Senior forward Austin Martz, returning to the lineup after missing time due to injury, took the second opportunity and capitalized to put the Hoyas ahead in the ninth minute.
The opportunities and production continued for the Hoyas for the majority of the half. Georgetown outshot Villanova 11 to five during the first 45 minutes and forced six saves from Steiner, compared to just three for senior goalkeeper and co-captain Tomas Gomez.
“From Villanova’s point of view, it’s a Friday afternoon game, so they are walking out from class. Trying to manage that as a home team is almost a disadvantage. I think our guys were ready to start and started well,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said.
Despite the run of play clearly favoring the Hoyas, the Wildcats were able to level the game just before the half with a set piece play that involved quick offensive thinking and a slow reaction by the Hoyas. The hosts earned a free kick in the 43rd minute and took it before the Georgetown defense was able to organize. Villanova senior midfielder Oscar Umar connected with open sophomore midfielder Andreas Bartosinski, who then found the back of the net from outside the 18-yard box.
“What we really should have done is put the game away in the first 20 minutes,” Wiese said. “We started well enough to do that. But it stayed 1-0, and once Villanova tied it, they got pretty excited that they could get something out of the game.”
The second half began at 1-1, and the Hoyas knew they needed a goal in order to have a chance at a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament. The offense, however, could not replicate its first-half success. It did not create a single corner kick and had only four shots, just one of which was on goal.
Senior midfielder Austin Martz scored the opening goal of the match against Villanova Friday. It was his second goal this year.
“[After Villanova scored,] they got very excited. The game tightens up and then it all goes up in the second half. They just made it harder,” Wiese said.
Despite a drop in offensive production in the second half, the Hoyas managed to find a way to win the game. The breakthrough moment came in the 85th minute, when Bacame in the 85th minute, when Basuljevic scored his fourth goal of the season with a shot from the top left corner of the box. Sophomore midfielder Bakie Goodman earned the assist.
“The guys found a way to be resilient and get the away goal. [Freshman midfielder Christopher] Lema won the ball well and gave it to [Goodman], who slipped the ball to Arun, who, when he has been getting his looks this year, has been a terrific finisher,” Wiese said.
Georgetown needed to win and to receive help from Butler (6-7-5, 2-5-2 Big East) in its match against No. 15 Xavier in order to earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Xavier won convincingly and Georgetown instead finished third in the Big East. As the highest ranked seed without a first-round bye, the team will play Marquette, the last team to make the tournament.
When the Hoyas last met the Golden Eagles on Oct. 4 at Shaw Field, they played to a scoreless draw after two overtimes. Tuesday’s game will give the Hoyas a second chance to extend their run of seasons with a win over Marquette, which currently extends back to 2010.
“It is going to be a lot about us and how we approach it,” Wiese said. “At this level when you are playing good teams in postseason kinds of formats, the games are going to be very tight. It is about … understanding that you are playing a team in Marquette that likely has to win to keep its season alive.”
Georgetown will host Marquette on Tuesday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Shaw Field.
