Yet again, a screamer hurtling toward the net from a Bluejays attacker imperiled the Hoyas; yet again, it sailed harmlessly above the sidebar. An audible sigh of relief reverberated around Shaw Field as the ball was punted away in the final minute of Georgetown’s victory over Creighton.

The Georgetown men’s soccer team (2-4-2, 1-1-0 Big East) broke a three-game losing streak and clinched its first conference win of the season after prevailing 2-1 over the Creighton Bluejays (3-2-3, 0-1-1 Big East) on Sept. 24.

Georgetown started off cold as Creighton repeatedly found its way inside the penalty box. The Bluejays failed to register a shot on target in their first 6 tries, however, giving the Hoyas enough breathing room to manufacture a few offensive plays behind first-year midfielder Max Viera and junior midfielder Kyle Linhares.

Georgetown’s defense played a large part in stifling Creighton’s ability to generate dangerous chances. Multiple blocks by defenders and a stellar save by Georgetown junior goalkeeper Ryan Schewe shifted the momentum in favor of the home team. 

According to Georgetown first-year forward Jacob Murrell, the defense played a key role in establishing the team’s rhythm. 

“Schewe dug his heels in, our back line dug their heels in, and our midfield dug their heels in,” Murrell told The Hoya. “We’ve had a lot more chances today than we’ve had the rest of the season, but I think it all stems from the defense.”

After mustering a few deep drives that flashed scoring potential, the offense’s efforts finally crystalized in the 37th minute. Murrell set sophomore defender Kieran Sargeant up to explode past Creighton’s defense and cross the ball to senior defender Daniel Wu, who gave Georgetown the lead with a well-placed header.

The Hoyas’ offensive command initially rolled into the second half as Linhares and junior midfielder John Franks applied considerable pressure. However, fouls threatened to derail Georgetown’s winning chances. An aggressive save gave Creighton forward Duncan McGuire a shot at equalizing the game via penalty kick, but Schewe executed a heroic save to help protect Georgetown’s lead.

Both teams continued to struggle with discipline, racking up multiple fouls and two yellow cars apiece. However, Schewe’s strong goalkeeping helped negate any of Creighton’s scoring drives. Georgetown responded well with close chances by Murrell and Viera, and the defense’s quick pace created multiple counterattacking opportunities. 

In the 67th minute, Linhares received a deep pass in relatively unprotected Bluejay territory, allowing him to launch the ball from the endline and hit Murrell square in the chest a few yards shy of the net. Murrell squeaked the ball past the goalkeeper to double Georgetown’s lead.

Moments later, however, another foul from a sliding tackle gave the Bluejays their second penalty kick of the game. This time, they scored, bringing themselves within one goal.

Fatigue clearly set in as both teams failed to convert multiple scoring opportunities, but Georgetown’s dogged defense helped guarantee the team’s first Big East win of the year, 48 combined shot attempts later.

Hoyas Head Coach Brian Wiese said the team put up a commendable fight against a strong conference rival.

“I think this is exactly the kind of game we needed,” Wiese said in an interview with The Hoya. “To be able to scrap and to fight and to get a result, especially when we’ve been on a slide, is really fun to see for the guys. You hope they could take some of that mentality into this second half of the season.”

The victory was representative of the Hoyas’ efforts to establish a strong culture, Murrell said.

“Today we fought, and that’s been a common theme in training this week,” he said. “It was a really good team performance and it should carry a lot of weight going forward into Bowling Green on Saturday.”

Even from the crowd, fan Christopher Tengey (COL ’26) said that the team’s energy stood out in the back-and-forth game.

“It was a close game,” Tengey told The Hoya. “I was very unsure of where it was going to go, but we hung in there and we got the win. Very happy to see all the boys out there at home for our school showing the Georgetown spirit.”

The Hoyas will look to further solidify their team culture and pick up another win against Bowling Green (2-2-3) on Oct. 1 at Shaw Field.