Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MEN’S SOCCER | Hoyas Conquer Marquette to Remain Undefeated in the Big East

Following a big victory over No. 4 St. John’s, No. 7 Georgetown continued their undefeated run in Big East play and defeated Marquette 3-0 in a dominant home performance on Senior Day.

In their penultimate regular-season home fixture of the year, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (13-1-1, 6-0-1 Big East) shut out the Marquette Golden Eagles (7-7-1, 3-4-0 Big East) on Shaw Field.

The Hoyas controlled the pace of play early, and it quickly became apparent that Georgetown would not start sluggish following their big victory over St. John’s. Head Coach Brian Wiese was proud of the team’s continued motivation and intention throughout their winning streak.

“We worry about complacency setting in. This group, to their credit, hasn’t had a single match all year where we haven’t come out with the intent to play well,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said in an interview with GUHoyas. “They show up and they’ve got to play and perform.”

In the 17th minute, the Hoyas got on the scoreboard courtesy of a Golden Eagles’ own goal following a brilliant piece of individual skill from junior midfielder Jacob Montes and a quick combination play between Montes and graduate midfielder Ethan Lochner.

“I got the ball. There was a player on my back so I turned on him,” Montes said. “Then I saw Ethan in the split and we played a one-two, and it was a little tricky to get through. And obviously the defender hit it in for me. It’s always good to get the goal early for the team, so it was a good start.”

Less than two minutes later, Georgetown doubled its lead when senior defender Dylan Nealis was taken down in the box earning a penalty kick. Senior forward Achara stepped up and buried the penalty kick into the bottom left corner of the net despite Marquette goalkeeper Cedrik Stern’s diving effort.

In the 24th minute, the Golden Eagles had their first chance of the game when they caught sophomore goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis out of net and shot from midfield. Although Nikopolidis was beaten, the shot went just over the crossbar and the Blue and Gray kept the shutout.

Maggie Fouberg/The Hoya | Freshman defender Daniel Wu prepares to pass the ball with force. Wu started for the Hoyas in their home game against Marquette last Saturday.

As the half wore on, Georgetown continued to control possession. However, both teams traded chances toward the end of the half.

Nealis found himself in space down the right-wing and played a perfect pass to freshman midfielder Dante Polvara who was standing at the top of the box. However, Polvara’s one-time effort was right at Stern who made the save.

Minutes later the Hoyas had another great chance as freshman forward Will Sands beat a man and got in down the left-wing. Sands got his shot off but Stern made another nice save, this time with his foot, to deny Georgetown from grabbing a third.

In the 39th minute, the Golden Eagles came close to getting on the scoreboard following a set-piece when Nikopolidis was beaten to the cross by a Marquette attacker whose header went just over the crossbar. 

In the final minute of the half, junior midfielder Jack Beer hit a shot from outside the box that was struck well and beat Stern before clattering off the crossbar and bouncing out of play.

Georgetown headed to the half with a 2-0 lead. As they extended their lead in the 55th minute, the Hoyas ensured that Marquette would have no chance to make the game competitive again. 

Montes received the ball in the midfield and played Achara in down the left-wing. Achara then played the ball square to junior forward Derek Dodson who was making a run to the middle of the box. Dodson calmly placed the ball in the back of the net, giving the Blue and Gray a 3-0 lead.

Throughout the remainder of the second half, the Hoyas had a number of opportunities to add to their lead. The best chance came in the 60th minute after Beer found sophomore forward Zach Riviere in the box. However, Riviere’s ensuing shot hit the crossbar.

The game ended with Georgetown with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Marquette to remain in first place in the Big East. 

“[Marquette] is the team I picked to win the league going in,” Wiese said. “They have a lot of injuries so they’re not quite what they should be. But this is a really good team with some really talented players.”

Following the game, the Hoyas moved to the top spot in the Rating Percentage Index rankings.

Nikopolidis and junior goalkeeper Ethan Koehler split time in net to deny the Golden Eagles from scoring and preserving the Hoyas’ seventh consecutive shutout. 

Georgetown will return to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Villanova in a Big East matchup.

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