On Saturday, Oct. 13, the Georgetown Hoyas men’s soccer team defeated the Villanova Wildcats in double overtime following a game-winning goal from junior forward Riley Strassner.

Head coach Brian Wiese said that the Hoyas (7-3-3, 3-1-1 Big East) created multiple chances to score against the Wildcats (6-5-1, 1-4-0 Big East) and maintained an attacking mindset.

“I actually was pretty happy with the way the game went in a lot of ways. From the beginning of the second half through the overtimes, I thought our mentality was really good,” Wiese said. “We played the game in attacking parts of the field. I thought we were generating a lot.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Ethan Koehler made his debut in net for the Hoyas after freshman goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis was called up to the Greek national soccer team.

Georgetown controlled the tempo of the game early on as they saw more of the ball than Villanova and generated four shots before Villanova generated their first.

The Hoyas nearly took the lead in the 17th minute following a strike from junior forward Achara from outside the box. Achara’s powerful shot struck the far post and bounced away from danger.

Moments later, graduate student midfielder Matt Ledder was fouled just outside the box. Senior midfielder Kyle Zajec played the ensuing free kick into the box towards senior defender Brendan McDonough.

McDonough connected with the end of the cross but his header went wide and the game remained scoreless.

As the game wore on, Villanova found their footing and generated their first opportunities of the match. In the 21st minute, Koehler made a save diving to his right and the ensuing rebound was cleared by the Hoyas’ defense to keep the game scoreless.

With around eight minutes left in the half, the Hoyas had another scoring opportunity, this time courtesy of sophomore midfielder Foster McCune.

After a clearance from the Wildcats’ defense, McCune received the ball at the top of the box. He hit a powerful effort that looked to be heading on target but was deflected following strong defending from Villanova.

The game remained scoreless and headed into half tied at 0-0.

The Hoyas started the second half well with two quick opportunities from sophomore forward Derek Dodson and Achara. Following a counter from the Hoyas, Achara found himself in on net.

His effort curled outside of the far post and went wide. Just a few moments later, Zajec played a lofted free kick into the box towards the far post. Dodson headed the ball but his effort hit the woodwork and the Hoyas could not break the scoreless tie.

The Hoyas broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after junior defender Dylan Nealis was brought down in the box.

Wiese praised Nealis’ performances throughout the season and his play against Villanova in particular.

“Dylan Nealis has been really good. I thought he was a really important piece for us today,” Wiese said.

Dodson stepped up to take the ensuing penalty and sent Villanova’s goalkeeper the wrong way before placing his shot in the top corner of the net to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.

Following the opening goal, the Hoyas continued to press for a second goal while stifling Villanova’s counterattacks.

Wiese said that Georgetown’s defense remained stout throughout the match.

“I thought our back four was really steady today. McDonough and [Peter] Schropp were really good handling little moments. They put out a lot of little fires that could have become bigger problems,” Wiese said.

Villanova grabbed an equalizer in the 78th minute following an individual effort from junior midfielder Evan Vare.

Following a Georgetown turnover, Vare hit a shot from far outside the box that beat Koehler and dipped under the crossbar to tie the game at one.

After the goal, the Hoyas continued to control play but were unable to find a winner with any of their chances and the game headed to overtime.

Five minutes into the second overtime period, Georgetown scored the game-winner courtesy of Strassner.

Strassner explained that the team worked on the setup to the goal in training.

“So, we decided on this little play we’ve been working on in practice where it goes one way and then a header across,” Strassner said. “Great ball from Kyle [Zajec] and McDonough did an excellent job squaring it across goal and I found a way to put my noggin on it. We’ve been getting into great spots and we’ve been able to get a lot of shots off. So, to put one in the back of the net was a great feeling.”

Overall, the Hoyas outshot the Wildcats 27-13. Koehler earned the first win of his Georgetown career with five saves while Strassner scored his first goal as a Hoya.

Next up, the Hoyas will travel to New Jersey to play Seton Hall Saturday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.