Defense was the key yet again for the Georgetown men’s soccer team this past weekend as the squad held DePaul (3-6-1, 1-1 Big East) scoreless to secure its sixth clean sheet of the season in a 2-0 victory. The No. 17 Hoyas are now 6-1-3 overall and remain undefeated in conference play.

Georgetown jumped out to an early start on Saturday, scoring its first goal of the game just nine minutes into play. Sophomore midfielder Steve Neumann tallied the assist after crossing the ball to junior midfielder Ian Christianson, who knocked it in from 18 yards out. The goal would prove to be the game-winner for the Hoyas.

The team maintained its momentum throughout the rainy first half, tallying five shots and needing just two saves from freshman goalkeeper Tomas Gomez. DePaul matched Georgetown’s five shots but was unable to put any past Gomez.

The Blue Demons came out strong in the second half, putting pressure on the Hoyas’ defense and testing Gomez in goal. But the freshman stepped up yet again with five saves for the Hoyas to earn his fourth consecutive shutout.

“In the second half we made some adjustments we thought were going to be good, but I think we came out really flat,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said. “A lot of that had to do with DePaul — they came out working really hard. We were under a lot of pressure for the first 10 or 15 minutes of that half.”

Freshman midfielder Tom Skelly scored Georgetown’s second and final goal of the game with just 38 seconds left in the second half. The goal was a picture-perfect finish to the Hoyas’ last offensive attack. Junior midfielder Andy Riemer sent the ball towards Skelly, whose first attempt hit the crossbar before rebounding directly to his foot. The freshman then fired it past DePaul’s sophomore goalkeeper Eric Sorbey to make the final score 2-0. The goal was Skelly’s first for Georgetown.

“Getting up by one early was really important for us,” Wiese said. “We would’ve liked to have gotten that second goal a lot earlier than we did, but the goal that came in the last minute was a really pretty goal to see.”

DePaul outshot Georgetown, 11-6, despite Georgetown’s continuous offensive attacks. The Blue Demons also took eight corners to the Hoyas’ six. Sorbey finished with two saves to his credit while Gomez tallied seven.

Gomez was named to the Big East honor roll for the third consecutive week after his performance against DePaul. The win marked his sixth shutout in ten games.

“It was really the Tomas Gomez show in goal for us,” Wiese said. “He made some terrific saves. In the Penn State game we got a shutout because the team in front of Tomas was terrific and was able to limit a very good Penn State team to no shots on goal, but the DePaul game was a shutout because Tomas made a lot of big plays for us to keep the ball out of the net.”

Junior defender and captain Tommy Muller was also recognized on Monday for his performance last week. The centerback was named Big East Defender of the Week for the first time in his career after leading the Georgetown defense to two shutouts against the Nittany Lions and Blue Demons.

“Tommy was a big reason we did well in the Penn State game, and he was a rock back there against DePaul. He is such an important player for us, and he does a lot of things that are underappreciated,”Wiese said. “He’s one of the best centerbacks in the country. He’s also a big-time leader, and he’s athletic enough to play almost anyone on the field. The things he does for us as a centerback are definitely special.”

The win against DePaul was Georgetown’s second victory in the Big East. The Hoyas are also now 4-1 at home, with their only loss coming against Virginia Commonwealth in the first game of the season.

“We’re happy with where we are right now,” Wiese said. “I think getting the maximum number of points for our first two league games is really important for the final stretch that’s coming up in the last couple weeks of the season.”

Georgetown will face off against American University under the lights on MultiSport Facility tonight. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.