The No. 14 Georgetown University men’s soccer team (6-3-3, 2-0-1 Big East) lost to the University of Denver Pioneers (6-6, 1-1 Summit League) 2-1 Tuesday night, Oct. 7, under the lights of Shaw Field. In the final 20 seconds of the match, the Hoyas lost their 9-game undefeated streak to a team that had so far amassed more losses than wins this season.
Denver got off to a dominant start, controlling possession for most of the first 15 minutes of play. Despite the Pioneers’ hold of possession, the Hoyas managed to fire off the first shots of the match with senior midfielder Zach Zengue sending off a shot that was blocked in the 5th minute and a second shot from far out that flew over the goal in the 17th minute. A minute later, Zengue was given another opportunity for a goal as senior midfielder Max Viera was taken to the ground in the box and subsequent video assistant referee (VAR) review awarded the Hoyas a penalty kick.
Zengue lined up to take the shot and sent the ball bounding into the back of the net as the Pioneers’ goalkeeper Gabe Schwartz dove to the opposite side, putting the Hoyas up 1-0 18 minutes into the match. With this goal, Zengue, who was tied for fourth most goals in the country to begin the week, netted his 10th goal of the season.
The Pioneers responded rapidly, charging up the field and securing a corner kick within the next minute of play as first-year defender Will Caldwell used his body to block a potential goal. Denver midfielder Luke Schultz sent an outswinging corner to wide-open Pioneers defender Trevor Wright who knocked the free header into the back right corner of the net, tying the match 1-1 in the 19th minute.
The rest of the first half saw both teams pursuing a goal to no avail. Throughout the first half, Georgetown sent up 1 shot on goal and Denver sent up 2, limiting the chances of success for both teams. The beginning of the second half saw much of the same. Junior midfielder Mateo Ponce Ocampo sent up a shot on goal in the 51st minute that the Pioneers keeper ultimately blocked. In the 66th minute, the Pioneers looked like they had a chance at a goal as senior goalkeeper Tenzing Manske found himself outside the goal; Denver neared the net yet, miraculously, the Pioneers did not score.
As the match continued in a draw, the intensity increased and the referees handed out a collection of cards. The Pioneers amassed 3 yellow cards throughout the half, and the Hoyas amassed 2 — and a red card. In the 76th minute, play stopped as chaos seemed to erupt on the field. Viera was taken to the ground another time in what would land Denver a yellow card — and Viera did not respond favorably. Losing his cool, Viera pushed over Pioneers forward Keegan Kelly and was shown a red card, forcing the Hoyas to play down a man for the final 14 minutes of play. The red card also lost the Hoyas Viera for Saturday’s match against the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies (7-2-3, 2-1-0 Big East).
Sophomore forward Jordi Sada-Paz was shown a yellow card a few minutes later for not stepping away from the ball fast enough after a foul was called. The Hoyas sent up a total of 7 shots throughout the second half, but none found any success.
In the final minute of play, the story turned out a little differently for Denver. Capitalizing on the Hoyas’ loss of a player, the Pioneers drew 4 fouls in the final 14 minutes of play. The fourth of these fouls gave the Pioneers a free kick outside the penalty box, and Schultz lofted the ball into the right half of the net as Manske failed to move waiting for a second Denver touch. Despite being challenged with VAR review, the goal remained.
With just 16 seconds left to play, the Hoyas saw an unfortunate end to their 9-game undefeated streak as the Pioneers edged into the lead 2-1.
The Hoyas were missing a key element to their success Tuesday night: sophomore forward Mitchell Baker. In Georgetown’s Oct. 3 match against Seton Hall University (5-2-4, 2-0-1 Big East), Baker was sent off the pitch with a red card in the 89th minute. Baker, with that red card, received an automatic one-game suspension, forcing the Hoyas’ second-lead scorer to sit out the match against Denver. The Hoyas inevitably missed out on some scoring opportunities. Despite Georgetown outshooting Denver 14-5, both teams only had 3 shots on goal — a strict departure from the Hoyas’ average of over 7 shots on goal per game.
Head Coach Brian Wiese said the team made a number of fatal errors throughout the match.
“At the end of the day, we laid our own landmines, that we stepped on,” Wiese told The Hoya. “So, the first goal we created for them, the red card we created for them and, in some ways, it’s the second goal.”
“A lot of our heartache was self-induced today,” Wiese added.
The Hoyas will return to play Saturday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in a doubleheader against UConn at Shaw Field, where Georgetown will look to regain their winning momentum in their fourth Big East matchup. The No. 15 Georgetown women’s soccer team (9-2-2, 5-0 Big East) will take on the DePaul University Blue Demons (3-8-1, 0-3-1 Big East) prior to the men’s match.
