The Georgetown men’s soccer team (3-2-2) defeated the Rider University Broncs (1-5-1) Saturday, Sept. 13 under the lights of Shaw Field. The Hoyas came into the match having taken down James Madison University in a 4-0 shutout Sept. 9, a result they repeated against Rider. Georgetown scored 4 goals Saturday night and kept Rider to a singular shot on goal, blasting them 4-0.
Rider has not played a single ranked opponent this season, and yet they still entered the match having lost 4 of their previous 6 matches, holding a singular win to their name. The Hoyas, on the other hand, had taken down the at-the-time No. 3 University of Pittsburgh (3-3-1) and drew the at-the-time No. 1 Vermont (5-0-3) and No. 14 Duke (2-0-3) in their previous 3 matches. From the start, it was clear who had the expected advantage, and the Hoyas were quick to broadcast this.
In the 5th minute of play, sophomore midfielder David Urrutia put up the Hoyas’ first shot on goal, sending a ball towards the low center straight into Rider goalkeeper Marius Helias’ hands. A minute later, senior midfielder Max Viera was taken to the ground and earned Georgetown a penalty kick. Senior midfielder Zach Zengue lined up for the shot, sent the ball flying into the back of the net and put the Hoyas up 1-0.
Georgetown continued making offensive advances and dominating possession, sending up 6 more shots on goal in the subsequent 20 minutes of play. In that time, Rider seemed to find a single possession of opportunity. The Broncs sent out one shot attempt in the 12th minute, which was deftly blocked by the Hoya defense, and a subsequent shot attempt less than 30 seconds later, which went sailing far over Georgetown’s goal and the backstop, ending up on West Road.
The Hoyas quickly regained possession, and in the 25th minute, sophomore forward Mitchell Baker put up 2 shots on goal — both blocked — before Viera found the ball at the left corner of the box. Viera flipped it to Zengue, who sent the ball straight into the back of the net to put Georgetown up 2-0. With this goal, Zengue secured the third brace of his Georgetown career.
Georgetown made substitutions in the 28th and 35th minute, and the players off the bench continued the Hoya dominance. In the 44th minute, junior midfielder Matthew Van Horn sent the ball up the pitch to junior midfielder Mateo Ponce Ocampo, who launched it from the left corner of the box straight into the back of the net, earning his second career goal to put Georgetown up 3-0.
As the sun began to set, so did Rider’s chances of securing a win — or even a goal. At the end of the first half, the Hoyas had put up 11 shots, all of which were on goal. The Broncs had put up 4 shots, with none being on goal. Despite a comparatively low fan presence with 529 attendees compared to the recent 1000-plus, Georgetown dominated the pitch both offensively and defensively.
This trend continued into the second half. Despite Rider holding the ball for a few minutes at the start of the half, the Broncs failed to truly progress up the pitch other than earning their only corner of the match.
Following many less-than-ideal shot attempts, the Hoyas found an opportunity in the 82nd minute off a corner. Sophomore midfielder Jack Brown received the ball from junior midfielder Matthew Helfrich and looked to take a shot, sending the ball towards the left corner of the net. Sophomore defender Jack Lindimore leaped into the air and headed the ball in, netting his first career goal to put Georgetown up 4-0. The final 8 minutes of play saw both teams seek a goal to no avail.
Throughout the second half, Georgetown put up another 11 shots to add to their 11 from the first half, though only 6 of these were on goal, correlating to the Hoyas’ singular goal this half. Rider, on the other hand, put up a singular shot the entire half — and it was on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Charlie DeMarco — who entered the pitch for the first time in his career in the 82nd minute — recorded Georgetown’s only save of the match, earning himself a share of the clean sheet.
First year defender Will Caldwell, who scored his first career goal in the Sept. 9 match against James Madison, seemed to lead the Hoyas’ defense, expertly heading out the ball on multiple occasions. Caldwell was named the Big East defensive player of the week for his efforts on both ends of the pitch. Zengue led the Hoyas’ offense, picking up 2 goals and inching ahead of Baker as the new squad leader in scoring. Viera was named to the Big East weekly honor roll after netting 2 goals in the Hoyas’ match against JMU and tallying an assist and penalty kick against Rider.
When asked about the Hoyas’ shift in momentum throughout the season, Head Coach Brian Wiese said Big East play will constitute a new phase of their season.
“What are we — five games unbeaten?” Wiese told the Hoya. “We talk about it and can we get to six now?”
“Now this first phase of the season’s over and we have the Big East, which is a whole different kettle of fish that we have to manage,” Wiese added.
The Hoyas will open Big East play Friday, Sept. 19 in a match against Butler University (2-5) in Indianapolis. There, they will look to secure their 6th unbeaten game in a row and start league play with a win.
