After a remarkable season which culminated in a Big East championship, a number of individual accolades and a 4-seed bid to the NCAA Division I tournament, the Georgetown University men’s soccer team (11-5-5, 5-2-1 Big East) has plenty to be proud of. The only sour note of 2024 was Georgetown’s upset loss to North Carolina State University (10-4-5, 3-3-2 ACC) in the second round of the NCAA tournament, marking two straight years without a postseason win as a 4-seed.
Conference tournament play was a vastly different story, as the Hoyas pushed past Creighton (9-6-3, 4-3-1 Big East), Akron (12-5-4, 7-0-1 Big East) and Providence (13-6-3, 5-1-2 Big East) by one goal apiece — including a golden goal overtime thriller against Akron — to secure the title of Big East champions. The championship win was Georgetown’s sixth in program history and first since 2021.
While dominant as a unit, the elite individual talent present on Georgetown’s roster should not go without praise. In the annual conference regular season awards, three Hoyas were selected to the honorable all-Big East first team: senior defender Maximus Jennings, sophomore midfielder Matthew Van Horn and junior midfielder Zach Zengue.
On the all-Big East third team, senior midfielder Joe Buck, first-year defender Tate Lampman, junior goalkeeper Tenzing Manske and graduate forward Marlon Tabora were recognized for their excellence.
Additionally, Lampman won Big East freshman of the year for his prowess on the defensive end. He played a major role in Georgetown’s 11 shutouts over the course of 21 total games, which ties Georgetown with University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Bryant University for the most in Division I — a true testament to the hornet’s nest that is the Georgetown backline.
Van Horn may have only started 62% of games this season, but he sure knows how to close them. Out of his team-high six goals this season, four were game-winners. The star midfielder also dished out three assists for a point total of 15.
Zengue led the team in assists with 7, which included one explosive matchup against DePaul University, where he masterfully set up 3 different Hoyas for goals in a 4-0 victory. The star forward has worked his way toward becoming a staple of the Big East, previously making the third team in 2023.
No team is worthy of the Big East championship without the security of a ferocious goalkeeper, which is exactly what Manske brought to the table this season. Manske was a brick wall for almost half of his games, shutting out 8 of the 17 he started in and achieving a stifling 77.4% save percentage on the 166 shots fired by opponents. Manske ranks second best in the conference for both his goals against average and shutouts per game and comes in at third for save percentage. Nationally, Manske is tied for ninth in shutouts.
With the best record in the Big East, Akron was Georgetown’s stiffest competition this season and the first team to win the regular season title besides the Hoyas since 2019. Akron toppled additional Georgetown streaks by winning defensive player of the year and coaching staff of the year, titles that had been held by the Hoyas for five consecutive years.
The six seniors who have stepped off of Shaw Field for the final time witnessed a special sort of distinction within the men’s soccer program in their time on the Hilltop, leaving with three regular season conference titles, three NCAA tournament appearances and two Big East championships.
With the loss of these seniors, rising stars such as first-year forward Mitchell Baker, who finished the season with 4 goals and 4 assists, and sophomore midfielder Jack Heaps, with 3 goals and 2 assists, will be expected to fall into more prominent roles alongside the returning Van Horn. Zengue will not return, having been drafted by the Columbus Crew with the 58th overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft — an incredible achievement that speaks to the quality of the Georgetown program.
2024 was another success story for the Hoyas, and fans can only expect more dominance from one of the most consistently-strong programs in the nation. Next season, Georgetown will find growth opportunities by capitalizing on more scoring opportunities while maintaining their nearly impenetrable backline. If 2025’s recruiting class proves to be up to standard, Hoya fans should be prepared for another Big East takeover and a deeper NCAA tournament run.
