Georgetown men’s soccer host Syracuse Sunday in NCAA third round
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The third-seeded Georgetown University men’s soccer team will host the Syracuse University Orange on Sunday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at 1 p.m., at North Kehoe Field. The Hoyas received the third overall seed in the tournament of 48 where the top 16 teams are seeded and receive a first-round bye.
Georgetown defeated UNC Charlotte on Sunday to move on to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history. Freshman Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph’s) scored the game winner in the 43rd minute to send the program to the Sweet 16. Both teams managed eight shots for the afternoon and GU took five corner kicks to the 49ers four. Sophomore goalkeeper Tomas Gomez (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) took the win in the net with two saves.
The Hoyas are 18-3-1 on the season winning the BIG EAST Blue Division for the second time in three years and making it to the BIG EAST Championship where the Hoyas fell to Notre Dame in double overtime, 3-2. Along the way, the Hoyas posted seven-game and 11-game unbeaten streaks and are just one win shy of the program record of 18 victories in 1994.
The Hoyas have received a number of accolades this season with Allen earning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Senior midfielder Ian Christianson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Christian Life) and junior forward Steve Neumann (New Hope, Pa./Council Rock North) were both named First Team All-BIG EAST, while Allen was joined by senior defender Jimmy Nealis (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and Gomez. Rounding out the All-BIG EAST Third Team was senior defender Tommy Muller (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Trinity Prep).
This is Georgetown’s NCAA Tournament berth is the second under Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese. The Hoyas have been to the tournament on three previous occasions. Most recently, Georgetown won its first round game in 2010 and tied at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, but failed to advance on penalty kicks.
This is the first time the squad moved beyond the second round of the tournament with previous appearances in 1997 and 1994. Georgetown’s last trip to the Sweet 16 was in 1997 in a field of 32. The Hoyas defeated VCU in the first round, 2-1, before falling at Virginia, 5-1, in the second round. This will be the first time the program hosts a Sweet 16 game on campus. The Hoyas are 3-2-1 overall in the NCAA Tournament.
Leading the way for Hoyas is Allen who has 30 points with 14 goals including 10 game winners as well as two assists. Neumann has 26 points with seven goals and a team and conference-high 12 assists, while senior forward Andy Riemer (McLean, Va./Georgetown Prep) rounds out the top three with eight goals and one assist for 17 points.
In the net, Gomez has appeared in 16 games with 59 saves and seven shutouts to his credit.
Senior Louis Clark scored with 2:14 left in the second overtime to lift the SU men’s soccer team (14-6-0) to a 3-2 victory against No. 19 VCU in the second round of the NCAA Championship last Sunday. Clark’s golden goal completed an Orange comeback that saw the team rally from a 2-0 deficit against the 14th-seeded Rams. The team defeated Cornell in the opening round of the tournament, 1-0.
The NCAA berth is Ian McIntyre’s first at Syracuse, and second overall. In 2005, he directed Hartwick to the naitonal tournament after the Hawks won the Atlantic Soccer Conference championship.
Georgetown is 10-5-1 against the Orange with the last meeting in 2009 where the Hoyas won 2-0 in New York. GU is 5-2-1 against Syracuse at home and has never played them in the postseason.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at North Kehoe Field. Live stats and a free webcast featuring Dan Helfrich and Tom Greaser will be available at www.GUHoyas.com. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $5. Georgetown students with a GOCard will be admitted free of charge thanks to the generosity of an athletics donor.
