Oct. 25, 2008

Box Score

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Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University men's soccer team managed a victory Saturday on a rain-soaked, windy afternoon at North Kehoe Field. The Hoyas edged West Virginia (4-6-6, 2-3-4 BIG EAST), 1-0, to earn three points in BIG EAST play and stay in the hunt for the conference title. Goalkeeper Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) also made history in the win posting a shutout making it his eighth of the season which ties him for the GU record which was set by Tyler Purtill in 1998. The Hoyas are now 9-3-3 overall and 4-2-3 in the BIG EAST with a pair of conference games remaining.

The sloppy conditions suited West Virginia's style of play and the Mountaineers took advantage of that early on. WVU managed five shots in the first half while Georgetown had four. Brutto stopped two balls in the net but was forced to come out and punch away a number of crosses to aid the GU defense. The Hoyas continued to generate opportunities with four corners to West Virginia's one in the scoreless first half.

Play remained the same to start the second as Brutto and the GU defense managed to hold the Mountaineers but on offense the Hoyas were getting very few looks. In the 64th minute, Scott Larrabee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Loyola HS of LA) was pressuring a pair of WVU defenders when an errant pass was placed right at Larrabee's charging feet. The midfielder took a few dribbles and shot from the top of the box sending it high into the net to give GU the score and eventual game-winner.

"At one point in the game, I was looking at the field and wondering how we were going to make something happen," said Head Coach Brian Wiese. "A few minutes later, their player slipped and Scotty took advantage of it to make a world-class shot against one of the best goalkeepers in the league."

With 27 minutes left, the Hoyas' defense managed to stop a number of solid Mountaineer looks to hold on for the 1-0 victory and three valuable BIG EAST points.

"These three points for us today are huge," said Wiese. "We are going into Notre Dame with a lot on the line. If we can come away with a win, we might be playing for the conference title next weekend against Marquette. This is the first time since I've been here that we have gone into the final two games of the season playing for something meaningful. That says a lot about our boys, I'm really proud of them."

Georgetown was outshot for the first time in four games, 9-7, and had one less attempt on goal (4-3). The Hoyas took more corner kicks for the seventh contest in row holding a 6-3 advantage. Brutto finished with four saves and the shutout.

The sophomore keeper not only tied the season record for shutouts, but also continued his amazing 0.00 GAA. For the first time this season, Brutto will finish the week with more than 50 percent of the squad's minutes and will be eligible to be ranked by the NCAA.

The Hoyas will have just three days off before traveling to South Bend, Ind., for a contest against No. 13/23 Notre Dame on Wednesday. The game was rescheduled after norovirus hit campus earlier this month. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.