Nov. 1, 2008
Box Score
Photo Gallery
Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University men's soccer team (10-4-3, 5-3-5 BE) defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles (3-10-4, 1-8-2 BE), 4-2, at North Kehoe Field Saturday in the squad's regular season finale. The Hoyas had already clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Tournament but have now earned the third seed, meaning they will host a quarterfinal matchup next week. This is the highest seed GU has managed since the BIG EAST went back to its divisional alignment in 2005.
The Hoyas entered the game notching no more than one goal in each of the last eight games. GU turned it around, however, achieving it's second-highest goal tally of the season. Georgetown started the scoring just three minutes in when senior Peter Grasso (Burr Ridge,Ill./Hinsdale Central) slid it to Seth C'deBaca (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia Prep) at the top of the box, who fired a shot into the top corner of the net. Unfortunately, the Hoyas' offensive burst was short-lived as Marquette came down and scored in the 12th minute when keeper Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) punched away a cross but Hector Navarro hit a volley in for the equalizer.
The tying goal was the momentum that Marquette needed as they came back on the attack and had another near score, but an offside call kept the score tied at one.
"I thought we played a very uneven game today," said Head Coach Brian Wiese. "I think the team was a little deflated after missing our chance at a league championship with the loss at Notre Dame. It was hard to get in the mindset to play for third or possibly fourth, fifth or sixth place. We knew they were going to come in here and play us like they had nothing to lose."
The Hoyas finally calmed the MU offense in the 25th minute off of a textbook set-piece. Mark Zeman (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Twp.) served the corner in and defender Alex Verdi (Ivyland, Pa./Germantown Acad.) managed to get high above the line of defense to head in the go-ahead goal.
With the momentum shift to Georgetown, the Hoyas continued to pressure the Golden Eagles. In the 35th minute GU hit it into the box and in an attempt to clear, an MU player kicked it into the net for an own goal and giving the Hoyas a, 3-1, lead.
Georgetown managed to hold off the Golden Eagles for much of the second half until the 73rd minute off of a corner kick to pull MU within one. As the game got rough, the Hoyas continued to control the tempo and cling to their one-goal lead. However, to cap off Senior Day, captain Sean Bellomy (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) took a through pass from his classmate, Grasso, to connect for a score in the 89th minute to seal the, 4-2, victory.
"I thought all of our seniors had outstanding performances today," said Wiese. "You have Sean (Bellomy) scoring the goal that really won it for us and Pete (Grasso) getting two assists. Hunter (Joslin), Rich (Diaz), Corey (Zeller) and Pang (Alex Pangraze) all gave us some great minutes and we'll need that depth going into the tournament. This season is really a testament to their leadership. To move from seventh, to fifth, to third really shows what an impact they've had on the rest of the team"
The Hoyas outshot the Golden Eagles, 14-12, and took five more corner kicks (7-5). Brutto had seven saves in the game for the Hoyas and Grasso notched a pair of assists on the day.
Georgetown will have to wait until Monday evening to find out who the team will face in the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Hoyas have clinched the three seed, guaranteeing them home field advantage for the first game. Details on the date, opponent and time will be released early next week.
