Sept. 16, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's soccer team will meet a pair of Ivy League opponents this weekend. The Hoyas will battle the Princeton University Tigers in New Jersey on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., before hosting the No. 22/25 University of Pennsylvania Quakers on Sunday at 1 p.m., at North Kehoe Field.
The Hoyas are 2-2 on the season and spent a week in the national rankings. Georgetown opened the season with a pair of victories against Northeastern and then-No. 24 Michigan State. The Blue & Gray are looking to bounce back after a tough weekend at the University of New Mexico falling to the Lobos and the Denver University Pioneers.
GU has had strong performances from a number of upperclassmen including junior forward Uche Onyeador (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) and senior goalkeeper Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) who both earned BIG EAST weekly honors. Onyeador and freshman Steve Neumann (New Hope, Pa./Council Rock North) are leading the team in scoring with four points apiece. Brutto has a team-best 16 saves in three games played.
Princeton is looking to rebound from back-to-back one-goal losses on Friday. The Tigers are 1-2 on the season and have lost the last two games, to Lehigh and American, by one-goal margins after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0 in the season opener.
Junior forward Antoine Hoppenot has one goal and one assist to lead the Tigers in scoring. Seniors Manny Sardinha, Brandon Busch and Benjamin Burton all have one goal apiece. Team captain Sean Lynch has played all 270 minutes in goal and has made 13 saves.
The Hoyas hold a 2-0 series advantage with the last meeting coming in 2002. In that game, Georgetown took a 3-0 lead but barely held on winning by just one goal at North Kehoe Field. In the first meeting, the Blue & Gray downed the Tigers, 4-0, at the UConn Soccer Classic.
Penn moved into the national rankings this week after a 4-0 start to the season. The Quakers posted shutouts in their first two games of the season and defeated both George Mason and Lafayette 2-1 in overtime. Penn is led by freshman Stephen Baker who has nine points on the season with four goals and one assist. Senior Ben Berg has played all four games in goal with 19 saves to his credit. The Quakers will battle Villanova on Friday at home before traveling to the nation's capital.
Georgetown is 1-0 all-time against Penn. The lone meeting came during the 2001 season when the Hoyas defeated the Quakers 2-1 at home. Sunday will be a homecoming for Penn Head Coach Rudy Fuller who is a Georgetown alum and former member of the soccer team.
Friday's game will be streamed live on GoPrincetonTigers.tv for subscribers and live stats will be available as well. The game will be aired on Verizon FiOS1 on tape delay in the North Jersey, Long Island and Washington, D.C. metro areas. Ralph Bednarczyk will be on play-by-play with Sal Rosamilia doing color commentary and Eva Zaccaria as the sideline reporter.
Hoyavision featuring Dan Helfrich and live stats will be available for Sunday's game at www.GUHoyas.com. Fans can purchase tickets for Sunday online at www.GUHoyas.com or at the gate. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
