Sept. 30, 2014 Box Score
WASHINGTON - The No. 7 Georgetown University men's soccer team closed out non-conference play with a 1-0 victory over the University of Maryland Terrapins (3-4-2) Tuesday evening at Ludwig Field. A goal in the 78th minute gave the Hoyas the victory as the squad improved to 6-1-3 overall and finished non-conference play with a mark of 5-1-3 for the season.
The game was a rematch of the 2012 College Cup semifinal where the Hoyas and Terps tied, 4-4, but GU advanced to the national championship on penalty kicks, 4-3. The victory was also significant in the history of the program as the Hoyas tallied their first victory over Maryland.
"This is a big win for the program, but for these guys, they're 3-0-1 against Maryland," said Wiese referring to spring and preseason meetings. "There is a really healthy respect for who Maryland is and how good they are and what they can do, but there isn't the idea that we have to be really special to win the game. We need to show up and play well, play our game."
The Hoyas had the first chance of the game as sophomore forward Alex Muyl (New York, N.Y./Bard) streaked down the field and received a long pass which he tried to head over keeper Zack Steffen who had come out of his net. Steffen got a fingertip on it to make the save, but the Hoyas were pressing.
Georgetown continued to maintain possession for much of the half, but a scary moment came in the 26th minute as the ball bounced through the box and no GU defender could get a foot on it. The eventual shot was blocked, but the Terps had two more chances before the final shot went high.
That gave Maryland momentum as the Blue & Gray spent the next 10 minutes on defense, looking to move to the other end of the field.
With five minutes left in the half, a hard shot was sent in by Mael Corboz, but Hoya keeper Tomas Gomez (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) made the save to keep it scoreless.
The teams went into the break without a goal between them.
The Terps controlled the pace early with back-to-back dangerous looks at the net that went just left. The Hoyas answered as a play developed started by a run from Bakie Goodman (Sarasota, Fla./Pine View School for the Gifted), but senior midfielder Austin Martz's (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) shot went high.
Gomez came up big again in the 73rd minute as a flicked header went to the far post and the senior keeper made the stop.
Georgetown's goal came off of a jailbreak on the left side of the field. Goodman came streaking down the sideline and sent it into the middle of the field at the top of the box. Muyl was waiting to redirect it to junior forward Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph) to his right who finished into the near corner to make it 1-0 in the 78th minute.
"When you have somebody like Brandon Allen, all you need is one little break and it's going in," said Wiese.
The Terps pushed forward working for the equalizer, but it never came as the Hoyas were able to hold on for the 1-0 victory.
Georgetown outshot Maryland, 8-7, and both teams took four corner kicks on the evening. Gomez was awarded the win with two saves, while Steffen took the loss tallying one save in the contest.
Georgetown will continue BIG EAST Conference play on Saturday as the squad hosts No. 12 Marquette University at 1 p.m., at Shaw Field.
The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Dan Helfrich calling the action and Tom Greaser on color. To access the Fox Sports Go app on your mobile or tablet you can download it for free from the Fox website (http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/), ITunes and the App Store. Once you've downloaded the app you will be taken to the Fox Sports Go landing page. To access BIG EAST content simply click on "All Channels" and select the BIG EAST tab. To access the Fox Sports Go website on your desktop you have to confirm your cable subscription. Enter your username and password obtained from your cable provider.
Men's soccer alumni will also be returning to celebrate Alumni Weekend as well as the 20-year anniversary of the 1994 team that went to the program's first NCAA Tournament.
