WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's soccer squad shut out the Seton Hall University Pirates, 4-0, in a Saturday afternoon BIG EAST Conference matchup at Owen T. Carroll Field.  With the win, the Blue & Gray improves to 8-3-3 overall and 4-1-1 in league play with three games remaining.
 
"Achara got us off on the right foot with a calm finish which really settled the team and resulted in some great goals," said Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese.  "It was one of our lowest shot totals of the season, and it was nice to see our guys rewarded with some goals.  As always, three points on the road in the BIG EAST is important so we're happy with the result."
 
The Hoyas opened the scoring in the seventh minute as a turnover at midfield was passed to senior Ethan Lochner (New York, N.Y. / Stuyvesant).  He slipped it to junior forward Achara (Enugu, Nigeria / Berkshire School [Mass.]) surrounded by three defenders and the junior managed to break through and connect to make it 1-0.
 
Seton Hall (5-5-2, 1-4-1 BIG EAST) answered as the squad had some dangerous looks midway through the half.  However, sophomore goalkeeper Ethan Koehler (Maplewood, N.J. / Columbia) and the backline managed to hold the Pirates off to keep the lead.  Minutes later it was Georgetown that looked dangerous as a wide open header from Lochner went the wrong way.
 
With 15 minutes remaining in the half, the Blue & Gray had back-to-back setpieces with the first resulting in three shots as well as a saved bicycle kick by senior defender Peter Schropp (Omaha, Neb. / Creighton Prep).  The second saw the ball bouncing around in the box but Georgetown could not find the second goal.
 
That goal came minutes later as a miscue in the back by The Hall gave sophomore forward Derek Dodson (Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley) the ball with just keeper Andreas Nota to beat.  Nota came out and Dodson went by him shooting in the empty net to make it 2-0 in the 38th minute.
 
With four minutes left in the first, Koehler came up with two big stops and the Hoyas went into the half leading 2-0.
 
The Pirates came out looking to even it up, but after a big defensive stop, the Blue & Gray managed to score on a rebound.  A breakaway put junior defender Dylan Nealis (Massapequa, N.Y. / Massapequa) alone on the right side and he fired as Nota made the save.  The rebound went to the foot of Achara who directed it right back in to make it 3-0 in the 61st minute and notch his second goal of the game.
 
Georgetown wasn't done year as Lochner came down the left side and passed it into the box to Dodson.  The sophomore hit it right back to junior forward Riley Strassner (Avon, Conn. / Avon) who finished perfectly into the back of the net to make it 4-0 in favor of the Hoyas in the 63rd minute.
 
The four goals would help the Blue & Gray to its seventh shutout of the season as the Hoyas cruised to victory.
 
Georgetown and Seton Hall both managed 14 shots in the contest, and GU took two corner kicks to the Pirates' six.  Koehler managed his first career shutout and five saves in the win, while Nota was given the loss with four saves on the afternoon.
 
The Hoyas will have their final midweek game of the regular season as the squad travels to Providence on Wednesday for a league matchup.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com. The game will also be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).
 
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