WASHINGTON – It took a golden goal from sophomore Derek Dodson (Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley), but the Georgetown University men's soccer team upset the No. 14 Creighton University Bluejays (11-4-2, 7-1-1 BIG EAST), 2-1, in overtime in the BIG EAST Conference regular season finale in Omaha, Nebraska.  With the win the Blue & Gray finished the regular season with a mark of 10-4-3 overall and 6-2-1 in conference play.  The victory also gave GU the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship and a first round bye.
 
"I was frustrated with the goal we gave up in the first half, but to the guys' credit they've been really resilient all season," said Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese.  "The mark of a good team is finding results on the road and they've been figuring it out all year.  It's a huge relief to get the bye so we can take the week to rest and work on a few things."
 
The golden goal came in the 93rd minute as GU was awarded a corner kick and senior captain Kyle Zajec (Westport, Conn. / Staples) served a perfect ball into the box.  It took a bounce and Dodson managed to hit a volley in traffic into the back of the net to end the game and complete the Hoya comeback.  The goal snapped an 11-0-0 streak for the Bluejays who had not lost a game when scoring first this season.  It also marked GU's second win over a ranked opponent this year.
 
Just minutes into the contest, freshman goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis (Athens, Greece / Nea Genia Zirdi) made a stop and then sophomore defender Sean O'Hearn (Mountville, Pa. / Hempfield) cleared it off of the line to keep it scoreless early on.  The Hoyas began to get some looks on offense, but it was Nikopolidis that had to play the hero again as the freshman got a hand on it to knock it away.
 
In the 22nd minute off of GU's first corner of the match, sophomore defender Rio Hope-Gund (New York, N.Y. / Friends Seminary) had a header that was cleared off the line and on the next possession a header from Zajec was saved by keeper Paul Kruse.  Despite the momentum, it was Creighton that found the back of the net first as Sven Koenig was given some space and he buried it in the 25th minute.
 
In the last minute of the first half, graduate student Matt Ledder (Falls Church, Va. / Gonzaga) had a breakaway down the left side but his shot at the buzzer was saved as the Hoyas went into the break trailing, 1-0.
 
Georgetown came out firing in the second half as the Blue & Gray searched for the equalizer.  Following some solid chances, the difference came in the 65th minute as a foul just outside the box gave the Hoyas a free kick.  Senior defender Peter Schropp (Omaha, Neb. / Creighton Prep), an Omaha native, took the kick and his left-footed strike to the far post sailed to the back of the net beating Kruse to tie the game at one.  It was his first and only setpiece of the season.
 
"That's what a senior does, they find a way to win," said Wiese.  "In front of his home crowd, Peter stepped up and decided we were not going to lose this game."
 
Minutes later, Nikopolidis was once again tasked with saving the game as he came up with a huge stop.  On the counter, junior forward Achara (Enugu, Nigeria / Berkshire School [Mass.]) had Kruse beat but his shot on the open net went just wide of the post.
 
In the final minutes of play, the Georgetown defense was on its heels but big plays from the backline as well as a huge save from Nikopolidis forced the game into overtime tied at one.
 
"Our back four was immense in the second half, especially the final 10 minutes," said Wiese.  "Schropp willed us to victory, McDonough was good in the air.  They, along with Rio (Hope-Gund) and O'Hearn were our backbone tonight."
 
The Hoyas were outshot, 14-13, and took three corner kicks to Creighton's four.  Nikopolidis took the win in the net with an impressive 10 saves in the contest, while Kruse took the loss with six saves in the game.
 
Georgetown will have the week off before hosting the winner of third-seeded Providence and sixth-seeded St. John's at Shaw Field on November 7.  Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).  Live stats will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.
 
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