WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's soccer team fell on a late goal to the No. 6 University of Louisville Cardinals (6-1-1), 2-1, Tuesday evening at Cooper Field in a nonconference matchup.  With the loss, the Hoyas drop to 5-3-1 overall with one nonconference game remaining.
 
"When you play really good teams, moments define the game," said Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese.  "We did everything right for 89 minutes and then we had that moment.  Soccer is made up of moments, unfortunately, this is a really sour taste from an overall good performance."
 
The Cardinals possessed early, but it was Georgetown that then began to control the run of play.  Junior forward Achara (Enugu, Nigeria / Berkshire School [Mass.]) was flying all over the field with a chance in the 22nd minute.  The most dangerous look for the Blue & Gray was almost an own goal as a shot from graduate student Matt Ledder (Falls Church, Va. / Gonzaga) bounced off of a number of Cardinals and behind keeper Jake Gelnovatch before UofL was able to clear it off of the line for a team save and to keep it scoreless.
 
Everything changed in the 30th minute as a shot from distance was deflected, resulting in the Cardinal corner kick.  Adam Wilson sent it in to the near post and found the head of Tate Schmitt in the six-yard box who found the open corner to give Louisville the 1-0 lead.
 
The Blue & Gray kept fighting and found the equalizer in the 37th minute.  Junior defender Dylan Nealis (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) was at the top of the box and passed to the newly inserted Riley Strassner (Avon, Conn. / Avon).  The junior found an open Derek Dodson (Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley) to his right and slipped it to him.  Dodson managed to beat Gelnovatch at the far post to tie it up, 1-1.
 
Neither would generate another goal as the squads would go into the break in a 1-1 draw.
 
Early in the second half, the Blue & Gray was pressuring after two huge opportunities from Achara and freshman midfielder Sean Zawadzki (Olmsted Falls, Ohio / Olmsted Falls).  Georgetown would continue to push searching for the go-ahead goal.  The Hoyas held possession and had a number of chances as the Cardinals went down a man.
 
In the 82nd minute, a ball headed back to freshman goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis (Athens, Greece / Nea Genia Zirdi) had too much on it and was out of his reach.  The keeper dove for it, but it hit the foot of a charging Izaiah Jennings and bounced into the back of the net to put Louisville ahead, 2-1, playing a man down.
 
Georgetown would attempt a comeback, but it would fall short as GU lost, 2-1, at the final whistle.
 
The Hoyas outshot the Cardinals, 17-10, and took six corner kicks to Louisville's four.  Nikopolidis took the loss with four saves in the net, while Gelnovatch was awarded the win combining with the defense for six saves in the game.
 
Georgetown will move back to BIG EAST Conference play on Saturday as the squad travels to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face the Marquette Golden Eagles.  Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.  Live stats and a webcast will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.