WASHINGTON – The top-seeded and nationally No. 3 Georgetown University men's soccer team used a gutsy performance giving up the lead twice to tie the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs 2-2 in double overtime on Wednesday afternoon at Shaw Field.  The Hoyas advanced to the BIG EAST Championship Game in a shootout defeating the Bulldogs 4-3 in the three-hour affair.  With the draw, Georgetown moved to 14-1-3 on the season while Butler sits at 11-6-2 overall.
 
Sounds of the Game

• "It was a great BIG EAST Semifinal, Butler is an NCAA Tournament team and rounding into form.  They were really efficient with their chances, their attacking pieces are as good as any we have seen this season and we had to have a little resiliency to relinquish two leads and I thought the guys got mentally stronger as we got into overtime and penalties so that was a real positive.  We're thrilled to get back to the BIG EAST Final here at home. " – Head Coach Brian Wiese

 
How it Happened

• The Hoyas got on the board in just the third minute as Dylan Nealis found Sean Zawadzki at the top of the box.  Zawadzki fired a laser through traffic and buried it for the quick 1-0 lead.
• Just four minutes later, Butler had an answer as a defensive miscue allowed Alex Lehtinen to be open on the left side unmarked and he found the back of the net to tie the game up at one.
• Butler continued to look dangerous as a shot in the 16th minute clanged off of the crossbar prompting a video replay to confirm it did not cross the goal line.
• From that point on, the game settled in and the Hoyas maintained more possession in a physical match as GU found itself tied at the half.
• As the second half began, the Hoyas came out firing.  Achara worked his way into the box through the defense.  With the Bulldog defenders scrambling, one had the ball deflect off of his hand resulting in the penalty kick which Achara connected on to give the Blue & Gray the advantage in the 51st minute.
• On the following possession, the Hoyas came right back down as a hard shot from freshman Dante Polvara sailed just wide.
• Butler equalized in the 70th minute on a counter attack down the right side as Jack Haywood sent a perfect ball to Brandon Guhl who buried it in far corner to tie it up again.
• The Bulldogs looked to be the stronger side in the final minutes of regulation with a number of chances but the teams stayed knotted at two sending the game into overtime.
• In both overtimes, Georgetown served as the aggressor but couldn't find the back of the net as the game ended in a tie, 2-2, with penalty kicks deciding who would advance.
• In penalty kicks, the Hoyas converted four of five as Butler keeper Gabriel Gjergji stopped one.  The Bulldogs made three and missed two as GU advanced to the championship game.

 
 
Of Note

• Georgetown outshot Butler 21-10 (9-6 SOG) and held an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• Freshman Tomas Romero managed four saves, while Gjergji had seven stops on the afternoon.
• This was the first time all season the Hoyas have allowed two goals in game.
• Georgetown has made eight appearances in the BIG EAST Championship game, the Hoyas are now 7-7-2 all-time in BIG EAST Semifinal games.

 
Georgetown will now host the winner of second-seeded St. John's and third-seeded Providence on Sunday at Shaw Field at noon.  The game will be broadcast live on FS2.  Live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.  Fans can follow the in-game scoring on Twitter at @GUHoyasMSoccer.