WASHINGTON – The top-seeded and nationally No. 3 Georgetown University men's soccer team won its third-consecutive BIG EAST Championship on Sunday with a 3-1 victory at Shaw Field over the third-seeded Providence College Friars.  After a lackluster first half, the Hoyas exploded into the second with three goals to pick up the program's fourth title in program history.  With the win, Georgetown improved to 15-1-3 on the season while Providence dropped to 14-6 overall.
 
Sounds of the Game

• "This never gets old, it's great.  I get a little emotional because every time you come through and win one of these, there are certain people who do something above and beyond and we had a whole lot of those guys today.  It was one of the poorest first halves we've had and a lot of that is a credit to Providence.  We knew how good they could be, and we said at halftime if we want to show we are one of the best teams in the country, we'll make them regret only taking one on us in that first half. " – Head Coach Brian Wiese
• "We just came out flat and at halftime we got together and decided to work hard and put our heads to it and get after it and that's exactly what we did." – Jack Beer

 
How it Happened

• The Friars got on the board first as a ball was slipped to Tiago Mendoza at the left corner and he shot at the far post to make it 1-0 in the 14th minute.
• Providence controlled the pace with another chance minutes later as freshman defender Daniel Wu blocked the open shot.
• PC continued to push as the Blue & Gray struggled to find a good look.  Each counter was stopped by a strong Friar defense.
• The teams went into the half with Providence leading 1-0.
• Everything changed in the 56th minute when Jacob Montes was taken down just inside the box resulting in a penalty kick.
• Freshman Dante Polvara, who had secured the trip to the championship in PKs on Thursday, stepped up and buried it again to tie the game at one.
• As the game picked up and began to get more physical, it was Georgetown that looked the stronger side. The game winner came in the 73rd minute on a free kick just outside the box in the middle of the pitch.  Junior Jack Beer hit a perfect ball past PC keeper Austin Aviza to give the Blue & Gray the lead.
• Just a minute later, the Hoyas struck again as Beer passed it to freshman Will Sands who slipped the ball to junior Derek Dodson at the left post.  Dodson had the angle and connected to put the game away making the final 3-1.

 
Of Note

• Georgetown outshot Providence 17-12 (7-6 SOG) and both squads attempted a pair of corner kicks.
• Sophomore Giannis Nikopolidis had a solid game in the game with five saves and the victory, while Aviza took the loss with four saves in the contest.
• Beer was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the tournament and senior Dylan Nealis was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player, both were also on the All-Tournament squad along with Dodson and Polvara.
• This is just the second time in program history that the squad has won both the regular season and the championship in the same year.  The previous double championship was in 2015.
• Only two other schools have won three-consecutive BIG EAST Championships, St. John's (1992-95) and Seton Hall (1986-88).
• The Blue & Gray has now won the past four BIG EAST Tournaments it has participated in with titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• With the win the Hoyas have earned their tenth NCAA Tournament berth and the eighth under Wiese. 

 
Georgetown now awaits the selection show to learn if they will receive a first-round bye as well as its first opponent in the tournament.  The NCAA Selection Show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. on Monday.