WASHINGTON – It took a late goal and some big plays in the net, but the No. 2/1 Georgetown University men's soccer team came away with a 1-0 victory over the Creighton University Bluejays on Thursday afternoon at Shaw Field in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP. With the win, the Hoyas advance to the championship game on Saturday with a record of 8-0-2 on the season, while Creighton falls to 6-5-0.

Head Coach Brian Wiese

• "In a lot of ways we feel like we stole one today. Creighton was fantastic, they deserve a ton of credit. The dictated a lot of the game to us and the came here on our home field and controlled a lot of the play. Giannis was really important for us in goal keeping the shutout, and then Joe DaLuz had a fantastic finish at a timely moment. In a game where we didn't generate a lot of chances, we took the ones we got and sometimes semifinals feel that way so we're happy to be moving on to the final."

How it Happened

• Creighton was the more attacking team in the first half as neither looked exceptionally dangerous.
• The Bluejays had their best chance midway through the half as Creighton had a 1v1 one with Georgetown keeper Giannis Nikopolidis.
• The BIG EAST Goalkeeper was off his line, but dove to his left and got a hand on the ball to disrupt the run and keep the game scoreless.
• Georgetown tallied just one shot in the half as the teams went into the break in a scoreless tie.
• The Bluejays continued to push in the second half maintaining much of the possession.
• The Blue & Gray's first look of the game was a shot from freshman Kyle Linhares that was saved by keeper Paul Kruse.
• Minutes later a corner popped out to senior Sean Zawadzki who had a chance at the top of the box but it sailed high.
• In the final minutes of regulation, it was Nikopolidis again who found a way to make a stop well off of his line again.
• However, the game changed in the 84th minute as senior Paul Rothrock gained possession. He sent it to junior Joe DaLuz who fired to the far post and connected for his first-career goal and giving the Hoyas the 1-0 lead.
• The Blue & Gray was able to hold on for the win and the opportunity to appear in its fourth-consecutive trip to the BIG EAST Championship game.

Of Note

• Georgetown was outshot by Creighton 12-8 with three on goal to the Bluejay's four.
• The teams were awarded four corners apiece.
• Nikopolidis took the win managing four saves on the afternoon.

Up Next

• The Hoyas, the top seed out of the East Division, will face the winner of the top seed from the Midwest Division Marquette University and the second seed from the East in Seton Hall University which will play in the second semifinal. Saturday's championship game will be broadcast FS2 and is slated to begin at 3 p.m. Live stats will also be available for all three matches at GUHoyas.com.

Fan Information

• All Georgetown men's soccer home games are currently scheduled to be played at Shaw Field. In accordance with Washington, D.C. regulations which limit the size of in-person gatherings, fans are regrettably not permitted to attend home games at this time.