WASHINGTON – The No. 17/12 Georgetown University men's soccer team scored early and held on through a wild ending fueled by a pair of goals from sophomore Jacob Murrell to defeat the Santa Clara University Broncos 3-2 in the 2023 season opener on Thursday at Buck Shaw Field in Santa Clara, California. The Hoyas are now 1-0 on the season, while the Broncos start the year 0-1.

Head Coach Brian Wiese

• "It was a really good first half in general. It was a great start with some good goals, but the game really settled in the second half. Santa Clara started causing us some problems which we expected since we were at their place and it's a difficult place to play. But it was a great sign to have a team go on the road and lose two goals in succession the way we did and to stem the tide and find a way to win on a fantastic goal from Jacob Murrell. It was a real character test early in the season and I'm proud of them."

How it Happened

• The Hoyas opened the scoring in just the first minute as senior Kyle Linhares received a pass upfield from sophomore Max Viera. Linhares was able to split the defense and take a touch before he fired into the net with his right foot to make it 1-0 just 13 seconds into the match.
• Georgetown would add one more in the 19th minute when Murrell intercepted an errant pass in front of the net and was able to send it back in to give the Blue & Gray the 2-0 advantage.
• The Hoyas would continue to push and Santa Clara began to gain more possession with a pair of good looks that were thwarted by senior goalkeeper Ryan Schewe and the Hoya defense.
• At the break, the Hoyas had the 2-0 lead.
• Neither team threatened through much of the second half, until Santa Clara made the sub of Jesse Anamoo in the 74th minute and immediately looked dangerous.
• A shot was saved by Schewe, but the rebound came back to Anamoo and he fired it in. Caden Buckley managed to get a toe on the ball to redirect it in to make it 1-0.
• Off of the ensuing kickoff and throw in, Santa Clara evened the score on a half volley from Buckley off of a header by Anamoo at the top of the box to make it 2-2 in the 79th minute.
• Georgetown would reset the lineup and go right back at the Broncos.
• In the 81st minute, junior Kieran Sargeant took it on the left side and centered the ball to Murrell who slotted it through perfectly with his right foot to put the Blue & Gray back on top 3-2 and notch his second of the match. That goal would stand as the game winner.

Of Note

• Georgetown and Santa Clara both managed 11 shots as the Hoyas had six on goal, and the Broncos tallied five.
• GU was awarded 14 corner kicks to Santa Clara's two in the game.
• Schewe took the win in the net with three saves for the evening.
• There have only been 21 goals scored faster than Linhares' in NCAA history and it set the record for fastest goal in Georgetown history.
• It marked the second season in a row that Linhares would play a part in the first goal of the year coming within the first five minutes of kickoff.
• This is the second multi-goal game of Murrell's career after scoring a pair of goals in GU's NCAA Championship win over Navy last season.

Up Next

• The Hoyas will stay on the West Coast and will face No. 7 Stanford University on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.
• Live stats will be available on GUHoyas.com and the game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network.