WASHINGTON - The seventh-seeded Georgetown University men's soccer team defeated the University of Central Florida Knights 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Sunday evening at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 13-3-4 overall, while the Knights finish the season with a record of 11-7-3.
 
Head Coach Brian Wiese

• "UCF is champion of the Sun Belt, which is arguably one of the hardest, deepest conferences in the country. And I think you saw a team that had a lot of different pieces that could hurt you, and the fact that we were able to get a shutout against that kind of talent was tremendous for the group. We had a goal of just trying to wear them down. They had the disadvantage of playing a Thursday game and having to travel here, and they don't sub a whole lot, and so we thought if we could keep a good tempo and wear them down, chances would come late, and that's both goals came kind of when we thought they could. So I thought the guys executed the game plan brilliantly and I'm super happy to be in the Sweet 16."

How it Happened

• The game began at a frantic pace as both teams took the ball up and down the field.
• A shot from sophomore Mitchell Baker sailed just wide as both him and senior Zach Zengue were active up front.
• The Blue & Gray continued to get looks, but in the final minute UCF had a free kick bounce around in the box before it was saved by GU keeper Tenzing Maske to go into the break in a scoreless tie.
• UCF looked the better team early in the second half, as the Knights had a counter with an open player two yards from the far post that went wide.
• Central Florida continued to look dangerous, but everything changed in the 69th minute as sophomore Aidan Godinho passed it to junior Mateo Ponce Ocampo who flicked it to sophomore Mitchell Baker. The Australia native received the ball through three defenders and fired to make it 1-0.
• The Blue & Gray doubled the score in the 80th minute when Manske sent a goal kick up the field and he found the head of Baker who redirected the ball to Max Viera out wide. The senior crossed it back in and Baker rose above to head it into the back of the net giving the Hoyas the 2-0 advantage.
• The defense stood strong for the final minutes as the Hoyas held on for the 2-0 victory.

Of Note

• Georgetown outshot UCF, 11-10, with both teams managing four on goal.    
• The Hoyas were awarded seven corners to the Knights' five in the contest.
• Manske took the win in the net with four saves for the game.
• This is the ninth time in program history that the squad has advanced to the third round with the most recent coming in 2021.

Up Next

• With the win, the Hoyas have advanced to the third round of the tournament for the ninth time in program history.
• The squad will host the winner of tenth-seeded High Point and West Virginia at Shaw Field.
• The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Georgetown alums Dan Helfrich and Tom Greaser calling the action.
• The date and time will be announced in the coming days.