WASHINGTON – The top-seeded Georgetown University men's soccer team scored a pair of second-half goals to defeat the fourth-seeded Seton Hall University Pirates, 2-0, in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals Presented by JEEP Brands on Thursday evening at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland. With the win the Hoyas improve to 15-1-2 overall, while the Pirates move to 7-5-6 on the season.
Head Coach Brian Wiese
- "It was a hard-fought game. The early red card changed the match entirely and, in some ways, made it more difficult for us because Seton Hall is a very disciplined defending team. They are deeply committed to making things hard, and they have one of the top defensive records in the country. We had to be patient and careful to manage their transitions and set pieces. Ultimately, our veteran players stepped up. Matthew Van Horn found a way to break through with another important goal, and Eric Howard put in a fantastic attacking performance from the backline. We needed some of our deeper-lying players to get forward and add numbers to the attack, and they did a tremendous job executing that."
How it Happened
- The game was physical early as a challenge in the 10th minute resulted in a Seton Hall red card and the Pirates down to 10 men.
- Despite the advantage, Georgetown could not find the back of the net in the first half as the Pirate defense stood strong.
- Both teams had chances, but the squads would go into the break in a scoreless tie.
- The Hoyas struck in the 58th minute when senior Eric Howard sent in a ball, classmate Oliver Stafford got a foot on it to redirect it before the ball was fired into the back of the net by Matthew Van Horn at the far post.
- GU added another just six minutes later when a shot from senior Mateo Ponce Ocampo ricocheted off of a Seton Hall defender and fell to Howard who sent it right back in as the Blue & Gray took the 2-0 lead.
- The two goals were all Georgetown needed as the Hoyas held on through the final minutes to get the 2-0 victory and advance to the championship game.
Of Note
- Georgetown outshot Seton Hall 16-5 and had seven shots on goal to the Pirates' one.
- The Hoyas managed nine corners in the game, while SHU tallied five.
- Junior goalkeeper Charlie DeMarco took the win and the shutout in the net with one save to his credit.
- This is the 10th-consecutive season that the Blue & Gray will appear in the championship match.
Up Next
- With the win, the Hoyas have advanced to the BIG EAST Championship game against third-seeded Akron on Sunday at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
- Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
- The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
- Live stats and ticket links will be available at GUHoyas.com.
