The AU men’s soccer team played No. 13 Georgetown University Oct. 4 in its fourth game against a nationally ranked opponent this season, falling to the Hoyas 2-1 at Multi-Sport Field.
Steve Neumann netted the game winner for the Hoyas (7-1-3, 2-0), as his free kick in the 44th minute from just outside the 18-yard box ricocheted off the post and into the net to give Georgetown a 2-1 lead it would hold for the remainder of the game.
Georgetown opened the scoring in the 17th minute, when Ben Slingerland headed in a nicely served Neumann corner kick for the 1-0 Hoyas advantage.
The Eagles (4-7-1, 2-0) equalized just 30 seconds later, as Tyler Collins beat the Georgetown defense down the left side of the field for a breakaway score. The goal gives Collins three on the season, tying him for second on the team in goals scored. Seth Goldman has also netted three scores, while Alassane Kane is the team leader with four.
Neumann’s goal right before the half put Georgetown up 2-1, and the Hoyas held an advantage in shots (10-6) and corner kicks (6-1) after the opening 45 minutes. Georgetown goalkeeper Tomas Gomez totaled four saves in the first half, while Matt Makowski made one.
AU tallied eight shots to outshoot the Hoyas 8-5 in the second half, but couldn’t push across the game-tying goal. Gomez saved shots by Colin Seigfreid, Collins, Kane and Cristobal Soto in the first 20 minutes of the second half, with a Kane attempt later being blocked in the 88th minute.
The Eagles will return to Patriot League play when they take on the Army Black Knights Oct. 8 at Reeves Field. AU is atop the Patriot League standings after defeating defending regular season champion Colgate University 3-0 Sept. 24 and defending tournament champion Bucknell University 2-1 Oct. 1 to open the conference season.
AU has two games remaining on its non-conference schedule, with the next contest Oct. 12 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. UAB is 5-3-2 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA. The final non-conference tilt will be Oct. 25 against the University of Virginia, who is 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
ttomea@theeagleonline.com
