Rutgers Men's Soccer Falls to No. 24 Georgetown
Sep 27 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – A goal in the 93rd minute broke a 1-1 tie as the Rutgers men's soccer team (3-3-2, 0-2-1 BIG EAST) was defeated 2-1 by No. 24 Georgetown (7-2-0, 2-2-0 BIG EAST) on Friday night at Yurcak Field.
"We didn't deserve to lose this one tonight," said head coach Bob Reasso. "We played very immature in the first 15 minutes and they didn't do what we told them. The coaching staff told them, it's a wet, slippery night, let's put some balls behind them and play smart. Sure enough we came out, played a ball square across the park, got pinched; they got a corner kick and then scored."
"It's a young team, they make mistakes but after that I thought we were absolutely exceptional. I thought the guys played really well and they controlled the game. The difference tonight was their goalkeeper. He had 10 saves on the night and I thought there were three that were not good saves, but three phenomenal saves."
In the game's opening minutes, Georgetown took an early 1-0 lead as Mark Zeman found Robert Burnett for a header with just 1:49 ticking off the clock. The Hoyas carried their one goal advantage into the locker room at halftime, but the Scarlet Knights regrouped in the second half and managed to even the score.
The Rutgers offensive attack applied steady pressure on Georgetown's defense as RU held a 20-13 edge in the shots category and forced Hoyas goalkeeper Mark Wilber to 10 saves, including several diving stops.
In the 49th minute, the Scarlet Knights were awarded a free kick which eventually led to the game-tying score. Sophomore Aly Mazhar (Cairo, Egypt) sent a shot into the box that sailed just over the outstretched hands of Wilber. The shot deflected off the crossbar and bounced straight down over the goal line to make the score 1-1.
Both teams continued to battle for the remainder of the contest with Rutgers controlling much of the play in the second half, including 11 shots after the intermission. The Scarlet Knights had a chance to take over the lead and possibly the win when they were credited with a penalty kick in the 68th minute. Senior Kevin McFadden (Midlothian, Va.) stepped into the box and took the offering, however, the shot traveled just over the crossbar, canceling out one of RU's prime scoring opportunities.
The score remained knotted at 1-1 for the completion of regulation. Georgetown found its game winner three minutes into the overtime period as Zeman again found a teammate for the go-ahead goal. The junior defender sent a cross into the box which was headed in by Peter Grasso for the victory-clinching score.
"I'm not happy about the marking but I'm proud of them," said Reasso. "We have to let this disappointment fuel our enthusiasm for Sunday [against Seton Hall]. We have to come out and play the same way on Sunday and get a result. That's two games in a row that we've outplayed opponents and we tied one and lost one. That's not what you need to do if you're going to move on in the BIG EAST."
"But it's also a very young team and these are the ways you learn. You have to make mistakes unfortunately to learn. When these boys grow up, they're not going to be a good team; they're going to be exceptional."
The Scarlet Knights will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 28, when they host in-state and BIG EAST rival Seton Hall at 5:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field.
