On the day before games, Georgetown men's soccer coach Brian Wiese conducts a trivia contest with his players to determine which group starts with possession. In the build-up to Tuesday's showdown with Maryland, he chose an obvious but inglorious topic: the Hoyas' all-time record against the Terrapins.
Many players were close to guessing the lopsided mark, but only freshman Arun Basuljevic aced it: 0-28-1.
Using that wretched figure to further fuel them, the seventh-ranked Hoyas ended 62 years of futility with a 1-0 victory over the stumbling Terps at Ludwig Field. Junior forward Brandon Allen scored his eighth goal of the year in the 78th minute as Georgetown (6-1-3) extended its winning streak to four and unbeaten run to five.
"We talked about making history," Allen said, "and we did our job."
The Hoyas had defeated the Terps once before. In fact, it came in their previous meeting, a 2012 College Cup semifinal. But because the match was settled by penalty kicks after a 4-4 tie, the result went into the record books as a draw.
This clash did not come close to matching the theater of that NCAA tournament thriller, neither in quality nor atmosphere. The outcome was fair, however. Georgetown was the finer side for much of the evening and was rarely threatened by the Terrapins (3-4-2), who are off to their poorest start since Coach Sasho Cirovski's first season in 1993.
Typically one of the nation's highest-scoring teams, Maryland has been shut out three times and scored multiple goals just twice.
"We have too much quality, too much experience and at some point our guys are going to have to raise the level and show that they understand what it means to put on the Maryland jersey," Cirovski said. "They have been challenged and we will see how they respond."
The goal came out of nothing. Sophomore midfielder Bakie Goodman busted out of tight space on the sideline at midfield and surged into the open left flank, creating a three on two against the slow-reacting hosts. Goodman crossed to Alex Muyl, who pushed the ball wide to Allen for a one-timer into the near right corner.
"I just put on a few moves and got out of there," Goodman said. "I saw the space and took it."
The Hoyas and Terps, NCAA runners-up in 2012 and 2013 respectively, were meeting in the regular season for the first time in five years, a pause caused in part by cool relations between the respective athletic directors. Allowed to resume the series, the sides used the non-conference affair to gauge their progress heading deeper into league play.
"The boys have a real confidence that they can come into a place like this and get a result," Wiese said. "They aren't intimidated by a team or an environment like this, and that is half the battle."
Cirovski was not as pleased.
"We are just not good enough right now," he said. "Maybe I make some more changes and make some more tweaks because we are just not good enough against good teams to score goals. Unfortunately, we have to reinvent ourselves in the middle of the year."
The Hoyas were sharper in possession most of the first half, building through midfield and targeting Allen and Muyl.
In the fourth minute, Muyl outpaced the Maryland backline to meet goalkeeper Tomas Gomez's booming clearance. Off a big hop at the top of the box, Muyl tried heading the ball over Zack Steffen, but the advancing goalkeeper made a soaring touch save.
In the 15th, Allen's sliding attempt missed the near corner on Keegan Rosenberry's expert cross to the back side.
The Terrapins began to gain traction, swinging dangerous crosses and drawing four corner kicks but failing to latch onto balls in the penalty area. They did not test Gomez until the 41st minute when Mael Corboz, a Rutgers transfer whose two sisters play for the Georgetown women's team, stung a threatening 22-yarder.
Maryland set the terms early in the second half but lacked menace. The Hoyas finally found their prize in the late stages.
"Toward the end," Allen said, "we had one or two good chances and we put it away."
GEORGE MASON 1, NAVY 1: Timi Mulgrew put the 20th-ranked Patriots (7-0-2) ahead in the 75th minute with his eighth goal of the year, but P.J. Suess answered for the Midshipmen (4-4-2) off a free kick four minutes later in Annapolis. Navy's Jackson Morgan stopped Mulgrew's penalty kick in the 20th minute. The Patriots will open Atlantic 10 play Saturday at Virginia Commonwealth.
VIRGINIA 2, JAMES MADISON 1: In Charlottesville, Darius Madison forced extra time with an 89th-minute goal and then scored seven minutes into sudden death as the 19th-ranked Cavaliers (5-3-1) rallied to defeat the Dukes (4-4-2). Madison's game-winner came on a header off Eric Bird's cross. Jamal Umar scored for JMU in the 16th minute.
Steven Goff is The Post's soccer writer. His beats include D.C. United, MLS and the international game, as well as local college basketball.
Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2014/09/30/ncaa-mens-soccer-georgetown-defeats-maryland-1-0-on-allens-late-goal/
