WASHINGTON –  The Georgetown University men’s soccer team fought valiantly but couldn’t come away with a win in its BIG EAST opener Friday evening in Queens, N.Y.  The Hoyas fell to No. 15/15 St. John’s by a score of 2-0 after allowing a heartbreaking goal with just ten minutes left in regulation.  With the loss, Georgetown drops to 3-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference, while St. John’s moves to 2-1-2 and 1-0-0 in BIG EAST play.

“I thought the guys had good focus going into the game,” said Head Coach Brian Wiese.  “We had a game plan and executed it very well, certainly in first half, but we lost our legs in the second and they started running at us and we couldn’t keep up.”

Georgetown entered the game without starting defender Ibu Otegbeye (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park) and had a number of players who had missed practice throughout the week due to illness.

“The guys played tremendously in the first half even with a few being laid up this week and hitting the field for the first time today,” said Wiese.  “This made us more  tired than we would have been under normal conditions.  We hit a wall from that in the second half and St. John’s took advantage of the space.  We couldn’t compete physically and started running out of gas and absorbing pressure.”

The Hoyas dominated the offense throughout the first fifteen minutes as the squad had opportunities but couldn’t get on target.  Midway through the half, the teams settled down as the defensive battle began.

St. John’s had an opportunity in the 22nd minute when Josh Faga had a clear shot from 10 yards out, but Georgetown keeper Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) made a huge save to keep the score even.  Minutes later, Len Coleman (Basking Ridge, N.J./Pingry School) played a ball into the box for Chandler Diggs (Coppell, Texas/Coppell) who couldn’t get a foot on it missing a big opportunity.

Both squads had four shots in the first half and the Blue & Gray tallied two shots on goal.  The teams were even on corners with two apiece and the physical Hoyas had five fouls to St. John’s two as they went into the locker room scoreless.

The Red Storm came out strong in the second, but it was freshman Ian Christianson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Christian Life) who had the best opportunity in the first few minutes taking a shot from the top of the box which keeper Derby Carrillo managed to save.

For the remainder of the half, the St. John’s offense attacked having a number of quality shots that resulted in three big saves from Brutto and another hitting the crossbar at the 76-minute mark.  At 79:50, the Georgetown defense could no longer hold as Adam Himeno worked through three Hoyas and finally past Brutto to find the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.

As Georgetown battled to even the score, the offense continued to struggle to get the ball through the midfield and after bringing nine players forward in the final minutes, the Red Storm took advantage as Tadeu Terra scored with 28 seconds remaining to make the final 2-0.

The Hoyas were outshot 17-7 and took just two corners, both coming in the first half, to St. John’s seven.  Brutto had four saves on the evening matching Carrillo.

“We would like to go into Syracuse and split this weekend but getting a win on the road in the BIG EAST is difficult,” said Wiese  “We were charged with one of the most difficult tasks in the league and I’m proud of the boys for the effort they put in against a great team in a great atmosphere.”

The Blue & Gray will have an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday as the Hoyas travel to Syracuse University for a 3 p.m., matchup against the Orange.  Gametracker will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.