Photo by Georgetown Sports Information
By AARON CRANFORD
Before Monday, Georgetown had not scored a single goal through three games, but that all changed when SBI No. 1 UCLA visited Shaw Field.
The No. 8 Hoyas, who had previously struggled to connect and produce to begin the 2015 campaign, suddenly found their rhythm against a ranked foe, handing the Bruins their second loss in four days with a 3-1 victory.
“This is maybe the most talented team I’ve ever had and we’re off to the worst start I’ve ever had, so how do you justify that?” Georgetown head coach Brian Wiese said after the team’s first win Monday afternoon.
“I thought the first half was really good, we did exactly what we were trying to do. It was great to get the goal, but we would have liked to be a little more dangerous in it. The second half, not so much, but we told them at halftime that they had to get a second goal against a team as talented as UCLA.”
For UCLA, it was another disappointing result, especially after going to College Park Friday and losing by a golden goal to No. 6 Maryland.
“The road trip was obviously disappointing,” Bruins head coach Jorge Salcedo said after the loss to Georgetown. “We did enough in both second halves of each game to win. Georgetown’s goalkeeper made some spectacular saves in the second half. This coupled with a few critical moments and decisions not going our way led to a difficult weekend. We will bounce back quickly and move forward.”
Meanwhile, after being dominated by Old Dominion during opening weekend, Akron has bounced back in a big way. The Zips picked up a 3-2 win over No. 6 Maryland, who were fresh with excitement after posting a huge 2-1 victory against UCLA, and now have three wins compared to one loss on the year.
Sophomore Richie Laryea led the Zips with two goals and also assisted on Adam Nejam’s goal. The Terrapins tried to crawl back into the game with a pair of goals in the second half. Sebastian Elney scored from a header after Mael Corboz sent in a corner kick, and Corboz also assisted on David Kabelik’s late goal, but the two tallies were not enough.
In Clemson, No. 13 Coastal Carolina held on for an important road tie with the No. 9 Tigers. Austen Burnikel netted for the Tigers, while Bryce Follensbee scored his second of the year in the 76th minute. Neither side could find the golden goal they were looking for, and both settled for a tie, which keeps each team undefeated on the year.
Take a look at Monday’s results from all of college soccer’s top teams below:
(8) Georgetown 3, (1) UCLA 1. (RECAP)
(6) Maryland 2, Akron 3. (RECAP)
(9) Clemson 1, (13) Coastal Carolina 1. (RECAP)
Drexel 0, (10) Washington 1. (RECAP)
Rhode Island 0, (12) Providence 1. (RECAP)
(20) Charlotte 4, Gardner-Webb 0. (RECAP)
(HM) Michigan State 1, West Virginia 0. (RECAP)