No. 22 Seton Hall were held to a 1-1 draw at home by No. 3 Georgetown after second half goals from either side forced the game into two goalless halves of overtime on Saturday.
Saturday's game provided the Pirates with an opportunity to avenge their 2-1 overtime loss against the Hoyas from earlier in the season and jump their Big East rivals in the regular season standings. However, both sides had to settle for a draw as both teams remained level atop the standings despite the Hoyas having played one less game.
The draw was Georgetown's second of the season as they remained undefeated with a 4-0-2 record while Seton Hall improved to 6-1-3 on the season and 4-1-2 in Big East play. The Pirates also continued their undefeated run at home with the draw against Georgetown, improving their overall home record to 5-0-1 on the season.
Goals
74’ (GU): After a great diving save from Andreas Nota, the ball fell right to the feet of Georgetown forward Derek Dodson for an easy tap-in to put the Hoyas up 1-0.
81’ (SHU): A free kick taken by James Boote on the left side of the field from thirty yards out found Eden O’Leary at the far post. The ball took one bounce just a few yards away from the goal before O’Leary struck the ball into the back of the net. With nine minutes remaining in regulation time, the score was 1-1.
Breakdown
The first half was not filled with too much action and although the pace of the game was relatively even, Georgetown held a slight advantage over Seton Hall in terms of momentum throughout the first 45 minutes. CJ Tibbling nearly opened the scoring for Seton Hall in the first half when his header connected with a cross from the ride side, but Georgetown goalkeeper Ethan Koehler was alert to the danger and made a diving save to the game level at 0-0.
Seton Hall would have the opportunity to take the lead again in the 53' when Andreas Nota caught the Hoyas' defense out with an early punt up to CJ Tibbling. Despite two defenders moving in the close down his space, the Swedish forward took the ball down in stride and was able to set Mattias Sundell up for a shot. Sundell’s attempt to shoot the ball with his first touch, however, sent the ball over the net for a Hoyas goal kick.
Just a few minutes later, Georgetown had a free kick from about 19 yards out. The shot from the free kick hit the inside of the right post and rolled across the six-yard box before being cleared out to midfield. The score was still 0-0 at this point in the game.
Junior defender Maurice Williams went down after 15 minutes in the second half with a cramp in his leg. Williams had a stand out performance for the Pirates in defense while on the field, but he was forced to come off for team captain O'Leary with the score still level at 0-0.
Another early punt from Nota found its way over Georgetown's defense and was seemingly falling right into Koehler's gloves at the other end of the field. However, Koehler fumbled the ball through his gloves and left his net wide open from Sundell to put the Pirates in front, but his unbalanced shot from a tight angle only found the side netting.
The Pirates would regret the missed opportunity just two minutes later though as a curling effort from Kyle Linhares was pushed away from goal by Nota right into the path of Dodson. It was the senior forward's second goal of the season for the Hoyas as they took the lead with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game.
Seton Hall found an equalizer in the 81' through their captain, Eden O'Leary, as James Boote found the sophomore at the back post with a free kick from the left side of the field. Boote's assist on the goal was his fourth of the season with four coming directly from set pieces.
Georgetown could not find the game-winning goal despite pushing numbers forward in the final minutes of regulation time, and Seton Hall's defense held out to force the game into overtime. Both 10-minute periods clearly showed that the two teams were exhausted after an intense 90 minutes and followed a rhythm of Georgetown pressing and Seton Hall looking to hit the Hoyas on the counter. Neither side could score the decisive goal, though, and the second meeting of the season between these two sides ended in a 1-1 draw.
Seton Hall finished the game with seven shots on target from the 14 total they attempted. Georgetown finished with 18 total shots and five on target. As they progressed, tempers began to flare as both sides ended the game with three players receiving yellow cards and 32 fouls split evenly at 16-16 for both sides.
Georgetown and Seton Hall remain tied for first place with the draw, as both teams now have 14 points. The Hall’s record is now 6-1-3 on the season and 4-1-2 in the Big East.
The Pirates will once again be at Owen T. Carroll Field next Saturday, where they will face off against the UCONN Huskies at 1pm.
Thomas Cugno can be reached at thomas.cugno@student.shu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @cugnothomas.
