No. 12 Georgetown men hosting Akron, No. 1 UCLA

WASHINGTON (Via Georgetown) – The No. 12/4 Georgetown University men’s soccer squad (0-1-1) will host two opponents in its home opening weekend at Shaw Field. The Hoyas welcome the University of Akron (1-1-0) on Friday before a matchup with the No. 1/2 UCLA Bruins on Monday.

Last weekend Georgetown began the 2015 campaign in Florida going 0-1-1. The Blue & Gray tied Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday, 0-0, and fell, 2-0, to the University of South Florida on Sunday.

The Hoyas went 2-1 in preseason play with a 3-0 victory over No. 15/23 Syracuse University as well as a 4-0 win over the No. 2/1 University of Virginia. Georgetown also fell to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, 2-1, in its final contest.

GU tied for first in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. In a split vote between the BIG EAST Conference coaches, Creighton and Georgetown were picked to win the league’s title. Both the Bluejays and Hoyas tallied 77 points and five first place votes each.

Additionally, junior Joshua Yaro (Santa Barbara, Calif./Cate School) was the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and senior Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph) was named the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

The Hoyas had three players named Preseason All-BIG EAST as senior Keegan Rosenberry (Ronks, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) joined Yaro and Allen on the 12-man squad. Georgetown and Creighton were the only teams to have three honorees.

Akron opened the season 1-1 with a double overtime 3-2 victory over VCU on Friday and a 4-1 loss at Old Dominion on Sunday. Sophomore Sam Gainford led the way with two goals in the VCU contest.

The Hoyas are 0-0-1 all-time against the Zips with the lone meeting coming during the 1991 season at the Cleveland State Tournament. The squads played to a 2-2 overtime tie.

The top-ranked Bruins opened the 2015 season with a 1-0 victory over the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday, August 29 at Drake Stadium. A second half strike from freshman defender Malcolm Jones pushed UCLA over the top for the one-goal victory.

The Hoyas are 1-0 all-time against the Bruins with a 2-0 victory during the 2009 season at home.

Friday begins a three-game homestand for the Blue & Gray. Live stats as well as a webcast featuring Dan Helfrich and Tom Greaser will be available at www.GUHoyas.com. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.