No. 3 Georgetown wins Big East men’s title over No. 5 Creighton

WASHINGTON (Via Georgetown University) – The No. 3/3, and top-seeded, Georgetown University men’s soccer squad (15-2-2) made history Sunday afternoon winning the BIG EAST Championship with a 2-1 double overtime victory over the No. 5/6, and second-seeded, Creighton University Bluejays (17-3-0) in the BIG EAST Championship Game at Shaw Field in front of a crowd of 1,541.

It is the first BIG EAST Tournament Championship in program history continuing a record-breaking season for the Blue & Gray. Last week, the Hoyas won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship for the fifth time in program history. Sunday’s victory continues a record 16-game unbeaten streak and 13-consecutive wins. It is also the first time in program history that the squad has earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament bracket will be announced on Monday at 1 p.m.

“This title is bigger than just our guys, there are a lot of teams that have gone before them in the BIG EAST Tournament and this win will resonate as much for all of the alums as it does for our players,” said Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese. “It’s a great feeling and this game was aa great advertisement for our league.”

The game winner came in the 107th minute breaking a 1-1 stalemate. Sophomore midfielder Matthew Ledder (Falls Church, Va./Gonzaga) was inserted into the lineup for the final 10-minute overtime period. Ledder made his mark sending the ball to junior forward Alex Muyl (New York, N.Y./Bard) who weaved between two defenders and had a clear look at the far post, bending it into the net and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“This is our first time playing in a final, in 2014 we tried and failed, so we’re just proud to be the first team,” said Muyl. “This is a team that’s making a lot of history this season and we just want to keep it going.”

In the first overtime period, it looked as though Creighton would take the match as leading scorer Fabian Herbers had an early shot bang off the inside of the cross bar and a second shot was saved by the fingertips of freshman goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski (Alamo, Calif./De La Salle).

Georgetown controlled the pace early, and senior forward Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph) had the best chance as a header ricocheted off the post in the 16th minute.

Despite the momentum, it was Creighton that struck first in the 17th minute. A ball was sent downfield outside the run of play and Timo Pitter was able to beat the defense and head it down before controlling it and shooting to the right post. Marcinkowski laid out for it and got a glove on it, but the ball snuck in to make it 1-0.

Georgetown regrouped, and managed the equalizer as senior defender Keegan Rosenberry (Ronks, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) served in a ball from the right side and Allen charged the net to tap it in to tie the game in the 20th minute.

The goal was Allen’s 49th of his career tying him for the program’s all-time leader in goals.

From that point on, Creighton was on the attack looking to regain the lead. In the 31st minute, Pitter sent in a ball that got past Marcinkowski who was off of his line. The defense stood strong, and senior defender Cole Seiler (Anderson, S.C./Christ Church Episcopal School) made a huge stop on the line to keep it tied.

Despite two late Creighton corner kicks, neither team found the back of the net again as the squads went into the break tied at one.

Allen was looking for his second early in the second half, but he was called offsides. Chances would come on both sides as Creighton had shots, as well as Georgetown, but none were dangerous.

Things heated back up in the final 10 minutes when sophomore midfielder Christopher Lema (Ridgefield, N.J./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School) had a shot from the left side tipped away by Bluejay keeper Connor Sparrow. The counter resulted in a 3v3 for Creighton which was broken up by the Hoya defense.

With four minutes remaining in regulation, a shot by junior forward Brett Campbell (Wallingford, Pa./The Haverford School) clanged off of the crossbar keeping it scoreless and forcing the extra time.

This would set up Creighton’s final chances as well as the late-game heroics from Muyl as the Hoyas went on to win 2-1 and take the championship.

Creighton outshot Georgetown, 23-20, but the Hoyas took 10 corner kicks to the Bluejays’ six. Marcinkowski took the win in the net with three saves, while Sparrow had five saves in the contest but took the loss.

Allen was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the tournament, while junior defender Joshua Yaro (Santa Barbara, Calif./Cate School) was selected as the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Muyl and Marcinkowski were named All-Tournament along with Allen and Yaro.

The Hoyas have earned an NCAA Tournament automatic berth and will learn their fate on Monday at 1 p.m., during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Fans can watch the show live at www.NCAA.com.