Orange Set for NCAA Rematch With Georgetown

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 9 seed Syracuse (16-3-1) travels to our nation's capital to take on eighth-seeded Georgetown (13-4-4) in the third round of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday, Nov. 30 at Shaw Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Tournament Bracket: Interactive | PDF

The game marks the second time in three years the former BIG EAST rivals will meet in the NCAA's Round of 16. In 2012, the two sides drew 1-1. Georgetown ultimately advanced, defeating Syracuse on penalties, 4-2.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Syracuse received one of the tournament's 24 at-large berths and earned one of the 16 national seeds for the first time. The Orange defeated Penn State, 2-1, in the first home NCAA match in team history to move on to the third round.

Georgetown also earned an at-large berth. The Hoyas knocked off Old Dominion in the final seconds of extra time, 2-1, to advance to the Round of 16.

BIG WINNERS
With 16 victories, Syracuse has amassed double-digit wins for the third consecutive season and is one victory shy of matching the team record of 17 wins set in 1982. Syracuse currently owns the nation's highest winning percentage (.825) and its 16 victories are tied with UC-Irvine and Coastal Carolina for the most in Division I soccer.

2012 SYRACUSE-GEORGETOWN REWIND
After winning the first two NCAA Tournament games in program history unseeded Syracuse took No. 3 seed Georgetown to the brink, tying the Hoyas 1-1 before being eliminated on penalty kicks. Jordan Vale tallied a first half goal to give the Orange a lead it held for the majority of the match. Georgetown's Brandon Allen equalized with 5:04 remaining, and after two 10-minute overtimes, the game went to penalties.

In the shootout, Juuso Pasanen missed the opening kick, while Steve Neumann buried his to put the Hoyas ahead 1-0. The Orange made its next two tries as did Georgetown. In the fourth round, Tomas Gomez made a save on Jordan Murrell's attempt and Jimmy Nealis scored for the Hoyas to clinch it.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS
Georgetown has won six of its last seven and owns a 13-4-4 overall record.

All-American Brandon Allen drives the Georgetown offense. He has 11 of the team's 27 goals and a squad-best 25 points. BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Arun Basuljevic tallied the winner against Old Dominion with five seconds left in double overtime. Basuljevic has six goals on the year, including two in the postseason.

The Hoyas' defense features BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Joshua Yaro and senior goalkeeper Tomas Gomez. Gomez sports a 0.58 goals-against average with 10 shutouts. He is tied for the active Division I lead with 36 career shutouts.

Coach Brian Wiese is in his ninth year at Georgetown. He's guided the Hoyas to four NCAA appearances.

THE GEORGETOWN SERIES
Georgetown leads the all-time series 10-5-2 and has won four of the last five pairings. Syracuse's last victory against the Hoyas was a 3-2 overtime win in 2002.

UP NEXT ...
The winner of Sunday's match advances to the NCAA quarterfinals and will face either Notre Dame or Virginia.

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Murrell

Juuso Pasanen

Syracuse University Athletics