Georgetown Men's Soccer Prepares for Long-Awaited Home Opener

Sept. 27, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown men's soccer team celebrates Homecoming Weekend by welcoming BIG EAST rivals Rutgers and Villanova to North Kehoe Field this weekend. The Hoyas will play their first two games on their home turf, after spending the first seven games of the season out of the District.

The Blue & Gray will begin the four-game home stand on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. when they host the Scarlet Knights and follow it up with a 1 p.m. start against the Wildcats on Sunday. Both games can be viewed live via HoyaVision on the GUHoyas.com web site behind the call of Georgetown soccer alum Dan Helfrich (F`97).

The Hoyas, 2-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in BIG EAST play, look to build off their first conference win of the season - a 1-0 shutout at Louisville on Sunday. Sophomore Scott Larrabee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Loyola HS of LA) tallied his first goal of the season in the 25th minute for the win, snapping a four-game slide.

Freshman Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) totaled seven saves in picking up the shutout in his first collegiate start. On Monday, Brutto was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

Georgetown has been strong on the defensive end this season, allowing only eight goals through its first seven contests, the lowest goals against output since 2000.

The Hoyas lead the all-time series against both weekend foes. Georgetown holds a 7-5-2 edge over Rutgers, including winning five of the last seven meetings, despite a 1-0 overtime loss in New Jersey last season. Meanwhile, GU is 18-10-4 against Villanova, controlling the match-up even more of late leaving the field with a win in 12 of the last 13 meetings.

Rutgers is also coming off its first league win on Sunday - a 1-0 shutout of Marquette - to improve its record to 2-4-1 overall and 1-1-0 in conference play. Six players have each scored a goal for the Scarlet Knights and Dilly Duka leads the squad with three assists. Red shirt senior Matt VanOekel has played every minute between the pipes, totaling three shutouts and 34 saves, which rank him second in the league.

Villanova enters the weekend with a record of 6-2-0 overall and 1-1 in conference action. The Wildcats had a six-game winning streak and a 468:45 minute scoreless streak snapped on Sunday with a 1-0 loss against No. 3 Notre Dame. They have scored 13 goals, while allowing only four, so far this season, tying them for third in the BIG EAST in both categories. Villanova travels to Seton Hall on Friday before heading south to North Kehoe.

Admission for Friday's game is free but tickets for Sunday's game are $5 for adults and $2 for children and senior citizens. All Georgetown students are free with ID.