Oct. 26, 2002
Washington, D.C. – The 11th-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team had its five-game win streak snapped this afternoon as the Irish dropped a 3-2 decision at Georgetown. Jeff Curtin scored the game-winning goal, his second of the game, with 24 seconds remaining off a penalty kick to give the Hoyas the win.
With the loss, Notre Dame falls to 9-4-3 overall and 5-3-1 in BIG EAST play. Georgetown, which registered its second win over a top-15 program this season, improved to 6-8-0 and 4-4-0 in league action. Headinginto the contest, the Irish had outscored their opponents 12-1 in the five games.
Notre Dame jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the game when Justin Detter (White Lake, Mich.) took a pass from teammate Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) and beat Georgetown goalkeeper Tim Hogan at the 15:39 mark. The goal was the sixth goal of the season for Detter who is the Irish’s third-leading scorer with 16 points.
The Hoyas evened the contest at 1-1 on Kemmons Feldman’s goal at the 28:36 mark off an assist from Ben Jefferson-Dow. The game remained tied up until the intermission. Both teams had other scoring chances in the first half as Notre Dame outshot Georgetown 12-8 in the first 45-minute stanza.
The Hoyas grabbed a 2-1 lead on Curtin’s first goal of the 18:03 into the second half as he headed in Michael Banner’s corner kick from the right side of the field.
Notre Dame, which outshot Georgetown 24-15 in the game, continued to put pressure on the Hoyas and their goalkeeper. Greg Martin (Plano, Texas) scored the game-tying with less than five minutes remaining as he notched his fifth goal of the season at the 85:46 mark of the contest.
The game appeared headed for overtime until Curtin’s penalty kick. With less than thirty seconds left, Georgetown set up for a throw-in in the Notre Dame end, well within range of the Irish box. Following a header by the Hoyas Paul Brandley, the ball touched the hand of a Notre Dame player which resulted in the penalty kick.
Hogan finshed the game with eight saves, while Greg Tait (Fayetteville, N.Y.), starting his second straight game in goal, stopped four Hoya shots.
Notre Dame returns home to Alumni Field for the final two games of the regular season next weekend. The Irish play host to Virginia Tech on Fri., Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and then face Loyola (Chicago) in a non-conference test on Sun,, Nov. 3 at 2:00 p.m.
SCORING: ND: Justin Detter (Erich Braun), 15:39; GU: Kemmons Feldman (Ben Jefferson-Dow), 28:36; GU: Jeff Curtin (Michael Banner), 63:03; ND: Greg Martin, 84:46; GU: Jeff Curtin, 89:36
GAME STATISTICS: Shots: Notre Dame 24, Georgetown 15; Saves: ND 5 (Greg Tait – 4), Georgetown 8 (Tim Hogan – 8); Fouls: Notre Dame 13, Georgetown 12; Corner Kicks: Notre Dame 6, Georgetown 2