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On Monday evening, Georgetown University took some important time to acknowledge and celebrate the Men’s Soccer team’s historic 2019 NCAA championship season.
#HOYASAXA #RINGSZN pic.twitter.com/8rB07jSjgw
— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 28, 2020
Several team awards were also handed out, as head coach Brian Wiese came fresh off of his Kente Korner debut to host the event and thank the team, coaches, staff, alumni, and supporters.
Congrats to our 2019 Team Award Winners!
— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 28, 2020
MVP – Sean Zawadzki
Most Improved – Jacob Montes
Mendoza Award – Rio Hope-Gund#HOYASAXA pic.twitter.com/viiOahPYfj
As a reminder, here are some of the bigger accomplishments from the soccer team, along with a recent award for their academics):
The Georgetown University men’s soccer team made history on Sunday winning the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. On Monday, the University celebrated with a Welcome Home Rally at the Healey Family Student Center.
The back-and-forth affair ended in a 3-3 tie after 110 minutes of play and then went to penalty kicks where GU got the 7-6 win as freshman goalkeeper Tomas Romero came up with the save to give the program its first national championship and the third in school history.
This season, the Hoyas set a new program record for wins in a season finishing the year with a mark of 20-1-3. GU finished the season on a 17-game unbeaten streak dating back to September 24 at Louisville. Senior captain Dylan Nealis was named the Defensive Most Outstanding Player, while junior captain Derek Dodson, junior Paul Rothrock, freshman Daniel Wu and sophomore Sean Zawadzki earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
Following the program’s first ever NCAA National Championship, Georgetown University Head Men’s Soccer Coach Brian Wiese and his staff have been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches as the Division I National Staff of the Year announced on Friday.
This is the second time in program history that GU has earned the honor after Wiese and company won it in 2012. Earlier this season, the staff, which includes Assistant Coaches Mike Casper and Connor Klekota as well as Volunteer Assistant Coach Brian Bouhl, was named the United Soccer Coaches East Region Staff of the Year.
The Hoyas had a historic run winning the national championship with a 3-3 victory over Virginia that was decided in penalty kicks, 7-6. GU finished the year with a mark of 20-1-3 which set the program record for wins in a season. Georgetown also boasted the program’s first three-peat, winning the BIG EAST Championship for the third-consecutive year in a 3-1 victory over Providence College at Shaw Field. It was just the second time in program history that the squad has won both the regular season and the championship in the same year.
Individually, the Hoyas had three All-Americans for the first time in program history as well as five players named All-East Region. Additionally, senior Dylan Nealis is the second MAC Hermann Trophy finalist in program history. In league play, the Blue & Gray won three of the major awards and had six All-BIG EAST selections.
Within the NCAA, Georgetown was impressive ranking among the top 10 in shutouts (13, 2nd), goals-against average (0.559, 3rd), assists (50, 3rd), save percentage (0.831, 4th), goals (58, 4th) and points (166, 4th).
Now in his 14th season on the Hilltop, Wiese has seen the most success in the program’s history. In his tenure at Georgetown, Wiese has coached 20 players who have signed with an MLS squad, two Hermann Trophy finalists, five Hermann Trophy semifinalists, 13 All-Americans, 38 regional All-Americans, 14 BIG EAST Players of the Year and 57 All-BIG EAST honorees as well as the College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player and the College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
On the academic side, he has had two Academic All-Americans, two Academic All-Region honorees, two BIG EAST Scholar-Athletes and one Elite89 Award winner.
The team has seen unprecedented success under Wiese with eight NCAA Tournament berths in a 10-year span. The squad has also won five BIG EAST regular season championships, four BIG EAST Championships and been ranked among the top 25 in 10 seasons.
What is a Championship Team? #HOYASAXA #RINGSZN pic.twitter.com/o49HvoYMu6
— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) October 1, 2020
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HOYA SAXA!