Nov. 6, 2007

2007 BIG EAST Tournament Bracket

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University men's soccer team, the No. 5 seed out of the BIG EAST Blue Division gets ready to square off against the No. 4 seed from the Red Division, USF, in the first round of the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament. Kickoff between the Hoyas and the Bulls is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7 at USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Live video and audio streaming will be available for a fee at www.gousfbulls.com, with Jim Henderson delivering the play-by-play call. Live stats will be available at the USF website as well.

Georgetown (7-10-1 overall, 5-5-1 BE) finished the season with a 4-1-1 record in its last six games, including a 3-0-1 record in BIG EAST games.

The Hoyas allowed just 18 goals this season, a goals-against-average of 0.98. It is the program's second fewest goals allowed since the inception of BIG EAST play. GU allowed 15 goals over 20 games during the 1988 season.

Georgetown had scored just three goals through its first nine games. The offense has come alive lately as the Hoyas have netted 11 goals in their last nine matches and nine goals in the last six games. GU has scored at least one goal after halftime in five of its last six games.

Georgetown, 3-5-0 on the road this season, qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament for the 15th time. The Hoyas are 7-13-3 all time in the league tournament, earning a second place finish three times (1994, 1998, 1999).

As announced by the league office late Monday afternoon, freshman Alex Verdi (Ivyland, Pa./Germantown Acad.) was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week while junior midfielder Conor Neusel (Chesterfield, Mo./Christian Bros. College H.S.) was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. The duo tallied their first goals of the season in GU's 2-1 win at Seton Hall last Wednesday.

Verdi scored his first career goal in the 27th minute to pull the Hoyas even at 1-1 in the win over the Pirates. Off a re-start, Verdi ripped a blast into the net for a goal on just his seventh shot attempt of the year. Last weekend, Verdi started for the eighth time this season in the draw vs. No. 9 Notre Dame and helped anchor a back line that kept the Irish, the BIG EAST's fourth highest scoring offense, scoreless for 110 minutes. Verdi is the first Hoya to earn a weekly award this season.

Neusel tallied his first goal of the season with the game-winner in the 60th minute at Seton Hall to give the Hoyas a 2-1 road win. The breakaway goal was the third goal of his Blue & Gray career after transferring from Vanderbilt.

Georgetown has squared off against USF just one other time, a 3-1 Bull victory in Tampa on September 18, 2005.

The Bulls (11-4-2, 6-4-1) boast a 7-1-0 record at home this year. USF has recorded 33 goals this season and its scoring offense ranks 21st in the nation (1.94 gpg). USF has four players in double-digit points. Senior Simon Schoendorf leads the team in goals (7), assists (9) and points (23). Junior Jordan Seabrook ranks second on the team with five goals and seven assists (17 pts.). Junior Kevon Neaves (15 pts.) and freshman Bernardo Anor (14 pts.) have also recorded double-digit points.

Georgetown freshman Chandler Diggs (Coppell, Texas/Coppell) leads the Hoya attack with nine points on three goals and three assists. Seven of his nine points have come in the last six games. Juniors Sean Bellomy (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) and Corey Zeller (Toms River, N.J./Toms River) rank second and third on the team with eight and six points, respectively. Freshman Seth C'deBaca (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia Prep) leads the squad with four assists.

Senior co-captain Joe Devine (Exton, Pa./Haverford) and freshman Matthew Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) have combined for five shutouts. Devine has 31 saves in more than 930 minutes over 10 starts. Brutto has made eight starts and allowed just six goals in 730 minutes.

The winner of the first round game will travel to the University of Connecticut for a BIG EAST quarterfinal match vs. the Huskies, the No. 1 seed in the Blue Division on Saturday, November 10.