The men's soccer team struggled to execute on offense, losing 2-0 to the No. 6 Georgetown Hoyas at Owen T. Carroll Field on Wednesday afternoon, falling to 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the Big East Conference.
The first half went scoreless, with both the Pirates and the Hoyas missing offensive opportunities.
The Hoyas came out strong in the second half first, scoring in the 65th minute off the foot of Ian Christiansen, his second on the season.
The Hoyas added the insurance goal in the 89th minute, this time coming from Brandon Allen on a cross, marking his 10th goal of the season.
Despite the loss, the Pirates fought a tough game and head coach Gerson Echeverry said he thinks the effort was there.
"I think our effort was really good," Echeverry said. "We moved the ball around really well at times, but the execution when it comes to finishing needs to improve."
Echeverry said that the team's ability to execute on offense has troubled the team all season.
"Execution is what has been hampering us all season," Echeverry said.
The Pirates will have another chance against the Hoyas in their last regular season game of the year at Washington, D.C., on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Echeverry commented on the preparation for facing the Hoyas a second time.
"We will just keep doing what we've been doing," Echeverry said. "We keep going back to the drawing board, working on finishing and doing stuff around the box, and hopefully it will pay off next game."
After the loss to Georgetown and a Providence upset win over No. 3 University of Connecticut, the Pirates are now tied with the Friars for the final spot in the Big East Championship.
The Pirates hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Providence after a 2-1 win on Oct. 3 at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The Friars will face Connecticut again this Saturday, the same day the Pirates will again play Georgetown. The results of these two games will decide whether the Pirates qualify for the tournament.
Courtney Hnasko can be reached at courtney.hnasko@student.shu.edu.
