SYRACUSE, GEORGETOWN MEET IN SOCCER SWEET 16

WASHINGTON – Two BIG EAST rivals square off on Sunday, Nov. 25 when Syracuse (14-6-1) visits third-seeded Georgetown (18-3-1) for a third-round NCAA Tournament match at 1 p.m. at North Kehoe Field. The Orange and Hoyas are two of 16 remaining teams with a shot at the national championship. This is uncharted territory for both sides at neither Syracuse nor Georgetown has ever advanced this deep into the postseason.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Syracuse earned one of the NCAA Championship's 26 at-large berths and is making only its second NCAA appearance, and first since 1984. The Orange defeated Ivy League champion Cornell, 1-0, in the opening round, and dispatched 14th-seeded VCU in the second round, 3-2, in double overtime.

Georgetown is making its fourth appearance in the national tournament. The Hoyas earned an at-large invitation and the tournament's No. 3 overall seed. Following a first-round bye, Georgetown defeated Charlotte, 1-0, in the second round to advance.

ROAD WARRIORS
Of the 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse, Fairleigh Dickinson and San Diego are the only ones to win two road games to get to the third round. The Orange is 7-2-0 in true road matches this season and 9-3-0 away from the SU Soccer Stadium overall.

CLARK KEYS COMEBACK WIN
Senior Louis Clark (Brighton, England) cored twice to lead the Orange back from a 2-0 deficit to beat 14th-seeded VCU, 3-2, in the NCAA second round on Nov. 18. Clark notched SU's first goal in the 21st minute, and tallied the golden goal in double overtime to lift the Orange to victory. Clark was rewarded with College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors for his performance.

It was Clark's first two-goal game of the season, and his second game-winning goal of 2012.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
The Hoyas shared the BIG EAST Blue Division regular-season championship with Connecticut and enter Sunday's contest with an 18-3-1 overall record. Georgetown has been ranked in the top 10 nationally since mid-September. They are currently sixth in the nation, and earned the highest ranking in program history (No. 4) on Oct. 30 and Nov. 5.

The duo of senior captain Steve Neumann and freshman Brandon Allen keys the Hoya attack. Allen, the BIG EAST Rookie of the year, leads the club with 30 points (14 goals, two assists). Neumann has 26 points, including a BIG EAST-best 12 assists. The only other Georgetown player in double figures is Andy Riemer with 17 points (eight goals, one assist).

Tomas Gomez and Keon Parsa have shared time in goal this season. Gomez has 59 saves, a 14-1-1 record and seven shutouts. Parsa has 31 saves, a 4-2-0 record and three clean sheets. Gomez recorded two saves last time out versus Charlotte.

THE GEORGETOWN SERIES
Despite being in the same conference, SU and Georgetown have not played since 2009, and have only met twice since 2006. SU is 5-10-1 all-time against the Hoyas, including a 2-5-1 record in Washington, D.C. GU has won the last four pairings, including a 2-0 victory in the aforementioned 2009 clash.

UP NEXT …
The winner of Sunday's third-round match advances to the NCAA quarterfinals and will face either Tulsa or San Diego.