Syracuse vs. Georgetown Soccer Preview: Q&A with Casual Hoya

The Syracuse Orange are heading down to our nations' capital to take on the loved loathed Georgetown Hoyas. Georgetown got the overall 8 seed in the Men's NCAA Tournament and will be hosting the Sweet Sixteen matchup at 1pm, Sunday the 30th. Syracuse is looking to exact some revenge for the 2012 Sweet Sixteen loss at the hands of the Hoyas that went down to penalty kicks, with Georgetown advancing.

I did a little back and forth with Vivan Los Hoyas from Casual Hoya. A view from behind enemy lines if you will. I answered a few questions for them as well, which you can find here. The game can be streamed live from Georgetown's website. Without further ado:

Historically Syracuse and the Hoyas have had some bad blood, both on the court and in 2012 on the soccer field. How do you think this will translate to the pitch?

Hey old foe. Funny how things work out. We're now rivals more frequently on the pitch than on the court. That Sweet 16 match back in 2012 was a thriller. I was in the stands at Shaw Field for that game and I can tell you that the bad blood was definitely present there. A large contingent of orange-clad fans somehow found their way from the Canadian nether regions and they were loud and proud.  I'm not sure if the bad blood will show up on the pitch this Sunday, but the Hoya Hooligans will be at the ready for your invading barbarian hordes.

This edition of the Hoyas men's soccer squad is very much in the mold of Coach Brian Wiese's recent teams, but with of course some different pieces compared to the 2012 team. There's an emphasis on possession control and lateral ball movement to feed the wingers. The Hoyas also have some dangerous midfielders who can either feed the striker or shoot from outside with precision.

Obviously, junior forward Brandon Allen is one of the leading attackers in all of college soccer.  While he's a prototypical power striker, he can also create plays outside and inside the 18 yd box. In addition, sophomore forward Alex Muyl is an extremely skilled and persistent threat whom the Hoyas missed dearly during the later rounds of the Big East tournament. He'll be ready to wreak some havoc tomorrow I'm sure.

Syracuse has one of the best defenses in the nation this year. What is Georgetown going to be able do to break through the barrier during this match?

Feed Patrick Ewing in the paint or have Iverson penetrate the 2/3 zone. I'm sorry, wrong sport. Substitute Ewing with Brandon Allen and Iverson with Alex Muyl and you get the idea. Plus freshman Arun Basuljevic and senior midfielder Tyler Rudy can drill a laser shot from outside the box anytime.

Any thoughts on how this one will play out?

I think this version of the Hoyas has a few more question marks than the 2012 team, while the Orange have obviously improved. I expect a scoreless slug during regulation but I can see the Hoyas sneaking one in past your goalie in extra time.