Big Saves In Shootout Win Over Terps
Georgetown Sophomore Tomas Gomez
HOOVER, Ala. — The endings couldn’t have been any different for Tomas Gomez.
On the first night, the Georgetown University goalkeeper took center stage, stopping the University of Maryland’s final two penalty kicks in the shootout and then racing to the far corner of Regions Park with a slide that would have made the hosts proud.
Less than 48 hours later, Gomez could only sit and watch as the Indiana University men’s soccer team (16-5-3) celebrated its 1-0 victory on Dec. 9 in the Men’s College Cup for the program’s eighth national championship.
Gomez sat and watched the proceedings before pulling his jersey over his face and walking toward midfield. He knelt down again and bent at the waist in the center of the field. Teammate Cole Seiler came over to provide solace and to put an arm around him. Georgetown coach Brian Wiese followed suit and took a moment to talk to his sophomore goalkeeper.
As the celebration continued, Gomez worked his way to the dressing room, stopping for a minute with a teammate to sign autographs for fans before taking his final steps off a field for the season.
The memories are bound to stay with Gomez for a while. Unfortunately, the memory of Nikita Kotlov’s ninth goal of the season in the 64th minute likely will prove to be a little more haunting.
“It’s hard on Tomas because he’ll take a lot of responsibility for that,” Wiese said. “It’s a ball that as the goalkeeper if you come for it you have to take it. He just missed it and let them head it back for an easy finish…
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