The Georgetown men’s soccer team bounced back nicely from a 3-0 shutout at St. John’s on Saturday to win their second game of the season 3-1 against Towson University at North Kehoe Field on Tuesday. The Hoyas improved to 2-2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big East.
Georgetown suffered a bittersweet trip to New York as they were shut out by St. John’s this past Saturday. The Red Storm opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a free kick from senior Simone Salinno, the result of a foul committed by first-year defender Tim Convey. St. John’s Junior Kelly Snow scored two goals in the second half to increase the Red Storm lead, scoring in the 63rd minute off a throw-in and in the 71st minute on a breakaway. St. John’s out-shot the Hoyas 19-2 and posted 10 shots on goal, while Georgetown posted one.
“We did not win the second balls as we should have won, and we were not getting those loose balls,” said Head Coach Keith Tabatznik. “St. John’s is the only game where we haven’t played well. It was just a great effort by St. John’s.”
The Hoyas posted a 3-1 victory over Towson University, a welcome relief after their second straight loss of the season. Georgetown sophomore defender Dan Pydo netted the first goal on a rebound of a shot by senior defender Carl Skanderup. The goal was Pydo’s second of the season, an improvement from last year when he scored no goals.
“Last season I was more on defense,” said Pydo. “This season I have more opportunities to make those attacking plays.”
Towson answered in the 38th minute as midfielder Peter Johnson scored Towson’s first goal of the season with an assist from midfielder Matt Robertson.
Junior defender Dan Gargan broke the 1-1 tie, scoring an unassisted goal in the 45th minute, and Georgetown went to halftime up 2-1. The Hoyas created many opportunities on offense in the first half of play, in contrast to their poor offensive showing on Saturday.
“The difference between today and St. John’s is that we had an offense,” said Tabatznik.
In the 48th minute, as the second half began, senior midfielder, David Eder briefly put the Hoyas up 3-1, but the goal was disallowed as the referee flagged the Hoyas for offsides. Sophomore defender Jeff Curtin avenged the offsides call by converting a penalty shot, which resulted from junior forward Kaiser Chowdhry being knocked down by a Towson defender in the box. Tabatznik was very pleased with Chowdhry’s play.
“Kaiser [Chowdhry] is coming off injury and is trying to get back into the rotation,” said Tabatznik. “He was very sharp in his first game back.”
Georgetown continued the offensive attack in the second half, limiting Towson to two shots on goal, while posting four. The Hoyas outshot Towson 24-10 and senior goalie Tim Hogan had three saves in the game. The Hoyas defense held Towson’s attack fairly well, keeping the ball away from keeper Tim Hogan’s box.
“We were strong at times and we had plenty of chances on offense,” said Pydo. “We had a goal taken away but we bounced back. We need to be stronger.”
The Hoyas travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on the Boston College Eagles in an intense Big East matchup this Friday. The Eagles have struggled early this year, posting a 2-3-0 overall record and a 0-1 Big East record. Boston College has 12 lettermen returning this season, including eight of their top scorers. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
The Hoyas return home next Wednesday, Sept. 24th against the Virginia Tech Hokies at 3 p.m. on North Kehoe Field.
