The Hoyas dropped another Big East contest Sunday, losing 2-1 to No. 8 Notre Dame at Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind. The Hoyas drop to 3-4-2 overall and 1-3-0 in the Big East.
Notre Dame was first to get on the scoreboard when senior forward Justin Detter scored on a perfect cross from fellow senior-midfielder Chad Riley and senior-midfielder Kevin Richards in the 28th minute.
The Fighting Irish controlled most of the action around the goal in the first half, posting four shots on goal to the Hoyas’ one.
“We were doing a good job to the final third but we were not dangerous in the final third,” said Head Coach Keith Tabatznik. “I just told the guys that we needed to generate stuff in the second half and keep possession.”
Georgetown came out fighting in the second half, scoring two minutes in. Senior defensive back Carl Skanderup netted the Hoyas’ first and only goal from deep, with an assist from first-year back Tim Convey. Ten minutes later, however, the Fighting Irish scored the game winner as senior forward Devon Prescod headed in a cross pass.
“We played well on Sunday,” said Tabatznik. “Notre Dame is a quality team, a senior heavy team. We’d rather have won but we played a good game.”
The Hoyas offense picked up in the second half finishing the game with four shots on goal, compared to Notre Dame’s nine.
“It came down to that Notre Dame created more quality chances,” said Tabatznik. “We had a few quality chances in the second half, but when it’s all said and done we needed to get more chances on target.”
First-year midfielder Dan Grasso saw a substantial amount of playing time against the Irish as he adjusts to college play.
“Dan [Grasso] is providing some quality attack,” said Tabatznik. “He was slowed by preseason injuries but we hope that he can be one of those guys who do well for us in the future.”
Towards the end of the match, play got aggressive as sophomore defender Dan Pydo and junior forward Kaiser Chowdhry were hit with red cards for rough tackles.
“The penalties hurt us in the game,” said Tabatznik. “We were on the verge of putting the game into overtime. We were putting a lot pressure on Notre Dame.”
It was Pydo’s second red card of the season, the first one coming in the last match of the D.C. College Cup where he received one for making contact with the goalkeeper’s face.
“It’s addressed that there is clear understanding that energy must be kept to help the team win,” said Tabatznik. “Pydo understands that now.”
With two starters unable to play due to suspension, the Hoyas traveled to Lexington, Va. and shut out the VMI Keydets 4-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Kemmons Feldman started things off for the Hoyas, scoring his first goal of the season in the 16th minute with assists from first-year forward Ricky Schramm and junior back Dan Gargan. Grasso netted a goal in the 23rd minute with another assist from Schramm to put the Hoyas ahead 2-0 at the half.
Five minutes into the second half, Skanderup scored his second goal of the season. Grasso closed the game with another goal in the 56th-minute.
Senior keeper Tim Hogan had five saves and first-year keeper Andrew Kessler had one save for Georgetown.
The Hoyas face the Providence Friars on Saturday at North Kehoe looking to improve their standing in the Big East. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
