In the past week the Hoyas faced three tough opponents in Maryland, Pittsburgh and Villanova. Though playing tough throughout all three games, they managed only one win, dropping their record to 5-7-2 overall, and 2-5 in Big East play.
Last Wednesday, in front of a rowdy crowd at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md., the No. 2-ranked Terrapins edged the Georgetown men’s soccer team 3-2 in a thrilling, hard fought battle.
The Hoyas went to Maryland trying to pick up the pieces of a loss to Providence that left the entire team searching for answers and a definite diagnosis.
“We had 45 minutes of good soccer last weekend,” said senior goalkeeper Tim Hogan. “Everything stopped in the second half, no one knows what happened. Providence is not that good of a team, but if you give any team those breaks, they’ll score on you. We knew we couldn’t have another 45-minute game.”
The beginning of the first half saw the Hoyas playing a slow tempo game clouded with two quick, mirrored goals by the Terps, raising doubt whether the Hoyas had fully rebounded from their disappointing loss to Providence. Head coach Keith Tabatznik tried a new scheme for the match, substituting his forwards quickly and often.
“We felt we needed to pressure them,” said Tabatznik. “We were moving the ball well. We were getting into positions and although it was unusual, but you need fresh bodies for that tempo of play. [Junior midfielder] Ellery [Bledsoe] and [sophomore midfielder Dan] McNally set the tone with their play.”
Down by two scores, the Hoyas got on the board in the 29th minute on a successful penalty kick from sophomore defender Jeff Curtin. Junior midfielder Paul Brandley evened the match in the 63rd minute, scoring from the right post with an assist by Curtin. The defense held off the Maryland attack until the 83rd minute, when the Terps’ senior midfielder Scott Buete scored the game winner.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” said Tabatznik. “Maryland is a very good team, a seasoned team. We were down two goals and we came back and tied the game. We can take a lesson from this game, but we should be proud of ourselves.”
Although the Terps outshot the Hoyas 19-8, no team had scored more than one goal on the Terps’ goalies until the Hoyas scored two on junior Noah Palmer.
The Hoyas followed their battle against the Terps with a loss to Pittsburgh. Georgetown struck early with their first and only goal from first-year forward Ricky Schramm, his first goal since a two-goal extravaganza against Indiana University on Sept. 7th.
“It’s been pretty frustrating,” said Schramm. “Coach told us that playing in the Big East would be tougher than playing the other teams we played in the beginning of the season. I’m getting my confidence back now. We’ll see how it goes.”
Five seconds after Schramm’s goal, Pittsburgh evened the score. The Hoyas managed to hold off the Panther attack for the rest of the match until the final minutes of double overtime. Sophomore forward Keeyan Young scored again, this time on a breakaway.
“The goal deflated us, we should have played stronger and looked to score our second goal,” said Tabatznik.
The Hoyas defense played well and their offense posted 19 shots on goal, but another loss has some players wondering when their luck will turn.
“It doesn’t matter how well we play, there will be some breakdowns and we had a couple today,” said Hogan. “We’re playing good soccer but obviously we’re not playing well enough.”
The Hoyas bounced back on Wednesday earning a Big East win against the Wildcats in Villanova, Pa., improving their standing to 2-5-0 in the Big East. After the loss to Pittsburgh, the Hoyas needed a Big East win to avoid sinking deeper in the conference standing.
Junior defender Dan Gargan got the game’s first goal in the 24th minute with a low shot past senior keeper Craig Bald on a cross from junior Trevor Goodrich. Georgetown struck again in the second half when Schramm fed McNally for a shot which landed in the right corner.
The Hoyas look to start a winning streak against Syracuse on Saturday at North Kehoe at 1 p.m.
