Fighting for its postseason life, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (11-7-1 overall, 5-4-1 BE) put together one of its most complete efforts of all season, downing 14th-ranked Seton Hall (11-6-1 overall, 5-5-0 BE) 4-0 at home on Saturday afternoon.
The first half contained more emotion than actual soccer as both teams seemed focused on being physical instead of putting shots into the back of the net. Six of the game’s seven yellow cards were given in the first half, as the referee attempted to keep the players in line and the game under control.
“Not a lot of soccer was played in the first half,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said. “The game was physical and chippy and more stuff was occurring outside the lines of the rules then normally happens.”
Heading into the game, the Hoyas needed a win to clinch a berth in the Big East playoffs. The top eight teams secure spots. Under this must-win pressure, the team came out on fire in the second half and never looked back.
Sophomore forward Ricky Schramm, who leads the Big East in goals, started the scoring in the 49th minute. Schramm netted his 13th goal of the season after receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Dan Grasso.
“In the first half the referee got involved in the game,” senior captain Dan Gargan said. “At halftime we talked about playing our game and letting the referee do his thing. We needed to get back to playing soccer.”
Schramm’s tally proved to be the winning score, but Georgetown was not content to rest its postseason hopes on a single-goal lead.
In the 53rd minute, Gargan headed the ball past Seton Hall sophomore keeper Ian Joyce with sophomore defender Tim Convey and Schramm picking up assists. Convey netted his own score in the 65th minute, heading the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal on assists from senior midfielder Trevor Goodrich and junior defenseman Jeff Curtin. Goodrich leads the Hoyas with nine assists on the year.
Only three minutes later, the Hoyas capped off their second half onslaught witth a goal from senior defender Paul Brandley, his second score in as many games. The Hoyas were efficient on the afternoon, converting four of their six shots on goal.
“Most quality chances come within the six-yard box,” Schramm said. “Our coaches told us to be really eager in that area. I think all of our shots today were within 12 yards.”
The Hoyas’ finishing against the Pirates was in contrast to the team’s three-game winless streak in mid- October. Georgetown had 17 shots against Villanova, but was only able to tally one goal. Following that tough 2-1 loss, the Hoyas dropped a 2-1 game at Pittsburgh and tied 10th-ranked Boston College 1-1 in double overtime. Since then Georgetown has won back-to-back games against Navy, and, now, Seton Hall.
“I am real proud of our guys since those two losses in a row,” Tabatznik said. “We had four chances to clinch and spot and waited until the very end to get in.”
Schramm echoed Tabatznik’s sentiments.
“That is how this team is different from last year,” he said. “We were able to bounce back when we needed to.”
Georgetown’s offensive outburst in the second half was not unexpected, considering the Hoyas lead the Big East in points (110), goals (33), goals per game (1.94), assists (44) and assists per game (2.59). Equally impressive in this game was the play of the defense, holding Seton Hall scoreless for the Hoyas’ fourth shutout all season.
This feat was exceptionally notable because the Pirates are second only to the Hoyas in every major offensive category.
“This was an emotional win,” Tabatznik said. “We had to win to get in and they were playing for seeding. We won this game because of our defense though. There was not a single lapse on defense all day.”
The balance of offense and defense, as well as the team’s response in must-win situtations bodes well for their postseason run.
“We realized that this was our season,” Gargan said. “We had to step up and we were lucky it all came together today.”
Georgetown will take on Villanova on the road in the Big East tournament on November 6th at 1 p.m.
