After winning the D.C. College Cup almost two weeks ago, the Georgetown men’s soccer team (3-1-0 overall) participated in the Maryland/adidas Classic this past weekend in College Park. The Hoyas put their undefeated record up against some of the best teams in the country, split their tournament games, and emerged as the new No. 21 team in the nation.
In the opening round on Friday the Hoyas faced the No. 15 Virginia Commonwealth Rams (1-3-0 overall). VCU controlled the early stages of the game with five shots on goal before the Hoyas mustered one. In the 63rd minute, the Ram’s senior forward Brian Morris was the only one to score on these shots putting VCU up 1-0.
Junior keeper Andrew Keszler stopped the Rams’ other four chances and the Hoya offense continued to penetrate the Rams’ defense despite generating no shots on goal.
“We lost a little focus after they scored because we were playing pretty well,” said Head Coach Keith Tabatznik. “But the guys kept trying.”
The Hoyas would gain momentum thanks to the play of a first-year and a mishap by the Ram defense. Capitalizing on a mistake by two Ram defenders, first-year forward Richard Frank scored unassisted in the 77th minute.
Frank had missed the beginning of the season after sustaining an injury during a scrimmage against Boston University. His goal came on his first touch as a college player and could not have come at a better time.
“He’s a very good player,” coach Tabatznik said of Frank. “He made a big difference when he went in there giving a little spark in the attack.”
Frank’s goal was just the spark the Hoya attack needed, as they scored two more times. Two seniors connected just after the 83rd minute when forward Ben Jefferson-Dow headed in a cross by midfielder Brent Plumley. Just two and a half minutes later, junior midfielder Daniel Grasso scored with assists from junior forward Ricky Schramm and Frank. The three goals were the Hoyas’ only shots on goal all game and they made them count for a 3-1 win.
Next, Georgetown tested its undefeated record against No. 5 Santa Clara (3-1-0 overall) on Sunday. Maryland (3-1-0 overall) had previously beat Santa Clara 3-1 in the opening round, but the Broncos proved to be too tough for the Hoyas, winning 4-0.
Santa Clara kept the pressure on Georgetown all game as the Hoyas had trouble stopping the Broncos’ attack and starting one of their own. Junior midfielder Erik Ustruck scored first, assisted by senior forward Hector Guzman at the 28:12 mark. It did not take the Broncos long to score again as junior forward Keith Devey headed in junior midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy’s assist just 43 seconds later. Devey struck again, this time unassisted from 35 yards out only five seconds before the end of the first half. Sophomore forward Matt Hatzke finished off the scoring in the 52nd minute off of Guzman’s second assist.
The Broncos’ goalkeepers, sophomore Christopher Moreo and senior Kevin Sweeney, who combined for five saves in the shutout, stifled what few opportunities the Hoyas had. Georgetown senior defender Chris Tansey had two of the Hoyas five shots on goal.
This game provided a valuable lesson for the Hoyas since they face many top teams like Santa Clara.
“We can’t get frustrated if we’re under pressure,” coach Tabatznik said. “We have to learn to play out of that pressure.”
Georgetown looks to rebound in their first conference game tomorrow in Chicago, against new Big East member DePaul (2-1-1 overall).
