Entering Saturday’s contest against Providence, the Georgetown men’s soccer team had all the confidence on their side. They rode a three-game winning streak along with an unbeaten record at home that started last year. Their performance during the previous week earned them the No. 25 ranking NSCAA/adidas Top 25 Poll.
Providence (4-1-5 overall, 2-1-3 BE) ranked second to the Hoyas (7-4-0 overall, 3-3-0 BE) in the Big East Blue Division. In their past five games, Providence played to ties in four of them. Saturday’s matchup was important for both teams, and their determination to win showed in the form of a 3-2 victory over the Hoyas.
“With the Big East spirit around any Big East soccer contest, anyone can come in here and it’s going to be lively and it’s going to be a lot of fight and a lot of spirit,” Providence Head Coach Chaka Daley said after the game. “It means a lot to these kids, these Big East contests. They are always a little bit more special.”
This game proved to be just that special as the Friars took it to remain undefeated. Providence’s fight came roaring out first, crushing the Hoyas’ spirit. First year forward Timothy Ritter struck early for the Friars scoring just under four and a half minutes into the game. (https://idigtexas.com) The Friars also started off the second half with an unassisted goal by senior forward Eoin Lynch after only two minutes, putting Providence up 2-0.
Providence’s attack picked its way through the porous Hoya defense. The speed of the Friars’ forwards was no secret coming into the game, but it still managed to exploit Georgetown’s mistakes.
“We were getting caught out of position in the back,” said Hoya senior defender Jeff Curtin. “And they finished their chances. They were better than us.”
The 2-0 deficit also reflected the inability of the Hoya offense to capitalize on its numerous opportunities. Georgetown outnumbered the Friars 13-5 in corner kicks and totaled 21 shots, while the Friars only created 14. However, Georgetown was not able to match Providence’s shots on goal, with all these chances only producing seven to the Friars’ eight. The Hoyas just could not find any luck, with shots just missing the goal and even going off the top bar.
“I thought we deserved to be ahead at halftime and should have scored three or four goals in that game,” Georgetown Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said of the Hoyas’ chances. “We had the ball a whole lot and generated things. We had some easy chances we didn’t play. We were very unlucky in front of the goal.”
In spite of defensive struggles and offensive misfortune, Georgetown eventually produced positive results. In the 58th minute, junior midfielder Daniel Grasso jumpstarted the Hoya offense with an unassisted shot from outside the box to cut the Friar lead to one.
It wouldn’t take long for Georgetown to strike again, with a little help from a defender. The Hoyas finally took advantage of a corner kick when Curtin displayed tremendous athleticism and headed in senior midfielder Brent Plumley’s corner, two minutes after Grasso’s goal, for his first score of the season.
Somehow, the Friars managed to withstand the Hoyas’ second half surge and deal the final blow to the Hoya defense. With 13 minutes to play, Lynch would score from point-blank range on a feed from Ritter. Lynch’s second goal of the game proved to be too much for the Hoyas and Providence’s defense stopped their urgent final attacks.
Providence slipped by Georgetown for the 3-2 win placing them in a tie with Georgetown for first in the Blue Division, both with nine points. More importantly, they avoided another disappointing tie or possibly a loss.
“For them to tie it was definitely a little bit of a heartbreaker,” said Friar Coach Daley. “But we squeezed it out at the end any way you can. Any Big East win is a massive win, and this is no different. To come to a place like Georgetown, who is phenomenal at home, and to find a way to steal the game and get out of here is definitely a testament to our guys.”
The loss definitely hurts Georgetown because it dropped the Hoyas out of the NSCAA national poll.
“Every Big East game is tough,” Coach Tabatznik said. “But this was the first game that I think we were the better team and didn’t win.”
The Hoyas followed up their loss to Providence by starting a two-game road trip yesterday, in another key Big East match-up against Seton Hall (7-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 BE). Seton Hall, who came into the contest in a four-way tie for third in the Blue Division, dominated 4-1, dropping the Hoyas record to 7-4. The Pirates’ attack outdid the Hoyas’ with 11 shots on goal to six. Senior forward Ben Jefferson-Dow scored the Hoyas’ lone goal unassisted with just under three minutes left in the game.
Georgetown looks to regroup on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. when they travel to West Virginia (7-4-1 overall, 3-2-1 BE).
