This past week, the misfortune of the Georgetown men’s soccer team saw their current losing streak run to four games, with two more losses. Injuries plagued the Hoyas as they struggled to overcome their recent slump.
Georgetown (7-6-0 overall, 3-4-0 BE) first traveled to Big East foe West Virginia (8-4-1 overall, 4-2-1 BE) on Saturday. The match proved to be an exciting one with aggressive play shown by both sides. Both teams notched 12 shots, but it was the Mountaineers who escaped on top.
Key injuries to the Hoya defense turned out to be the deciding factors in the contest. Senior defender Jeff Curtin, the 2005 Preseason Big East Defensive Player of the Year, sat out the match nursing an injury. After 50 minutes of play, the Hoyas also lost junior goalkeeper Andrew Keszler after he collided with a West Virginia player. Keszler stopped all three shots on goal the Mountaineers sent his way before leaving the game.
Sophomore keeper Joe Devine replaced Keszler in goal for the Hoyas. Devine made one save but allowed a costly goal. Sophomore Andy Wright scored the only goal West Virginia would need against Devine. From 40 yards out Wright arched a shot over Devine who was playing far out from the goal.
The Mountaineers held on for the 1-0 shutout. West Virginia has posted shutouts in all eight of their wins.
In spite of the loss, the Hoyas took comfort in their high level of play before entering their home match with No. 13 Maryland (9-3-0 overall, 3-1-0 ACC) on Tuesday.
“We played great Saturday night,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said of the Hoyas’ effort. “All the talk was of how we’ve stayed this focused and played this hard and that we can play with anybody. (halcyonliving.co.uk) ”
The Hoyas looked for their first victory ever against the Terrapins on a wet North Kehoe Field Tuesday afternoon. Maryland, however, made sure that Georgetown would have to wait a little longer. By the end of the game, the ugly 6-0 mark on the scoreboard mirrored the Hoyas’ soiled white uniforms.
Maryland showcased their deep squad, receiving goals from six different players. They scored five times in the first half against Devine. Three came in the first 12 minutes, and then two more were added in the final five minutes of the half.
Falling behind early, the Hoyas never managed to mount any type of comeback. Georgetown only managed to tally seven shots to Maryland’s 23. The Terps added a sixth and final goal in the 80th minute against Keszler who took over the goalkeeping duties in the second half.
“The opening 20 minutes of this game was like, who was that out there wearing the white jerseys,” Coach Tabatznik commented. “Because it wasn’t any Georgetown team that I’ve seen.”
Even the Terrapins were aware of the significance in playing an injury-plagued Hoyas squad.
“We expected and prepared for Georgetown to be healthier and thus benefited from their injuries,” Maryland Head Coach Sasho Cirovski said. “This is a very good Georgetown team and will be a very dangerous team when healthy.”
The Hoyas are trying to find a way to heal and end their costly losing streak that has seen them plummet from first to sixth in the Big East Blue Division.
“We haven’t been showing it recently but we are a good team,” Coach Tabatznik said. “The guys need to remember that and go back to all the little things that they were doing that made them tough in the first third of the season.”
Georgetown stays at home to face Big East opponent Notre Dame (7-4-2 overall, 3-3-1 BE) on Saturday.
