The Georgetown men’s soccer team can breath a sigh of relief. Saving themselves from almost drowning in the Big East Blue Division standings during the middle of the season, the Hoyas have come back to life in the conference in recent weeks. With their 1-0 win at Marquette on Saturday, Georgetown secured a spot in the Big East tournament.
“Getting the win Saturday took a tremendous amount of pressure off,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said. “Playing a man down, you couldn’t have written a better script.”
Junior midfielder Daniel Grasso gave the Hoyas (10-7-0 overall, 6-4-0 BE) their only goal off a Marquette (5-9-1 overall, 1-7-1 BE) turnover just before the 35-minute mark. But the Hoyas took a tough blow less than a minute later when senior midfielder Benjamin Jefferson-Dow left the game following a red card for a hard tackle.
Marquette used the man advantage to gain a 19-6 edge in shots. However, they were not able to match the Hoyas’ first-half goal. Georgetown’s junior goalkeeper Andrew Keszler suffocated the Golden Eagles’ attack with seven saves, for his fifth shutout of the season.
The Hoyas returned home on Wednesday for their final regular-season home game on North Kehoe Field, hosting Big East opponent Pittsburgh (3-10-1 overall, 2-7-0 BE).
Before the contest, the Hoyas celebrated Senior Day by honoring their six graduating seniors: midfielder Brent Plumley, defender Jeff Curtin, midfielder Kevin Sindelar, defender Ethan Caskey, midfielder Danny McAnally and forward Chris Tansey.
“It’s tough, four years goes by fast,” McAnally said. “But hopefully we will play here again in the tournament.”
Georgetown’s win against Marquette afforded Coach Tabatznik the opportunity to rest some of his players against Pittsburgh. Curtin, who has been nagged by an injury since mid-season, sat out the entire game. The Hoyas were still able to dominate the contest and win 3-1.
Grasso again put the Hoyas on the board first, in the 14th minute, off an assist from McAnally. The Hoyas later had a chance go to waste as Pittsburgh’s freshman keeper Jordan Marks saved junior forward Ricky Schramm’s penalty kick.
In the 25th minute, McAnally made Senior Day even sweeter with a goal of his own. Pittsburgh failed to control the ball much as the first half ended with the Hoya lead at 2-0.
The Panthers produced a better attack in the second half and finally scored in the 68th minute. Sophomore midfielder Eric Jaeger scored an unassisted goal on a misplay by the Hoya defense. Jaeger’s goal pulled the Panthers to within one of the Hoya lead.
Grasso deflated Pittsburgh’s hopes with his second tally of the game in the 72nd minute, after he intercepted a Panther clearing attempt. This was the late-season star’s sixth goal of the year and fourth in the Hoyas’ last four games.
After these two key victories, Georgetown looks ahead to what could be a bigger match-up at No. 7 Connecticut (11-3-1 overall, 6-3-1 BE) on Saturday. The Hoyas have ensured their spot in the league championship but could end up with more.
“We could get a home seed,” Coach Tabatznik said of the game’s importance. “And depending on how other games go, we could be playing for a championship.”
