The Georgetown men’s soccer team came up short in their quest for a Big East Championship this past week, losing in a blowout to No. 7 Connecticut after squeaking by Villanova last Thursday.
In the first round, Georgetown (10-9-1 overall, 6-5-0 BE) met a Villanova on the road (7-7-4 overall, 6-4-1 BE) who they beat 2-0 here on North Kehoe Field earlier in the regular season.
“At their field Villanova is a much better team,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said. “They have not lost at home.”
Georgetown’s seniors made sure this would not be their last game, as the Hoyas hit the scoreboard first on a connection by two seniors in the 61st minute. Midfielder Brent Plumley sent a cross into the ‘Nova box while fellow midfielder Ben Jefferson-Dow settled the cross and sent it into the top right corner of the net.
The Wildcats controlled the next ten minutes of the game, scoring twice on lapses by the Georgetown defense. First-year midfielder Joe Taylor stole the ball from the Hoya defense and scored unassisted in the 69th minute. Just two minutes later senior forward Greg Winther gathered a loose ball at the goal line and passed to sophomore defender Billy Whiteside, who scored easily for a 2-1 ‘Nova lead.
For the final 20 minutes of the game, Georgetown unsuccessfully pressed for a game-tying goal until more seniors came up big with just two minutes left in the match.
Senior defender Jeff Curtin passed the ball to sophomore forward Mike Glaccum who relayed it to senior midfielder Danny McAnally. McAnally sent the ball into the goal for the tie. This goal marked the second time this season McAnally tied a game up in the final minutes of regulation.
“We didn’t want the season to end,” McAnally said of the team’s resilience. “We just kept on fighting.”
The game headed to overtime, where Georgetown has not lost this year. However, the teams played through two scoreless ten-minute overtime sessions and, for the first time this season, a Georgetown game was decided on penalty kicks.
Villanova’s first penalty kick missed wide then Curtin beat Wildcat sophomore keeper Jason Friel. Georgetown’s junior goalkeeper Andrew Keszler stopped ‘Nova’s second chance and McAnally would convert next for the Hoyas for a 2-0 lead. Keszler made another outstanding save, and junior defender Tim Convey scored the clincher to give Georgetown the 3-0 win.
“You kind of look for clues,” Keszler commented on penalty kicks. “I felt pretty confident and got a good read on them.”
Georgetown carried its momentum into a quarterfinal rematch against Connecticut (13-3-1 overall, 7-3-1 BE), who beat the Hoyas in their regular season finale 1-0.
The Hoyas’ effort for revenge fell flat as their offense failed to come alive against the stifling Husky defense. Georgetown recorded only three shots in the contest, all of which came during the second half.
“They were very good,” Coach Tabatznik said of the Husky defense. “They made it difficult to get in behind them.”
Connecticut dominated 5-0 with their first goal coming on a play in the 11th minute, as first-year midfielder O’Brian White headed in a goal. Their next goal wouldn’t come until the 65th minute on a penalty kick by sophomore midfielder Karl Schilling.
Despite the score, the Hoya defense played well as a whole. Connecticut’s last three goals all came in the final 10 minutes of the game. They were more a result of the Hoyas’ focus on an urgent attack than of faulty defense.
“We played pretty well defensively,” Curtin said. “At the end we were just trying to win the game because we had nothing to lose.”
Despite being eliminated from the tournament, the Hoyas feel like they can take pride in their many accomplishments this season. With a challenging schedule that featured several nationally ranked teams, the Hoyas managed a winning record at 10-9-1 overall, 6-5 BE, even earning the No. 25 ranking at one point in the season.
“They have a lot to feel good about,” Coach Tabatznik said of his team. “When you look at the overall picture, they played one of the toughest schedules in the country.”
The Hoyas still cling to a small chance at the NCAA tournament. Their midseason national ranking may help, but the team realizes that it will be a long shot with so many teams ahead of them in the Big East.
“We have a pretty outside shot,” said Keszler. “But I guess we still technically have a chance.”
Georgetown’s hopes must wait until Monday, Nov. 14, when the selections for the 2005 NCAA Men’s College Cup will be announced.
