Despite losing six seniors from last year’s squad (11-5-3)—including leading scorer Peter Grasso—men’s soccer head coach Brien Wiese is optimistic.
“Last year, we were a bubble team, we didn’t take care of some games we needed to win,” Wiese said. “This year we hope to be on the opposite side of those games.”
The Hoyas enter the 2009 season with ten returnees, including junior midfielder Ibu Otegbeye, who played a key role in Georgetown’s stingy defense before suffering a season-ending knee injury six games into the season.
“The numbers clearly show that our team allows more goals when he is not playing than when he is,” Wiese said.
In addition to the tough veterans, the Hoyas also add some fresh talent. According to Soccer America, this year’s Hoya freshmen crop is the 14th best recruiting class in the nation, led by midfielder Ian Christianson—one of the best prospects in the U.S. this year, who played for Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire’s U.S. Development Academy.
“This is legitimately a very good class,” Wiese said. “We are going to rely on [this year’s freshmen] to find [their] role and give us depth coming off the bench.”
They will need it. The team has only sixteen active players, while a team like (pre-season number one ranked) North Carolina has thirty. Nevertheless, the Hoyas showed potential in their pre-season match against North Carolina, which ended in a close 2-1 loss.
“The point of these early match-ups against teams like Duke and North Carolina on the road is to test ourselves,” Wiese said. “We wanted to see where we are; unfortunately, we didn’t play as well.”
After the two heart-breaking losses, Wiese says the team has yet to reach its prime.
“It remains to be seen how this year will turn out,” Weise said. “This year is a different talent pool than last year. Hopefully, we will have a whole army of guys to replace Grasso. The freshmen also have yet to find their role on the team.”
The Hoyas must find their groove quickly, as they face a tough schedule. In addition to the always daunting Big East slate, the Hoyas must contend with top teams such as UC Berkeley and UCLA, in addition to defending NCAA champion Maryland.
“This is an exciting time for both Georgetown soccer teams,” Wiese said. “Both the men and the women get to play some of the best teams in the country. We hope to have standing room crowds. The only question [for the guys] is goal scoring.”
The Hoyas kick off the season at Adelphi on September 1.
