Few teams or players can boast of perfection, especially in the world of soccer. In recent memory, the only two notable examples of a season without a single loss are the 2004 Arsenal invincibles and Antonio Conte’s breakout season with Juventus in 2012. However, neither of these two teams can claim to have never lost a game, unlike one of the Hilltop’s very own soccer stars.
As senior defender Ted Helfrich powered a header into the net this past Saturday against the Marquette Golden Eagles (9-4-2, 5-1-1 Big East), he not only ensured the Hoyas (12-3-1, 5-1-1 Big East) would keep their momentum heading into the end of their season, but also kept his one hundred percent win record in tact.
“I don’t think we’ve lost with Ted Helfrich in the game,” said Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese. “Since his junior year, whenever he’s been in, we haven’t lost. He knows what he can do and he knows what his limitations are and that’s more than half the battle for any player.”
Knowing his limitations and mental strength are two of Helfrich’s strong points according to Wiese, both of which are apparent in his composed manner on the field.
“His mental fortitude to be ready and to be ready and be positive through a lot of stuff this season is what has allowed him to do such a good job for us the last few games. He’s stepped in and looked every bit the senior.”
While Helfrich’s contributions to the Hoyas fortunes this season and in those past haven’t gone unnoticed at the top of the chain of command, Helfrich himself has some problems admitting his record is all up to his own brilliance.
“Honestly it’s down to the guys as to why I’m doing so well and slotting back in so easily. It’s nice to just get out my senior year and be able to contribute. I contributed a little last year and that was a great season. I’m just happy to be a part of the team, get some minutes, and hopefully we’ll keep winning along the way,” Helfrich said.
While the towering defender might be a little coy on his personal attributes, his impact since stepping in for freshman defender Joshua Yaro due to a serious arm injury has been huge. Helfrich has partnered well with sophomore mainstay Cole Seiler at the center of defense and has been involved in some key late season wins over teams like Butler, DePaul, and most recently against Marquette.
The game is Wisconsin started out well for the Hoyas as they were awarded three corner kicks early on, but couldn’t turn any of them into a goal. Marquette responded well forcing junior keeper Tomas Gomez into a pair of saves. The first half remained a back and forth contest as neither side could come up with a moment of magic to break the deadlock. The second half was the same story as Goergetown and Marquette exchanged blows to no avail. Unfortunately for both teams, a cold night in Wisconsin went on even longer as the game went into overtime.
Thankfully, sixth time was the charm as senior forward Steve Neumann launched yet another corner into the box. This time, instead of being directed behind the goal, or cleared out, Helfrich outjumped his marker to fire past the Marquette keeper, scoring his first Georgetown goal, and handing Hoyas the win in what was arguably their most difficult game of the season.
“It was not easy,” Wiese said. “I thought we made it pretty uncomfortable for them and did what we set out to do. We had the lionshare of the chances in the first half. … The game opened up in the second half. Marquette is a top ten team, and to go into their ground and get the result was a really positive statement for us.”
The win brings Georgetown one step closer to winning the league and further proves their credentials for a possible title challenge in the Big East tournament. Bar a game against Villanova, their trip to New York this Saturday to play the Red Storm of St. John’s (8-6-2, 1-4-2 Big East) will be the last big test the Blue and Gray face before the Big East tournament. While their record on paper may not look so impressive, Wiese is sure the Red Storm’s conference struggles come down to a simple run of bad luck.
“Their record is not the typical St. John’s record. If you look at how they’ve done out of conference, they’ve done exceptionally well. They’ve beaten Akron and some other really top end teams, and then the Big East has killed then. If you watch a lot of the games you’ve been in, they’ve been horribly unlucky.”
After their game against St. John’s the Hoyas will most likely return home for some part of postseason play.
