Washington, D.C. - The No. 20/23 Georgetown University men’s soccer team continued its unbeaten streak Wednesday afternoon with a 1-0 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves (1-3-1) at North Kehoe Field. With the victory, the Hoyas improve to 5-0 on the season after holding opponents scoreless for all 450 minutes of play.
Both teams had their chances in the first half with the Hoyas outshooting the Seawolves, 9-4. Jose Colchao (Fairfax, Va./Lake Braddock Secondary School) came close with a header that went high four minutes in and a another shot 12 minutes later. Mark Zeman (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Twp.) also added a pair of shots on goal later in the half.
The second was more of the same as both teams took shots but the defense and keepers stayed strong. Just as the Hoyas were picking up momentum, Scott Larrabee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./South Bay Force/Loyola HS of LA) fired the ball from the top left corner of the box. Seawolf keeper Dawid Ditrich jumped for the save and got his fingertips on the ball but on the deflection, it hit his body and ricocheted into the net putting the Hoyas up one.
"It was just a matter of being patient and hoping we didn’t give anything away," said Head Coach Brian Wiese. "To their credit, they had their chances and could have snuck a lead on us on a couple of occasions, but I think our guys kept their composure and continued working at it."
Stony Brook went on the attack for the remainder of the game but the GU defense and keeper Matt Brutto (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) stopped each advance making the final 1-0.
Georgetown outshot Stony Brook 14-8 and took six corner kicks to the Seawolves’ one.
The win keeps the Hoyas undefeated with a program-best 5-0 record to open the season making it the top start since 1998. It is also the most shutouts in a row in program history as GU is yet to concede a goal so far this season.
The Hoyas begin BIG EAST play on Saturday at No. RV/T25 Providence which is 1-0-1 on the year, but has not played in a week due to a cancellation on the schedule.
"We have to quickly re-focus, for as good as a start it’s been, we are suddenly in the league now. Providence is on Saturday and we’re starting from square one again. We have to make sure that we’re ready," said Wiese.
Hoyas Win Cal State-Northridge Tournament
Aug. 31, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown scored midway through the first half and added a goal late in the second half as the Hoyas posted a 2-0 win over Cal State-Fullerton in the second round of the Cal State-Northridge Tournament at Matador Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The win clinched the tournament title for the Hoyas, who improve to 2-0 this season. Fullerton falls to 1-1 overall.
"It was a pretty good performance," Head Coach Brian Wiese said. "We won the tournament, which is great, and we had some All-Tournament selections. We had a lot of good performances from the guys today. A lot of guys came and played very well."
Senior forward Peter Grasso (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale Central) was one of five Georgetown players selected to the All-Tournament Team. Grasso scored two goals in two games and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Junior defender Len Coleman (Basking Ridge, N.J./Pingry School) was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Other Hoyas selected to the All-Tournament Team included junior midfielder Scott Larrabee (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./South Bay Force/Loyola HS), redshirt freshman goalie Mark Wilber (Tijeras, N.M./Albuquerque Academy) and sophomore midfielder Rob Burnett (Plano, Texas/Plano West).
Grasso put the Hoyas on the board in the first half, scoring on an assist from senior midfielder Corey Zeller (Toms River, N.J./Toms River).
Sophomore forward Chandler Diggs (Coppell, Texas/Coppell) put the game away late in the second half, scoring with about three minutes left after taking the ball around midfield and creating a one-man fast break. "It was a pretty well engineered goal by Chandler," Wiese said. "It was nice to see us put that second one in."
After a pair of wins on the road to open the season, Wiese was pleased with the results from the weekend. "We beat Northridge at their place and this was certainly more of a home game for Fullerton," Wiese said. "The guys demonstrated an ability to get results away from home and that is certainly a good sign. There are things we can do better, and we learned a few things from it, but the good news is that we were able to get two wins out on the road."
Georgetown makes its home opener on Friday, September 5, hosting Davidson. Kick-off at North Kehoe Field is slated for 3 p.m.
"We’ve got to tidy up some things before the Davidson game," Wiese said. "I think the guys are excited to come home and play in front of our fans."