Another weekend, another tournament, another title.

At least that is the hope as Georgetown’s men’s soccer team prepares for the Maryland/Adidas Classic this weekend.

Last weekend Georgetown (2-0-0) took home the D.C. College Cup with wins over Howard and American universities. It was the Hoyas’ second College Cup title, following their 2002 tournament victory.

“These two games are a great start to the season,” freshman defender Peter Grasso said. “We had decent competition. American is a great team and Howard took us all the way to overtime, so it was a good first two games and a good battle.”

In the opening round of the tournament, Georgetown shut out Howard (0-2-0) in a 1-0 overtime win. The Hoyas dominated opportunities and time of possession but could not find the back of the net in regulation. Once in overtime, however, the Hoyas were determined to take the game, and freshman forward Sean Bellomy finally put the ball away on an assist from junior midfielder Dan Grasso in the 93rd minute.

“I think we could have played a little better, but we definitely showed that we had heart to come back and get that final goal,” senior captain and midfielder Brent Plumley said. “This was a good thing to get under our belt early in the season.”

In a rough match, the Hoyas looked frustrated with both themselves and the officiating, but the players were willing to put that behind them and be satisfied with the win.

“I wear my heart on my shoulder, and obviously I wasn’t too happy,” junior forward Ricky Schramm said. “I had a lot of chances, and that’s what I’ll take with me to the next game – that I got in the right spots and had the chances and next time they’ll go my way.”

According to Head Coach Keith Tabatznik, the overtime win against Howard was especially encouraging because last year Georgetown lost both of its early-season overtime games.

“It was a convincing game, in terms of possession, territorial advantage and stuff,” he said, “and it’s a confidence builder. Every time you win in overtime you feel like you can do it again.”

With the victory on Friday, Georgetown entered Sunday’s match with American needing at least a tie to take home the Craig Tartasky Trophy. American (0-1-1) had tied George Washington University in the first round of the tournament, so the Eagles needed a victory to capture their third consecutive College Cup title.

For the last few years, games between Georgetown and American have been close, and on Sunday it was no different. The Hoyas and the Eagles battled with equal possession in the early minutes. But Georgetown was able to take advantage on one of its limited scoring opportunities in the 23rd minute when senior forward Benjamin Jefferson-Dow and Schramm had a two-on-one with the American keeper, sophomore Chris Sedlak. Jefferson-Dow received a pass from sophomore forward Mike Glaccum and took the shot himself, scoring what would ultimately be the game-winning goal.

For the rest of the game it was the Eagle offense and Hoya defense that battled it out. American took 17 shots – 12 in the second half – but Georgetown held tight, and the Eagles could not find the equalizer. It was the first time the Eagles had ever lost in the D.C. College Cup tournament and their first loss to the Hoyas since 2000.

“I was happy with how we defended because that was all we did in the second half,” Tabatznik said. “I though we deserved to be up at halftime . and then we held real well.”

While the victory over the rival Eagles was a cause for celebration for the Hoyas, an injury to AU freshman defender Philip Purdy cast a dark shadow on the day. Early in the second half, Purdy collided with Georgetown defender Peter Grasso near the Hoyas’ 18-yard box and did not get back up. According to American University officials, Purdy was briefly unconscious on the field and, once awake, could not feel his arms or legs.

Trainers from both teams stabilized Purdy, and after about 20 minutes he was taken off the field in an ambulance by GERMS. By the time he was taken off the field, he was speaking but still had not regained feeling in his extremities. Purdy was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion. Further tests have all come back negative, and he was released from the hospital earlier this week.

Although the injury was serious, Purdy is expected to fully recover and could be back with his team as soon as next week.

The Hoyas came away with two wins but the lack of offensive production is worrisome for the team that led the Big East in scoring last year. Schramm, the reigning Big East offensive player of the year, will need to step up and produce in order to get his team back on track. He was held to only one shot on goal for the entire College Cup tournament, and the same statistics this weekend will not be enough to get the Hoyas two more wins.

“It was just a bit unlucky, some of it,” Tabatznik said of the Hoyas’ inability to finish. “I don’t think we’ll always miss a couple of the chances we missed today.”

One thing that is not in doubt is the Hoyas’ defense. Senior captain Jeff Curtin, along with junior Tim Convey and freshman Alex Fairman, calmly held the back line for Georgetown in both games last week. Georgetown limited American to only six shots on goal, while completely shutting down the Howard offense – in 93 minutes of play the Bison got off no shots at all.

Curtin was named tournament MVP for his play and was selected to the all-D.C. College Cup team.

Joining Curtin on the all-tournament team were Jefferson-Dow, Convey and junior goalkeeper Andrew Keszler.

Even coming off two solid wins, the Hoyas will need to step up their play to compete this weekend at Maryland. Tonight Georgetown faces off with No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth University before taking on No. 4 Santa Clara University on Sunday afternoon. Facing two of the top programs in the nation, the Hoyas will need more than the 35 total shots they had last weekend to top the either team.

VCU (1-1-0) is coming off a two-game split last weekend. The Rams fell to No. 2 North Carolina 1-0 last Friday and then rebounded to defeat Monmouth 3-1 on Sunday. Santa Clara (2-0-0) enters the tournament coming off wins over then-No. 8 UCLA and Cal State Fullerton. The Broncos knocked off the Bruins 3-2 and shut out the Titans 1-0 in victories that came down to the final moments. Both teams will be prepared for the Hoyas when the tournament begins tonight.

“This is a great tournament,” Santa Clara Head Coach Cameron Rast said. “We get to travel across the country and see the top teams on the East Coast. Maryland is one of the top teams in the country and Georgetown is dangerous, so this tournament will give us another chance to see where we stand on the season.”

Kickoff for the Hoyas against the Rams is set for 5 p.m. this afternoon at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md. Georgetown will continue its play on Sunday at noon against the Broncos, again at Ludwig Field.