In soccer, many of the factors that contribute to a win or a loss do not show up in a box score.

If you look at senior defender Len Coleman’s career stat line, you will find the columns of goals, assists and points filled with zeros. In his case, the numbers do not come close to telling the story.

The sometimes-thankless reality of Coleman’s position on the field, at least in terms of personal

statistics, is also reflected in his philosophy toward contributing to his team’s overall success.

“Personal goals – I don’t make them,” he says. “To me, it’s more of a team thing. Individual achievement is something great that just comes from playing with the team.”

Thanks in part to the defender’s team-first attitude, the world of college soccer has taken note of his stellar three-year career. Coleman, a native of Basking Ridge, N.J., enters the 2009 season as a preseason all-Big East selection and is coming off two straight years as a third team all-conference honoree.

Coming out of the Pingry School in New Jersey, Coleman was a highly touted and well-decorated high school soccer player. He was a part of three conference championship teams – in 2004, Pingry was named team of the year by The Star Ledger. As a senior, Coleman was named conference player of the year and was selected to the first team all-state by The Associated Press. That same year, he tallied 19 goals and 12 assists, yet he has become an outstanding defender during his time on the Hilltop.

At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he is an imposing presence along the back line who led the defense during an impressive 2008 campaign in which it allowed just 16 goals and racked up a program record-tying 10 shutouts. In all, Coleman has contributed to 18 shutouts in his three years on the Hilltop.

“Teams definitely had a hard time scoring last year,” he says of the defense. “Not everyone is healthy right now, but by the time the big games roll around and it’s go time, we’re going to need to step up. Our defense is definitely an emphasis for how we’re going to win games this year.”

Winning games is something that the Hoyas should be equipped to do this season, especially with an experienced and talented defense that includes senior captain Mark Zeman. Georgetown is also bringing in the 14th-best recruiting class in the nation to bolster a team that barely missed an NCAA berth a year ago.

“Realistically, our goal is to make the NCAA tournament,” Coleman says. “We’re looking to build on the season we had last year, where we thought we had what it took to make it. We’re more ready now and we’re an older team.”

In order to secure a spot in the tournament, however, Coleman and the Hoyas, picked to finish third in the Big East’s Blue Division by the conference’s coaches, will have to deal with a grueling schedule that includes seven nationally-ranked teams. This weekend, in fact, California and UCLA, two national powers, come to town as the Blue and Gray open their home slate.

“Those are definitely two of the better teams in the country, so we’ll find out quick what kind of team we are,” Coleman says of his team’s early-season test. “But at the same time, it isn’t the Big East season yet – there are still 15 or 16 games left after this weekend. We have to take what happens with a grain of salt. We can’t get too low or too high.”

Indeed, a long season for the Hoyas begins today at 5 p.m. on the road at Adelphi, located in Garden City, N.Y., and continues on Friday at home against California at 4 p.m.

Georgetown played two exhibition games leading up to the season opener and lost 2-1 to both North Carolina and Duke.

Because the Hoyas are not the most prolific offensive team, it may be the back line and goalkeepers that decide Georgetown’s fate this season. With Coleman looking to cap off an outstanding career, his team will be aiming to return to the NCAA tournament and, in the process, to keep its opponents off the scoreboard as much as possible.

In Coleman’s line of work, zeros are a very good thing. “