Friars Prolong Hoyas’ Slump

Never mind that the Providence Friars managed only one win in their first eight games this season. Never mind that they were voted second to last in the Big East Preseason Coach’s Poll. And never mind that the Friars have not put together a winning season in any of their last nine seasons. All that matters in Georgetown’s annual matchup with Providence is that the Hoyas can’t seem to win.

For the third year in a row, the Friars jeopardized the Hoyas’ postseason standing with a devastating upset victory. The 2-1 loss leaves Georgetown winless in its last four games and drops its overall record to 4-3-1. More importantly, the Hoyas find themselves tied for ninth place in the Big East with a 1-2-1 record. Only the top eight teams during the regular season qualify for the Big East tournament.

Offensive production continues to be the greatest problem for the Hoyas in their recent skid, as they came within 40 seconds of getting shut out for the third consecutive game. According to Head Coach Keith Tabatznik, the Hoyas had plenty of opportunities to build a lead, especially in the first half.

“In the first 25 minutes, we created numerous scoring chances and didn’t finish,” Tabatznik said. “We were a bit unlucky.”

Tabatznik cited a shot hit off the post, a ball that was cleared off the goal line and a pair of one-on-one breakaways as examples of unconverted scoring opportunities his team had in the first half against the Friars.

“It’s not like we’re not creating chances, we’re just not putting them in,” he said. “By all rights, we should have been up a couple goals at halftime.”

In spite of the Hoyas’ constant pressure throughout the first half, the teams remained in a scoreless deadlock at the intermission.

Midway through the second half, Providence’s Todd Stigliano broke the tie with his second goal of the season. Ten minutes later, freshman Jonathan Rhode iced the game when his shot beat sophomore goalkeeper Brian O’Hagan to give the Friars a 2-0 lead.

In the game’s final minute, the Hoyas scored their first goal in over 300 minutes, spanning four games, when freshman Greg Freeburg scored his first collegiate goal off a cross from junior Nate Port. Port ranks second on the team, scoring with five points.

The Hoyas travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday to take on Villanova in another conference matchup. The Wildcats stole a win from West Virginia over the weekend to garner their first conference win in recent memory after going 0-11 last season.

The game is one which the Hoyas must win according to Tabatznik.

“The bottom line is that if we want to have any realistic shot at being one of the top four seeds [in the Big East tournament] or earning an at-large bid [to the NCAA tournament], then we have to have a win right now,” he said.