Success breeds success, and the wins keep mounting.

The Georgetown men’s soccer team is learning this lesson as it continues its five-game tear through the midseason, its longest undefeated span since the 1998 season.

Bouncing back from a 3-5-0 start to the season, the Hoyas have won a series of important games that have placed them in postseason contention. Over the past week Georgetown has stopped Providence 1-0 and Rutgers 3-2 to bump its Big East record to 4-2-0.

“One thing is I think inside of the guys they certainly believe in themselves now. I think it’s easier to do the things you need to do to lose. It’s hard to do the things you need to do to keep winning,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said.

To bring the win streak up to four, the Hoyas had to sneak past the Providence Friars 1-0 at the start of second overtime on Saturday.

Georgetown last strung together four victories at the beginning of the 2000 season. The team struggled, however, to reach this mark as host Providence stretched them for over just over 100 minutes.

“Anywhere in the Big East on the road is tough to play. Providence is particularly tough to play because it’s not a good field,” Tabatznik said. “It becomes a little tug-of-war. You get a little bit of territory and you get your chances and they get bit of territory too.”

The Hoyas eventually broke through in the evenly-played match at the start of the second overtime period when senior midfielder Kevin Sindelar freed himself from the Friar defenders and dribbled down field. He crossed the ball to sophomore forward Ricky Schramm, who sent it past the opposing goalkeeper for the golden goal.

It was Schramm’s 11th goal of the season and his third game winner.

Echoing the Syracuse game, Georgetown held the advantage in the first half but faced increased pressure throughout the second.

The Hoyas held their hosts to one shot in the first 45 minutes, but the Friars struck back with eight second-half shots. Georgetown stayed the course with five attempts in both halves.

Schramm was by far the most active member on offense, placing seven shots and three on goal. Schramm has been the engine driving the Hoyas’ offense this year – excluding Georgetown’s 8-1 blowout of Mount St. Mary’s, Schramm has scored nine of the team’s 17 goals.

Providence kept sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Keszler busy with six saves throughout the game, while Georgetown watched Providence sophomore goalkeeper Chris Konopka make three saves in the first half before being replaced by senior Jeff Newman. Newman was good for one save but could not prevent the Hoyas’ lone score from slipping through.

Georgetown did not pause to stop at four wins, pushing on for a gritty 3-2 decision at Rutgers on Wednesday night. The teams traded shots for the first 30 minutes before junior midfielder Danny cAnally blasted a shot from 25 yards out that flew just inside the poll to give the Hoyas their first goal.

Georgetown padded its lead in the closing minute of the half when freshman forward Mike Glaccum rebounded sophomore forward Daniel Grasso’s shot, which the Rutgers goalkeeper had deflected it back onto the field.

“We’ve had good first halves in the past, not good second halves. Now we’re starting to get good second halves without the first halves,” Tabatznik said. “It was some of our best soccer the whole year, that half.”

Despite trailing 2-0, the Scarlet Knights managed to narrow the gap in the 71st minute after freshman defender Eric Ohin knocked the ball into the goal after a scramble in the box. The Hoyas responded to reopen their lead less than three minutes later. Senior midfielder Dan Gargan sent a penalty kick from outside the box to junior defender Jeff Curtin, who put away the shot.

Rutgers tried to come back with a series of late-game attempts. The host team pulled back to within one with a score in the 88th minute off senior forward Gustavo Mora’s blast into the goal. The Scarlet Knights had one final chance off a free kick, but could not seize the opportunity. Georgetown would keep its streak alive at five games.

Even with the loss, Rutgers put up a strong offensive effort. The hosts outshot their opponents 17-9, with 11 shots coming in the second half to Georgetown’s two. The Scarlet Knights also forced sophomore Andrew Keszler stop eight saves to his counterpart’s four.

“They were obviously chasing the game at that point. But I wouldn’t put a whole lot of credibility sometimes into shot totals,” Tabatznik said.

Georgetown goes for its sixth straight win against Big East foe Villanova (5-3-4, 3-2-2) at North Kehoe Field on Saturday. The Hoyas sit in a tie for third in the conference with 12 points, while Villanova follows right behind with 11 points. Georgetown should qualify for the postseason tournament. Now the hunt is on for home-field advantage; but first comes Villanova. The team returns to its home field for the first time since Sept. 29, when they kicked off their streak with a win over West Virginia.

“We’re two even teams. Villanova’s having the best year they’ve had in a long time. They’ve won the last several games, and I think they’re very hungry,” Tabatznik said.