Hoyas Fall in Heartbreaker

The Richmond Spiders did it again.

For the third consecutive regular-season finale, the Georgetown men’s soccer team had its heart ripped out by the Spiders in a 3-2 double-overtime loss.

Two years ago, the Hoyas fell behind 4-0 in the game’s opening 22 minutes before putting together a remarkable second half comeback effort that fell just short. The Hoyas lost, 5-4.

Last season, the Hoyas suffered a second crushing defeat to the Spiders, yielding a goal in the second overtime session. They lost 1-0.

On Tuesday, Georgetown looked to turn the tables on their rivalry with Richmond, and with under 20 minutes left in regulation and a two-goal cushion, the Hoyas appeared primed to do just that.

Twenty-one minutes into the match, senior tri-captain Kyle Rakow gave the Hoyas their first lead over the Spiders in over three years with his first goal of the season. Juniors Kenny Owens and Truls Engebretsen assisted on the goal, which Rakow punched in from inside the penalty box. The assist was Owens’ first of the season and was his 21st point of the season.

The Hoyas added to their lead early in the second half when a pair of freshman combined to give the Hoyas their second goal on an unselfish play. Passing up an opportunity to score himself, midfielder Greg Freeburg fed forward Tony Soric, who easily scored from close range.

The Hoyas carried their two-goal lead deep into the second half before Richmond pulled off their late-game heroics. Freshman Ken Holiday and Eric Dutt each scored 10 minutes apart and sent the game into overtime.

The momentum clearly on their side, the Spiders dominated both overtime sessions and continued firing shots until one finally beat freshman goalkeeper Tim Hogan in the game’s 119th minute, giving Richmond the 3-2 double overtime win.

Despite the Hoyas’ lead for the majority of the game, the Spiders dominated throughout the game’s 119 minutes, outshooting the Hoyas 28-11 while holding a 13-3 advantage in corner kicks. In Head Coach Keith Tabatznik’s assessment, the game was one of his team’s poorest efforts of the season.

“Today had nothing to do with luck, it had to do with performance,” Tabatznik said. “They completely outplayed us even when we were up 2-0. [Our] guys didn’t come out to compete.”

In defense of the Hoyas, the loss can be partly attributed to injuries, which sidelined two starters, junior midfielder Michael Gross and senior midfielder Peter Bachman.

Tabatznik wasn’t looking for excuses, however, as he continued to blame the loss on the team’s poor effort.

“We weren’t as deep and healthy as we’ve been,” he said. “[But] it’s not who you don’t have, it’s who you have, and what we had didn’t perform the way they should have.”

The Hoyas finish their 2000 regular season 9-7-1 overall and assure themselves of their fourth straight winning season.

Their focus now is directed towards the Big East tournament which begins this Sunday at noon for the Hoyas in Chestnut Hill, ass., where the sixth-seeded Hoyas will look to upset third-seeded Boston College, which is coming off its best season in recent years. The Eagles edged out the Hoyas 1-0 last week.