Dan Gelfand/The Hoya Freshman midfielder Daniel Grasso winds up for a shot on the goal line. Grasso saw time against Delaware during Georgetown’s 2-0 win on Tuesday.
The Georgetown men’s soccer team capped off an uneven season with a display of dominance over regional rival Delaware last Tuesday night. Launching an overwhelming attack in the second half, the Hoyas notched two goals to down the Blue Hens 2-0 at the Delaware Mini-Stadium in Newark, Del.
After a disappointing 1-0 loss to Connecticut on Saturday dashed the team’s Big East tournament hopes, the team rebounded in fine form on a warm weekday night. While not the exit they had hoped to make, the players competed well against a weaker opponent.
“We were simply a much better team than Delaware and that makes a big difference. We didn’t let them have much of a chance,” head coach Keith Tabatznik said. “Since we have to end the season now, it’s a good way to do it.”
Delaware managed to stay close to Georgetown throughout the first half. With freshman goalkeeper Andrew Keszler, next year’s go-to guy after the departure of senior Tim Hogan this spring, starting in front of the net for the first time, the Hoyas kept the Blue Hens from launching any credible attack. Keszler grabbed two saves while the team allowed six shots during the half. Georgetown came up with seven shots, causing senior goalkeeper organ Funsten to make four saves while protecting Delaware’s goal. Neither team was able to score in the first half, frustrating a Hoya team that felt that it should clearly control the game.
Georgetown’s offense broke out in the second half. While the defense held its opponents to only three shots throughout the period, the offense pummeled the enemy’s goal with 17 shots. At 58:20, junior defender Dan Gargan came up with an unassisted goal, his fifth of the season, to give Georgetown the lead. Freshman forward Ricky Schramm put the game away late in the 80th minute off a play set up by Gargan and senior defender Carl Skanderup. After some clever passing, Schramm flicked the ball into the top right corner out of the goalkeeper’s reach. Funsten made a total of 12 saves throughout the game to keep Georgetown from running away with the game, but a lack of success on offense doomed Delaware to a one-sided loss.
With his goal late in the game, Schramm’s ninth, the freshman forward claimed the team title for most goals and most points, 21, including three assists. Gargan finishes second in both goals and points; his five goals and six assists for the season add up to 16 points.
Georgetown, which had committed a total of 248 fouls throughout the season, ended with two more yellow cards, one for the team caused by Tabatznik’s interference and another from Gargan, each within seconds of each other and of the first goal. The Blue Hens, for their part, also were issued three yellow cards, all in the late second half.
While failing to reach the postseason puts a damper on the season, the win at least offers a chance for the team to leave on a positive note. The Hoyas’ final record stands at 8-9-2, just one win short of moving past the .500 mark. After falling to a season low of 4-7-2 by mid-October, the team rallied in the last three weeks of the season to win four of its last six games.
The team can now rest up until next fall when the team reemerges without two of its starters, but with two redshirts coming off the bench and a crop of freshmen eager to make their mark, the team should be able to compensate for the loss. For now, though, the team can relax and reflect upon what has been an unusually difficult season for men’s soccer on the Hilltop.
“We came up a little short this season, but we didn’t throw in the towel. We always believed until the last moment that we would get in the tournament,” Tabatznik said.
