Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese is so confident in his defense, he believes that if his team can score just one goal, they’ll win.
Tallying that score will be the Hoyas’ focus as they head into Big East contests tonight at Cincinnati and Sunday at Louisville.
Georgetown (1-4, 0-1 Big East) has scored just one goal all season, but several high-caliber opponents may be as much to blame for the offensive woes as the Hoyas themselves. Combined, the four teams that have beaten the Blue and Gray are allowing a mere 0.87 goals per game. They include then-No. 8 Southern Methodist and then-No. 4 Connecticut, both of whom downed Georgetown, 1-0.
Senior goalkeeper Joe Devine has played every minute between the posts this season, and has given the team confidence with some big saves against Marshall and UConn, recording his fourth career shutout against the Thundering herd and keeping a potent Husky attack scoreless for the first 96 minutes of play.
The road looks to get a little easier tonight when the Hoyas take on the Bearcats (1-4). The match will be the Big East opener for Cincinnati, who, like Georgetown, has a young squad.
“We have a number of new players, and we’re still trying to find the right mix,” Bearcat Head Coach Hylton Dayes said.
Wiese noted that Cincinnati has had trouble replacing last year’s playmaker, senior forward Omar Cummings (six goals, nine assists last year), whose departure was similar to that of Georgetown’s Ricky Schramm. Both players were drafted in the LS although Schramm is no longer with a pro club.
“Cincinnati is in the same boat as we are,” Wiese said. “They’re struggling to find a go-to guy to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Senior forward Kenny Anaba, last year’s second leading scorer, will be the player the Bearcats look to for leadership on the offensive end.
The Hoyas seem to be better prepared for the Bearcats, as they have already had a Big East game under their belt, and the style of play tends to be more physical in Big East matches than in non-conference tilts. Additionally, Cincinnati has not played as strong a schedule as Georgetown. The Bearcats’ five opponents have a 7-9-2 record against other teams, and none is ranked in the top 25.
“[Cincinnati] has not played the competition we have,” Wiese said. “They are not going to be tough like UConn or SMU, but it’ll be a tough game.”
On Sunday, Louisville will present a greater challenge for Georgetown. The Cardinals (3-2-0) had a three-game winning streak broken by a 1-0 loss to No. 1 Wake Forest on Saturday.
“Louisville is a team that is on the verge of making the NCAA [tournament],” Wiese said.
Head Coach Ken Lolla came to the Cardinals last year after guiding the Akron Zips to a 18-1-4 record and a No. 5 national ranking. He took Louisville to their first Big East tournament in three years, but they fell 2-0 to Providence in the first round.
Lolla said he was excited to see what Wiese’s squad had to offer, as Georgetown did not play Louisville last season in the two coaches’ first year.
The Cardinals boast a well-rounded attack in which seven players have already recorded goals and 10 have scored points on either a goal or an assist. Senior forward Marco Terminesi has two goals and two assists, and junior midfielder Aaron Clapham, who transferred to Louisville from St. Francis (Pa.) this year, has two scores and an assist. Louisville’s offense has only been shut out by two teams, Memphis and No. 1 Wake Forest, and has twice exploded for four goals this season, but Lolla knows it will be hard to crack the Georgetown backline.
“We know Georgetown will defend well – just look at their results,” he said. “We’re going to have a tough game.”
Louisville will open Big East play Friday night as they play host to Seton Hall.
Kickoff tonight is set for 8 p.m. at Cincinnati’s Gettler Stadium, and the match Sunday will begin at noon at Cardinal Park.
