Mitch Fox/The Hoya Junior midfielder Greg Freeburg fights for a 50-50 ball Saturday against Villanova.
The Georgetown men’s soccer team snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday, handing Villanova University a 4-1 defeat at North Kehoe Field. Sophomore midfielder Trevor Goodrich buoyed the Hoya offense with four assists, tying both the school and the Big East record.
The Hoyas burst out at the beginning, sending the ball deep into Villanova Wildcat territory, where Goodrich sent a pass to freshman forward Kemmons Feldman who put the ball in the net only 1:32 into the game. Georgetown’s offense faded after their fast start while Villanova dominated possession and launched several attacks on the Hoya’s goal. Strong defense and impressive saves from junior goalkeeper Tim Hogan foiled several close attempts, and by the end of the first half Villanova had assaulted the goal 10 times to no avail.
Near the end of the first half, Georgetown rebounded offensively, and in the 37th minute sophomore forward Kaiser Chowdhry booted a corner kick cross-field. Goodrich tried for the goal only to have the shot deflected but recovered by teammate sophomore midfielder Stephen Lambrix, who blasted the ball for a 2-0 lead. The Hoyas left the field at the end of the half having taken only two shots, but with two goals to show for their efforts.
“We were very lethargic in the first half of the game despite being up 2-0. It was almost like the first goal we got was too early and too easy,” Head Coach Keith Tabatznik said.
From the start of the second half, the Hoyas dictated play and led several offense attacks. Goodrich picked up his third assist after sending a corner kick into the crease, where sophomore midfielder Kevin Sindelar hammered the ball into the goal with a strong header at the 56:36 mark. Goodrich almost scored a goal of his own, but he would have to settle for assists in the game after the referee recalled his shot because of a foul.
“I was acting crabby out there and I wanted to get a goal in the end, but it was taken away from me. As long as we win I’m happy,” Goodrich said.
Despite the setback, the Hoyas acquired their fourth goal of the game when Goodrich struck again from the corner with 10 minutes left in the game, launching the ball to junior back Carl Skanderup, who headed the ball past the opposing goalkeeper.
With a comfortable 4-0 lead the Hoyas eased up on offense, opening the door for a Wildcat surge. Less than a minute after Skanderup’s goal, Villanova unleashed two shots on goal. Hogan saved the first, but promptly lost control of the ball. Wildcat sophomore forward Ross Brindle recovered the ball and kicked into the right corner of the goal with Hogan powerless to stop it.
“The second half was the way we wanted to play. We put them under pressure, got all over them, we really had the game in hand all second half,” Tabatznik said.
The Wildcats outshot Georgetown by a 21-9 margin as freshman forward Charlie Rowan and senior midfielder Tony Rod led the game with four shots each. Hogan made an impressive eight saves for the game and currently has 51 for the season, while his Villanova counterpart, senior goalkeeper Sean Teesdale, made one save after 90 minutes guarding the net.
The Hoyas finished the game 4-1, improving their record to 5-7-0 for the season and 3-3-0 in the Big East, looking for momentum at the start of a run of conference match-ups. Villanova falls to a 3-10-0 total record and 1-3-0 in the Big East.
“We’re in an important week for us that will go a long way in determining who gets into the Big East tournament,” Tabatznik said. “We’re now fighting against teams that are sitting in the same boat; a few teams will emerge from that and go on and some won’t. That’s the challenge we’ll have to face.”
The Hoyas looked forward to taking on University of West Virginia in another Big East battle, but the inclement weather conditions on Wednesday night forced the teams to postpone the game to an undetermined date. Meanwhile, Georgetown will meet another conference foe, Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia next Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
“We need to win the next game or else lie down, because our season is over if we don’t,” Goodrich said.