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Junior goalkeeper Matt Brutto only needed to make one save on Tuesday as the Hoya defense kept Adelphi at bay.

The Hoyas hit the ground running in their first game of the 2009 season, but were unable to find the back of the net against Adelphi as the two teams ended in a goalless draw.

“It was a game we surely should have won,” Head Coach Brian Wiese said.

“The stats are deceiving because we controlled 95 minutes of a 110-minute game,” he added in a press release.

The Georgetown offensive unit set the pace early on in the game and kept the Adelphi defense on its toes, but was unable to convert on its many chances to get onto the scoreboard.

The junior duo of midfielder Seth C’deBaca and forward Jose Colchao came close to breaking the tie in the opening minutes of the match. C’deBaca shot just wide of the goal with a corner kick in the 12th minute, followed by an attempt that bounced off the crossbar around the halfway mark of the first period.

Colchao’s shot just two minutes later was on goal, but was saved deftly by Adelphi junior keeper Thorne Holder. The hosts’ man between the posts came to the rescue yet again in the 39th minute when he blocked senior midfielder Scott Larrabee’s attempt at goal.

The second half continued in the same vein, with the Hoyas taking the majority of the possession. This time, C’deBaca and senior defender Mark Zeman both got looks on the goal, as did sophomore forward Uche Onyeador, whose 64th-minute effort went wide of the posts.

Overtime saw the Hoyas pick up the pace and bring in fresh legs to boost the offense. Junior forward Chandler Diggs and freshman midfielder Andy Riemer were both thwarted in their attempts to put the Hoyas on the scoreboard. Colchao’s last ditch effort in the 107th minute was yet again saved by Holder.

“We got behind [the Adelphi defense] a lot and created a lot of chances,” Wiese said. “We just didn’t put them away.”

Whereas the Hoyas were unable to finish off opportunities on the offensive end, the back-four were spot-on in shutting out the Panthers. Junior goalkeeper Matt Brutto was hardly bothered by the Adelphi attack, thanks in large part to a solid performance by the veteran defensive line consisting of seniors Len Coleman and Zeman and juniors Alex Verdi and Ibu Otegbeye.

“We limited them to a lot of second-rate chances,” Wiese said. “The back-four made things difficult. They played as a unit, which is good to see. That’s got to carry over to this weekend.”

The Hoyas will face a west-coast doubleheader this weekend, kicking off the home games at North Kehoe Field against No. 8 California today and No. 19 UCLA on Sunday. Wiese touted both teams as two of the best in the Pac-10, predicting that one will win the league and the other will come in second.

Despite such a challenge ahead of the Hoyas, Wiese was not stressed.

“Playing against two such big teams takes the pressure off us,” he said. “No one expects us to win.”

But winning will definitely be the intention in the Hoya locker room come 4 p.m. today, when the Blue and Gray will prepare to take on the eighth-best team in the country. Because it is still early in the season, Georgetown is looking to shake off the rust and gather some momentum before beginning its Big East slate. No incentive could be greater than facing a superior-ranked team on its home pitch.

“We’re starting to get some combinations going forward and starting to get into a rhythm,” Wiese said.

“This weekend we’ll have to step it up.”

“Soccer’s a funny sport,” Wiese added, a refrain he repeats quite often. “We might play well but lose the game, and we might play poorly but manage to scrape a win.”

While Georgetown will be certain underdogs for both of its matches over the weekend, Wiese and his players will hope to catch enough breaks and build enough momentum to pull off an upset – or two.”