Hoya Staff Writer Friday, September 22, 2006 Lindsay Anderson/The Hoya
With the defense starting to hold its own, Georgetown will look to add a bit more offense and take down the two-time defending Big East champions tomorrow afternoon. The Hoyas (3-5-0, 2-2-0) are set to face the Connecticut Huskies (4-2-2, 3-0-1), who have not lost in their last five games, at North Kehoe Field. Coming off of a 1-0 overtime loss at Rutgers last Sunday and a 1-0 win against Villanova a week ago, Georgetown is beginning to clamp down on `D.’ Though the Scarlet Knights did manage to get off 24 shots, Head Coach Brian Wiese was encouraged by his defense’s efforts, especially since most of those shots were from 25 to 30 yards out. “We’re starting to get our team defending down so that we don’t need to go down and come back,” Wiese said. “As a team, we’ve talked about really trying to get it so that our defending is good as a team and locking the door, not giving up goals as easily as we have, and I think we’re starting to do that.” Senior defender and co-captain Tim Convey, the anchor of the Hoyas’ back line, echoed his coach’s sentiments. “In the beginning of the year we had trouble as a team, very much so, with the forwards and midfielders really protecting the back line,” he said. “We’re starting to get the system a little better, so I think with us understanding the system better and us performing better on the field with that system, we’ll end up getting the results that we want.” Convey tweaked his hamstring against Villanova and missed the Rutgers game. He is day-to-day entering the weekend. Junior goalie Joe Devine, who made his season debut against Missouri State on Sept. 3 and took over for senior Andrew Keszler as the starter last weekend against Villanova, said he has faith in the defenders in front of him. “I’m really confident in the defenders I have in front of me,” he said. “I think they’re playing well at the moment. They’re strong, they win a lot of balls in the air.” For Devine, the transition to starter has been a long time, and a lot of hard work, in the making. In his last three starts, Devine has only surrendered one goal. “It feels great, it’s pretty fulfilling,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard and I got my chance, so hopefully I can keep that and push all the keepers.” While Rutgers shot 24 times, Georgetown managed just five shots, only two of which were on goal-a disparity which Wiese attributes more to his offense’s poor possession time than to defensive shortcomings. Against Villanova, the Hoyas had four shots on goal. Leading scorer Ricky Schramm, a senior forward and co-captain, scored the winner with under three minutes left in regulation time. The first-year head coach stressed the importance of showing more offensive patience and not allowing the Hoyas’ opponents to maintain possession. Such patience will be particularly important against a Connecticut team which prides itself on clock control. “They are one of the best possession-oriented teams in the country,” Wiese said. “They will keep [the ball]. They’ve got athletes all over the field and they can really play. So, I expect them to have the ball quite a bit, but I expect us to get it and keep it as well.”They’re very good on the ball, they have a lot of good defenders, and they like to keep possession, so I don’t think we need to worry about too many long balls over the top,” Convey said. “We just need to keep them in front of us and get good hard steps on them when they do decide to pass it because they like a lot of short balls.” Leading the way for the Huskies is senior defender Julius James, a player Wiese tabs as one of the best in the country on the set piece, and sophomore forward O’Brian White, who has registered two goals and two assists so far this season. Sophomore midfielder Akeem Priestley leads the team with three goals. Connecticut is coming off of a pair of 2-0 wins against Sacred Heart and Syracuse. The Huskies have not lost since dropping a 5-1 decision against St. Louis on Sept. 3. Connecticut won the Big East tournament a year ago with a 1-0 win over South Florida on Nov. 13. To beat the Huskies, the Hoyas will need to keep Connecticut from maintaining its deliberate style. “We need to make sure we dictate the style of play because we didn’t dictate the style of play against Rutgers,” Schramm said. “I think we need to come out strong, protect the home field. We’ve been getting really good crowds. I think we just need to come out with really good energy.” Saturday’s game is set for 1 p.m. at North Kehoe Field.