Aug. 21, 2006
The 2006 Georgetown men's soccer program begins a new era with the arrival of first year Head Coach Brian Wiese. Wiese replaces longtime Hoya coach Keith Tabatznik who stepped down following the 2005 season after roaming the GU sideline for 22 seasons. Wiese is quite familiar with the league after spending the last five seasons as an assistant at Notre Dame.
Wiese takes over a team that that should contend and make some noise in the BIG EAST standings as Georgetown returns 17 letterwinners and adds six newcomers.
The Hoyas return nine starters including their goalkeeper to the 2006 team that posted a 10-9-1 overall record last season. GU went 7-3 at home and 5-3 in games decided by a single goal.
Up front, the Hoyas return four of their top five goal scorers from last season.
Senior co-captain Ricky Schramm was named All-BIG EAST Third Team as a junior after posting seven goals to go along with two assists. Five of his markers came in BIG EAST action. Schramm has appeared in every game during his Hoya career and is one of the league's most dangerous forwards. In 2004, Schramm was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and the Eastchester, N.Y. native enters the season tied for sixth on the school's all-time scoring list with 29 career goals and ranks eighth in program history with 69 career points.
Ben Jefferson-Dow returns for a fifth collegiate season after ranking second on the team with 15 points in 2005. Jefferson-Dow earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention accolades last season, scoring seven goals, including three game-winners. Jefferson-Dow, who earned the team's offensive player of the year award, is a crafty offensive-minded player who can create with or without the ball.
Senior Daniel Grasso also returns to the offense after scoring six goals while collecting two assists as a junior. Grasso played in all 20 games last season, starting 10 times and has the potential to be one of the top midfielders in the league.
Junior forward Mike Glaccum appeared in every game last season, starting in 14 contests. The Philadelphia native dished out three assists last year - none bigger than the one in the 87th minute of the BIG EAST First Round victory over Villanova on a Danny McAnally goal that tied the game at 2-2.
Sophomore Richard Frank recorded seven points during his rookie campaign, appearing in 17 games with 11 starts, including nine straight. Frank took home the team's 2006 rookie of the year award and is an explosive player who scores in bunches.
Freshman forward Justin Kondos concluded his high school career with 26 goals and 20 assists for Arundel High School (Md.). Kondos was named 2005 Maryland All-State First Team after leading the team and the county in points (35), goals (13) and assists (9). The 6-4, 185-pounder gives the Hoyas another dimension on the front line.
Georgetown has seven midfielders who are in either their freshmen or sophomore seasons.
Sophomore Corey Zeller played in 14 games a year ago and earned a considerable amount of playing time as the season progressed and should be a key component in the Hoya midfield.
Sophomore Peter Grasso made a smooth transition to the collegiate game as a rookie last year, seeing action in all 20 games with 15 starts.
Sophomore Hunter Joslin had a great spring season and his speed should cause opponents trouble both offensively and defensively.
Sophomore Colin Carney is an energetic player who got experience playing in a lot of spring matches. Carney will compete for time at one of the outside midfield positions. Georgetown also welcomes four new midfielders to the Hilltop.
Brian Mascarenhas and Conor Neusel transferred from Vanderbilt and both have three years of eligibility remaining. Mascarenhas was named All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Second Team and earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshmen Team following his rookie campaign in Nashville.
Neusel notched three points on a goal and an assist during his rookie campaign at Vandy and played in 17 of the team's 18 games. He's known for a high work rate and consistently attacks the goal.
Scott Larrabee recorded 15 goals and 20 assists in 2006, leading Loyola HS of Los Angeles to its third consecutive championship match. Larrabee was named Los Angeles Times First Team in the process.
Mark Zeman is a 5-10 midfielder who was named Chicago Sun Times Player of the Year and Chicago Sun Times First Team in 2005 to go along with Lyons Twp. HS Team MVP honors.
On the back line, senior Tim Convey and sophomore Sean Bellomy combined for seven points in 2005.
Convey, a co-captain, earned the team's defensive player of the year award last season and will be asked to anchor the Hoya defense now that Jeff Curtin has taken his game to the MLS.
Bellomy scored both of his goals last season in non-league games and gains more confidence with every appearance. His game savvy gives him the versatility to contribute at any number of positions on the field.
Junior Richard Diaz lost a good portion of last season due to a knee injury, but after starting all 21 games in 2004 should be an everyday player on the defensive end.
Sophomore Alex Pangraze appeared in 12 games last season on the back line and could provide some leadership to the defense. Pangraze saw action in 12 games last year and started in the last two games of the regular-season and both of the BIG EAST Tournament games. He is a steady presence in the center of the defense and tough in the air.
Sophomore Alex Fairman is a heady player with a great left foot and can play either of the outside back spots. He gained valuable experience as a left back his freshman season and will be looking to contribute there again in 2006.
Freshman Len Coleman is a 6-4, 205-pounder who joins the program from New Jersey's Pingry School, where he was named Colonial Conference Player of the Year in his final scholastic season.
In goal, the Hoyas return two letterwinners.
Senior Andrew Keszler started in 18 of the 19 games he appeared in. The Bethesda, Md. native made 81 saves a year ago and collected five shutouts and logged more than 88 percent of the minutes in the net.
Joe Devine played in five games with two starts in 2005 as a sophomore. He made eight saves off the bench in two games against Seton Hall and Maryland.
Junior TJ Connolly has proved to be a solid back up and continues to push the first two keepers in training.
The Schedule
The Hoyas will square off against no less than eight teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2005 (Creighton, St. John's, UConn, Seton Hall, Providence, Notre Dame, Lafayette, and West Virginia).
They will tune up for the 2006 campaign with three tough exhibition matches. The Hoyas square off with defending NCAA Champion Maryland (8/12) in Germantown, MD before going on the road to play Virginia (8/16) and Towson (8/18).
After taking on George Washington and American University in the D.C. College Cup, Georgetown travels to Nebraska and will spend the first weekend of September at the Creighton Invitational. GU will play the host Bluejays as well as Missouri St.
Georgetown opens BIG EAST Conference action at home vs. Syracuse (9/8) and St. John's (9/10). GU then travels to Villanova (9/15) and Rutgers (9/17). The Hoyas return to North Kehoe Field for meetings with Connecticut (9/23) and Seton Hall (9/27).
After a non-league home game against Howard (10/3), Georgetown heads to South Bend to take on Notre Dame.
The Hoyas play three of their final four games at home taking on Lafayette on October 10 in their last non-conference game of the season. West Virginia comes to the nation's capital on October 14 before GU goes to Pittsburgh (10/18).
Georgetown has a 15-5 all-time record over the Panthers. Georgetown concludes the regular season with a home game vs. Marquette.
The Hoyas have a 92-76-11 all-time record vs. conference foes in regular-season and BIG EAST Tourney action.
