Trust me, I didn't forget about No. 5 Georgetown (7-3) as it heads into its meeting with Massachusetts today at the Multi-Sport Field.
Actually, the Hoyas have a really interesting stat to work on against the Minutemen.
Coach Dave Urick keeps a game chart with 10 specified goals for each game. None of them are critical all by themselves, but put together they provide a pretty good glimpse of how a team played.
It was sort of easy to shrug off Georgetown's loss at Loyola last week. A two-goal margin, close the entire way, the Greyhounds were at home and have a decent looking resume besides a befuddling loss to Siena.
Then Urick told me Georgetown hit only one of the 10 goals.
"We've lost games where we've got maybe four or five," Urick said. "I don’t know if we had a game where we didn't get more than one."
This was intriguing to me, because it offered a chance to get a real good look at precisely what a coach values over the course of the game. So I prodded to get as many of the categories as I possibly could.
* Clearing percentage over 75 percent
* Win 60 percent of the faceoffs
* Win 60 percent of the groundballs
* Win the turnover battle
* Capitalize on 30 percent of extra-man opportunities
* Hold opponents to 20 percent or less on their extra-man chances
* Positive scoring margin off the ride
* Positive scoring margin in transition
* Assist on 55 percent of all-even goals
* Positive overall scoring margin in the final minute of quarters ("Time-X")
The only game goal the Hoyas met last week was the clearing percentage. There are a few caveats to this process, since some of the categories are closely tied together (faceoffs and groundballs, as well as turnovers and transition margin).
"It's not always going to paint the most accurate," Urick said. "We'll get six or seven of those game goals and still not do that well. It’s not necessarily an end-all, but it does resonate when you only get one."
Another thing that resonates: Being in position to need an at-large NCAA tournament berth. The Loyola loss puts a little pressure on the Hoyas for the next three weeks, when they finish up with Massachusetts, Rutgers and Penn State.
Georgetown has two variables working for them. One is obvious; the Hoyas have this season's holy grail, a victory over top-ranked Duke, and they have no glaring deficiency to counteract that win.
Second, there's the subtle issue of strength of schedule. Only the best 10 opponents count in the schedule strength calculations, so how many games a team has played at this juncture can wildly affect the overall rating.
Georgetown has played only 10 games, so even though its schedule ranks 23rd, it still will drop Mount St. Mary's (49th of 57 teams) and St. John's (51st) over the next couple weeks. Heavyweights won't take those programs' places, but the Hoyas will still have an uptick in strength of schedule.
Midfielder Scott Kocis is back from his preseason collarbone injury, so that will be a boost as well. But as Urick points out (and continually stresses to his players), you can play your way in or out. That's what the the next three weeks will be about for the Hoyas, who would be well-served to win out and avoid providing any reason to be left out of the field.
And if they can win a few more of their game goals along the way, so much the better. Chances are, they probably will --- and I'll follow up on that list later on in the weekend, since eight of the categories can be dissected with just an accurate box score.
--- Patrick Stevens
