In spite of suspension, Rams excelling

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006

The suspension of senior forward Alex Goycochea, who led the Rockville boys soccer team with seven goals in the team’s first five games, from the squad has set back the Rams in a big way. Removed for what coach Abdel Makhlouf called ‘‘administrative reasons”, his presence in earlier games forced Rockville to forfeit its first four wins of the season.

Now, with a record of 3-5-1 the Rams have rebounded from the loss of their most explosive weapon with a four-game unbeaten streak, not allowing a single goal in any of those games. After 1-0 victories over Paint Branch, Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Wheaton, as well as a scoreless tie against Kennedy, the Rams have, out of necessity, transformed from an explosive, quick-striking attack to a team reliant on defense. In fact, junior goalkeeper Phillip Dabny has only allowed goals in one game this season, all four coming in the last 20 minutes of a 4-3 loss to Poolesville. He hasn’t been scored upon in just over 325 minutes.

‘‘Well, things are good and bad with us,” said Makhlouf. ‘‘We were 0-4 when really, to us, we were 4-0. As far as the team is concerned, we played the games and won the games, and we think of ourselves as winners. That’s the spirit we’ll use into playoffs.”

Colonels still on cruise control

The Magruder boys soccer team continues to pile up the wins, and thanks to junior Alex Lee’s four goals in a 5-0 victory last Friday against Wootton, Magruder has pushed its unbeaten and untied mark to 11-0.

Lee, the county’s leading goal scorer with 17 goals, has found the net in seven straight games, and against the Patriots, scored his four goals on just six shots. But he’s performing at such a high rate that even his most prodigious efforts sometimes aren’t even satisfactory.

‘‘It’s funny, he scored three of them in the first half but he misses one right at the end of the half, and he comes off the field all pissed off,” said coach Scott Alexander.

Senior Scott Phinith added three assists and a goal in the match, bringing his season totals to seven goals and seven assists. Junior Draymond Washington is currently tied for second on the club with seven scores as well, while fellow junior Mike Lansing has been the Colonels top playmaker in the center midfield, logging a team-high nine assists.

However, with a match Tuesday night against Watkins Mill (played too late for inclusion in this edition of The Gazette), which also was undefeated entering the contest, as well as a tough backyard game at Sherwood, the defending state champions, the toughest leg of the Colonels’ regular season is their last.

Little Hoyas hit the gas

At 9-3 and with six games remaining, coach Guy Fraiture’s Georgetown Prep boys soccer team is rounding into form. With five consecutive victories, including shutouts of Wilson (D.C.) and Good Counsel, Prep is on fire entering their Thursday battle with rival Bullis.

Leading the way is senior Fro Adu, a speedy performer in the backfield who also leads rushes upfield, gives his team arguably the most talented defender in the county.

Up front, Georgetown Prep has balance, with no players scoring a multitude of goals but a plethora of players with scoring ability. The three most consistent scorers have been Nick Michalak, Will Amling and Johnny Daniels, all of whom scored in the team’s most recent 4-0 victory over Good Counsel.

But it’s Georgetown Prep’s impending battle with Bullis, who won their first meeting earlier this season by four goals, that has Fraiture excited.

‘‘Their midfield gives us a hard time, so that’s where we’re going to have to be careful and more organized,” he said. ‘‘Our problem at times can be too much aggressive counter-attacking and we can’t do that against them. [The loss] was early in the season though, so I don’t think it’s a good reading to how good our team is.”