Men’s Soccer Falls at George Mason, 2-0

by Travis Lawson

October 13, 2012

FAIRFAX, Va. – The William and Mary men’s soccer team dropped a tough, 2-0, decision at George Mason on Saturday night. The Patriots broke the scoreless affair in the 51st minute and withstood multiple Tribe attacks to preserve the win. The setback drops the College to 2-9-3 overall and 0-4-2 in CAA action, while GMU improves to 9-4 on the season and 2-3 in league play.

In first-half action, the Tribe generated quality chances early on as it was poised to gain the initial edge. Two corner-kick opportunities and shot attempts from freshmen Ryan Flesch and Jackson Eskay highlighted the opening nine minutes of play. Defensively, the Green and Gold limited the Patriots’ attack to two shots in the first stanza as W&M sophomore keeper Alex Harrington made his first collegiate start. The Arlington, Va., native finished the night making three saves.

The Patriots went ahead, 1-0, in the 51st minute after fifth-year senior Paul Andrews headed in a corner kick from freshman Ghiles Harmouche. In response, the Tribe countered with two attempts on frame courtesy of senior Ben Anderson and junior Andrew Hinnant. In the 77th minute, Anderson’s initial attempt was saved back into the field of play as Hinnant cranked the rebound towards the net, but Mason’s senior keeper Dustin Butcher was there to make the consecutive stop. In the 86th minute, the Patriots put the match out reach when Senior Taylor Morgan headed in a cross from junior Julio Arjona’s.

For the match, the Patriots outshot the Tribe, 9-4 and held the edge in shots on goal, 5-2.

The College returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 17 as it travels to No. 14-ranked Old Dominion for a match scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.