As halftime approached in the GW men’s soccer team’s game against Mount St. Mary’s Saturday, it seemed that the teams would be knotted up going into the break. But junior Marcus Ranney had a different idea.
Ranney, a substitute midfielder, found some magic in the closing seconds of the half, firing from 25 yards out. The ball struck the post before getting past the Mount’s goalkeeper as the clock read 4.4 seconds.
The junior’s score seemed to swing some momentum toward the Colonials, who held on to win 4-2, continuing their dominance over the Mount and improving their all-time series record to 5-0-0.
The first goal of the game came almost four minutes into the contest, as redshirt senior Mike Rollings charged through the Mount St. Mary’s defense to tally an impressive score. The Mount’s Eric Dretzel then tied the game at the 27:55 mark with a score of his own.
“We got into a lull after the first goal,” Ranney said.
But after Ranney’s goal put GW (4-3-0) ahead, the Colonials applied pressure early in the second half that eventually led to senior Andy Stadler scoring on a free kick. Stadler’s goal added to his team-leading total, which now sits at seven.
The Colonials later added another tally when seniors Erick Perez-Segnini and Luke Wildy set up classmate Kyle Abrecht’s first goal of the season.
Besides Ranney’s timely goal, another factor played a role in the game’s outcome: mother nature. As the game went on, the temperature dropped and rain fell heavily from the sky.
“I don’t think we adjusted very well,” head coach George Lidster said of his team’s response to the rain. “(But in) the second half we played much better.”
Saturday’s game was GW’s first since Tuesday’s overtime loss at No. 11/13 Virginia, the Colonials’ second against a nationally-ranked opponent this season. Even though Mount St. Mary’s record, 1-5-0, was far from daunting, Lidster said he and his squad took the same approach to preparing for the match.
There are “no easy games,” Lidster said. “We approached this game like we did against UVa or Cal.”
On top of rebounding from the loss at Virginia, Saturday’s victory gave the Colonials a winning record as they head into their final pair of nonconference games before Atlantic 10 play begins. They will host Navy Wednesday before beginning a five-game road trip, in which four will be against A-10 foes.
Wednesday’s game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex.
