This post was written by Hatchet reporter Nora Princiotti.

Fairfax, Va. — Shutting out an opponent is impressive, but it seemed like the Colonials had been even more dominant than the scoreboard suggested at George Mason Stadium on Sunday night.

Coming off a loss to American in the opening game of the D.C. College Cup, the Colonials showed off their ability to bounce back Sunday, taking down Howard 2-0.

At times, the game resembled more of a prize fight than a soccer match, as the Bison tallied 16 fouls and four yellow cards to the Colonials’ six and one, respectively.

Senior forward Tyler Ranalli was not surprised at the rough style of play.

“We knew that was coming – we knew they were going to dive in and foul us a lot so it wasn’t surprising but it was pretty physical,” Ranalli said.

Despite their relative lack of fouling, it was clear by game’s end that the Colonials had thrown the majority of the effective punches, controlling the game from start to finish.

Head coach Craig Jones said he was pleased by his team’s dominant play. “We controlled the game well and we created a lot of chances today. That was great,” he said.

One of those chances came in the 20th minute of play, when sophomore Jonny Forrest scored his first goal of the season from five yards out on an assist from freshman Garrett Heine.

The defense carried the team flawlessly throughout the remainder of the first half, holding Howard without a single shot on goal.

The only moment of concern for GW came when sophomore Ross Higgins, who scored the only goal in Friday’s contest with American, left with an injury in the 32nd minute.

“It wasn’t a pull, it was more of a knock,” Jones said. “He played so well on Friday and even today he played so well that we didn’t want to take him out, but it was a long season so it was more of a precaution. He should be okay for next weekend.”

Even without Higgins, the story was much the same in the second half. Heine tallied his second assist of the game, and of the season, on a goal put in from 10 yards out by senior Tyler Ranalli just two minutes into the second half.

“The ball went wide to [Heine] and we had talked about making front post runs in practice. He gave a perfect pass and I knew where the goal was, I couldn’t see it but I knew where it was,” Ranalli said.

The defense was strong again, holding Howard to three shots on goal in the second half. All three missed the net with room to spare.

The Colonials go on the road next weekend when they play LIU-Brooklyn and NJIT.