After a thrilling overtime win at St. Joseph’s on Wednesday night, men’s soccer kept the momentum rolling in their favor, defeating league foe George Mason 1-0 Saturday off a first-half goal from Garrett Heine. GW (6-5-0) is now 3-0 in the league play for the first time since 2000.
“At the beginning of the season, we were still trying to figure out our best lineup,” head coach Craig Jones said. “In A-10 we’ve improved on both sides of the ball and it has put us in a good position. We are playing with confidence and now things are going our way.”
Heine, who was third in the A-10 with 13 points going into the game, added two to that total and gave GW the lift in the 30th minute after trapping and burying a cross from teammate Koby Osei-Wusu. The Mason defender misplayed the ball after the bounce and Heine was able to take it down and place it under the bar. With the goal, Heine continued to set the pace in the A-10 with four game-winning goals.
“We’re starting to settle in and the team is really clicking right now. We trusted the coaching staff to find a lineup that fits and now we’re just riding the momentum,” Heine said.
GW dominated from the early going, controlling the midfield and creating multiple dangerous chances. Sophomore Christian Lawal–who took a game-high five shots–had a great opportunity in the opening ten minutes but the shot was pushed aside by the Mason keeper.
After Heine’s goal, the Colonials had another good opportunity early in the second half on senior Oliver De Thier’s header off a free kick, but the Mason keeper managed to just get his hands on it and tip it over the net. Mason had a few chances late but GW’s defense was too formidable on this afternoon.
Senior Jack Lopez, who has taken over as starting goalkeeper for the Colonials, earned his second straight clean sheet after a 1-0 victory at Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night.
With the win–the Colonials’ first over Mason since 2005–GW sees themselves atop the A-10 standings going into their last out-of-conference game against Longwood on Tuesday.
