The Revs (2-3-3, 0-1-0 A-10) tied crosstown rival Howard University 0-0 (0-4-1) in a scrappy match on the Mount Vernon Campus on Tuesday.
The Revs struggled to put together an offense throughout the match, but a solid defensive effort led to the Revolutionaries’ second clean sheet of the season. The match also keeps the crosstown rivalry record between GW and Howard at an all-time (20-20-7) tie.
“We were disappointed we didn’t get the win,” Head Coach Chris Jones said in a video posted to Twitter after the game. “It wasn’t a great performance first half. I thought second half, we stuck to what we were trying to do in the first half.”
Fouls mired the game, totaling 35 from both sides and pausing gameplay every few minutes for free kicks. Players on both teams were aggressive, shoving each other between plays. Jones received a yellow card, one of six doled out by the referees.
Players regularly lost control of the ball throughout the match, leading to 10 corner kicks.
At the start of the match, the Bison started on the attack, forcing GW to fall back on their heels and into the defensive form.
The Bison tried to use their speed to score, pushing balls past GW defenders and hoping the forward passes would connect with their attackers, who sprinted ahead to catch the pass. But many of the Howard passes were off target, turning the Bison’s offensive attempts into Revs’ possessions.
The Revs tried to respond in quick bursts, often from the left side of the pitch, relying on wingers to cross the ball into the middle, but the few spurts of offense were often intercepted by Howard goalkeeper Benjamin Hoeslii, who racked up two saves in the match. The Revs struggled to turn passes into shots on goal, with just four in the match.
After a foul from Howard’s junior forward Marcus Lewis in the 31st minute, GW lined up for a free kick near the half line. A towering pass into the 18-yard box from the Revs turned into a header from freshman Colin Prendergast to the top of the goal – but it was quickly blocked by Hoeslii. Prendergast received a yellow card in the 63rd minute, the sole GW player to do so.
A 71st-minute corner kick from GW turned into a shot from freshman Joe Liebe that was deflected and flung back by senior Lucas Matuszewski, whose rocket toward the goal missed wide right.
“We created a lot of chances, put a lot of balls in the box, but maybe low in confidence to convert some of those,” Jones said. “It didn’t look quite like we were composed or prepared to do that.”
After a hot start to the season, going 2-0-2 in their first four games, the Revs have struggled to put together an offense over the past four games, scoring one goal off a penalty kick while notching a 0-3-1 record.
During that four-match span, the Revs have allowed 11 goals.
The Revs will look to turn it around in A-10 play against Davidson on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. in Davidson, North Carolina.
