Men’s soccer (1-1) picked up their first win of the season in a 2-1 victory against Saint Peter’s University (0-1-1) after a 2-4 loss on Aug. 22 to Old Dominion (1-0) in their season opener earlier this week.
With five new faces on the roster and the addition of Assistant Coach Nick Conklu to the team’s coaching staff, Sunday’s win marks the Revolutionaries’ first nonconference victory of the 2024 season. The early season victory sets the stage for the Revs to extend their winning streak as they continue through another month of nonconference play, leading up to their Atlantic 10 opener against Duquesne on Sept. 21.
Saint Peter’s made their first visit to the Mount Vernon Campus since 2014 for the Sunday match, bringing with them a 2-9-5 record from their 2023 season and a 1-6-3 performance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Aiming to build on their 2023 season overall record of 4-9-4 and A-10 record of 2-5-1, the Revs attacked the field — dominating the offense and registering 26 shots throughout the game, vanquishing the Peacocks’ six shots.
The lone goal for Saint Peter’s came in the first half with a penalty kick by graduate student forward Conlan Paventi. Despite their persistence, the Revs were unable to capitalize on their 13 shots and three corner kicks in the first half.
Revs’ goalkeeper and graduate student Duncan Wegner saved two of the three shots on target during the game, compared to Saint Peters’ goalkeeper Pedro Alves who saved seven out of nine shots on goal. Wegner had a standout season in 2023, appearing in a career-high seven matches with a 1.07 average of goals allowed and a save percentage of .739. He played more than 500 minutes throughout last season, securing all four team victories with a 4-1-0 record, faced 78 shots on goal and had 72 saves.
The Revs picked up after halftime, with the equalizer goal coming from sophomore defender Colin Prendergast after a well-placed downfield pass from freshman midfielder Finn Roberts. Roberts, hailing from the United Kingdom, is one of the five new additions to the roster this season, making his GW debut last week in the matchup against Old Dominion and playing 54 minutes of Sunday’s game.
Among the six Revs who played the full 90 minutes, graduate student midfielder William Turner led the team last season with 11 points and played in all 17 matches. In this most recent matchup, he delivered a notable performance with two shots on goal and a successful assist to junior forward Alex Nicholson for the game-winning goal.
The Revs will hit the road next week to play West Virginia on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
