The Colonials, who registered only two shots on goal in 90 minutes of play against the Eagles, struggled to find the net all day despite creating a handful of chances. Senior forward Phillip McQuitty was fouled in the box midway through the first half, allowing junior forward Garrett Heine to net GW’s lone goal on a penalty kick.
“Three forwards are injured right now so we are asking a lot of Phil [McQuitty] and Ross [Higgins] who played up there, so yeah we’ve got to get everybody healthy,” said head coach Craig Jones. “I think we created some chances today, but it wasn’t enough.”
Three out of four players listed as forwards on the team’s roster, senior Jonny Forrest, junior Alex Portela and freshman Dylan Lightbourn, did not play.
GW was able to fend off early scoring chances from American, more through sheer might than finesse. The Colonials drew four yellow cards in the first frame.
The action was back-and-forth for the majority of the half before McQuitty was able to break free near the top of the Eagles’ 18. Taken down hard by an American defender, McQuitty drew the foul in the penalty area and Heine tucked away the penalty in the bottom right corner.
Heine’s play was an encouraging show of confidence. Jones said that the junior had made it known that he wanted the ball in a penalty kick situation. By making good on his promise, Heine impressed his coach.
“I thought Garrett played well, he’s always a threat,” Jones said. “We missed about six penalties last year and before the game he said he wanted one if he got it and he stepped and scored, he had the courage to do that.”
But American responded with speed in the 32nd minute when a ball through the middle of the field found junior forward Kibu Mbaluku, who knotted the score at one with a slick.
American brought similar offensive pressure in the second half and GW had little with which to counter. Junior forward Joe Iraola’s close-range goal gave the Eagles the game winner in the 70th minute.
Despite the one-goal loss, freshman starting goalkeeper Thor Anne Hofs made seven saves for the Colonials in 90 minutes of play while American goalkeeper Dylan Hobert registered one.
“I thought [Hofs] was awesome today,” Jones said. “We’ll probably rest him on Sunday and switch him up with Jack [Lopez], who’s had a great preseason, but I think we might have a similar situation [as last year] because we have two guys who are very very close in skill.”
The Colonials, who scored just 17 goals in 17 games in last season’s disappointing 6-9-2 finish, will need to find a way to break through on the scoreboard to contend with more formidable teams on the 2015 slate.
Health may be an issue early in the season, but Heine was unconcerned and said that the team needs to focus on playing together, regardless of who is on the field.
“We’re just trying to be more aggressive and capitalize on our chances,” he said. “More crosses, more runs, more shots, more coordination between our midfield line and our forward line.”
The Colonials will search for the first victory of the year against Howard Sunday at 5 p.m. in their second and final game at the Kuykenstrong D.C. College Cup hosted by George Mason University.
