Oct. 23, 2010

Box Score

Boston, Mass. - The George Mason men's soccer team had yet another fabulous defensive effort on Saturday evening and this time, Mason backed it up with enough offense to bring home a victory as the Patriots traveled to Boston and earned a 1-0 win over Northeastern. With the win Mason has evened its Colonial Athletic Association record at 3-3-2 after beginning the season at 0-3-1.

Freshman Alex Herrera scored his first collegiate goal off assists from Brent Brockman and Ryan Gracia. His score from the corner of the box in the 78th minute gave Mason (7-5-2) its second-straight CAA road win. The Patriots are now 5-2-2 all-time against Northeastern (4-7-3, 2-3-3 CAA).

We responded well to our current situation in our conference standings with a hard-earned win," said Mason head coach Greg Andrulis. "A very well-taken goal by Alex Herrera was all we needed due to another terrific defensive effort. Northeastern is a tough team and Parsons Field is a difficult place to get a result. Injuries keep taking a toll on our lineup and rhythm but we have some depth that is stepping up to help us during this critical part of the season."

The Huskies outshot Mason 19-11 but the teams were even in shots on goal at eight apiece. Sean Cote picked up the win, earning his fifth shutout of the season. He hasn't allowed a goal in the past 300 minutes in net as the freshman improved to 6-3-2 on the year.

The win allowed Mason to pull to within two points of second place in the conference, yet that also translates into a three-way tie for fifth. William & Mary is alone in first with a comfortable lead while UNC Wilmington, VCU and Georgia State are all tied with 13 points. Mason, Old Dominion and Hofstra each have 11 points while Northeastern and Drexel are tied with nine and Delaware and Towson each have eight. In last with seven points is James Madison.

The Patriots return to action on Wednesday when they host Hofstra at 7 p.m.