MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In their first exhibition match of the 2011 season, the George Mason men's soccer team defeated No. 22 West Virginia 1-0 Tuesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Junior Taylor Morgan scored the game-winning goal for the Patriots in the second half.
In the 64th minute, Morgan beat a defender and slipped to the left of the keeper to give Mason a 1-0 advantage. The Patriots' defense held the Mountaineers scoreless the remainder of the match for the shutout win.
"Tonight we got a good result against a very good team," stated head coach Greg Andrulis. "We learned a lot about some areas we need to focus on and it was a great opportunity to integrate some new guys with the veterans."
West Virginia narrowly held a 13-12 edge on shots over Mason and tallied seven shots on goal to the Patriots' six. Julio Arjona, Verneri Valimaa and Ryan Gracia each recorded two shots in addition to Morgan's two on goal. Dustin Butcher picked up the shutout win playing all 90 minutes in the net and recorded seven saves.
The Patriots continue preseason play traveling to Virginia on Friday, August 19 for a 5 p.m. matchup. Mason opens regular season play at Boston College Friday, August 26.
