FAIRFAX, Va. – Colton Amidon and Zach Herstek each scored a goal and Steffen Kraus made six saves as the George Mason men's soccer team ended the regular season with a 2-1 victory over conference opponent St. Bonaventure on Sunday.
Mason ends the regular season with a 10-2-4 overall record and an undefeated 5-0-3 conference record, putting the team in position for a second place finish in the Atlantic 10 heading into tournament play. St. Bonaventure falls to 8-9-1 overall and 2-5-1 in conference.
The freshman Hersetk got things started for Mason in the 14th minute off of a pass from Jannik Eckenrode for his second goal of the season. Herstek's shot was taken from outside of the box, crossing into the bottom right of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Scoreless play would occur from then on until the 82nd minute, when Mason took the 2-0 advantage. Amidon scored his first goal of the season unassisted to solidify a victory in which the Patriots were outshot 12-2 in the first half and 17-6 overall. Kraus and the defense had a busy first half with seven saves, tacking on an additional save in the second half, to keep St. Bonaventure off the board until a late goal in the final minute of play by Garrett Pasono. Head coach Greg Andrulis is proud of what the entire team displayed today and how they closed out the regular season.
“Todays match saw our team show a tremendous amount of character,” said Andrulis. “Due to the conditions the game seldom resembled a soccer match, but despite the conditions we played tough. I know the guys are disappointed in giving up a last minute goal, especially for Steffan Kraus who was tremendous today. With two terrific goals from freshmen it really showed a true team effort.
“The guys deserve a lot of credit for finishing the regular conference schedule undefeated. Now it's time to rest, heal and prepare for the conference tournament.”
The season continues for George Mason as they prepare for play in their inaugural Atlantic 10 soccer tournament. Tournament play begins on Thursday, November 14 and concludes with the championship contest on Sunday, November 17 with all games taking place in Dayton, Ohio. Game schedules and the tournament bracket will be posted once released.
