FAIRFAX, Va. – A converted penalty kick from Wes Sever in the 86th minute proved to be the deciding goal in a 1-0 victory for the George Mason men's soccer team over Howard Friday night at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots, who held the visiting Bison to zero shots in the game, opened the 2013 season and the D.C. College Cup with a 1-0 record, while Howard dropped to 0-1.
After several missed opportunities from the Patriots in both halves, the home squad finally broke through in the 86th minute when Sever was fouled inside the box. The senior took the penalty kick and blew it past Howard's goalkeeper, forcing Eric Hamilton to dive left. The goal proved to be the game-winning goal in the contest as neither team got a shot off in the final four minutes.
For the game, Mason outshot Howard by a towering 18-0 advantage, including an 11-0 shots on goal margin. Timi Mulgrew posted three shots on frame for the Patriots as Julio Arjona, Matt Tucker and Sever each added a pair. Both goalkeepers played the game duration with freshman Steffen Kraus picking up his first collegiate win. Howard's Hamilton played a strong game, making 10 stops in the contest. In a highly physical game that witnessed 40 fouls combined, the Patriots took 13 corner kicks to Howard's one attempt in the first half.
Mason dominated momentum in the game, starting early in the first half as the Patriots saw several solid scoring opportunities in the contest including a Hugh Roberts header that went just high of the corner in the 10th minute following a Jannik Eckenrode corner kick. The Patriots put together another solid threat in the 23rd minute as Zak Haapaoja carried the ball up the near side and directed a pass to the near corner of the net finding the foot of Tucker. The freshman attempted to complete the play, forcing the Howard goalkeeper to dive to his left to punch out the ball and keep the scoreboard clean for a 0-0 halftime score.
In the opening game of the D.C. College Cup, American defeated George Washington, 3-1. Dale Ludwig put the Eagles up 1-0 in the 41st minute as Ross Higgins knotted the score at 1-1 with an unassisted tally in the 56th minute. American regained the lead on a Joe Iraola goal nearly four minutes later as Ludwig scored his second goal of the afternoon to cushion American's lead and account for the final 3-1 score.
The D.C. College Cup concludes on Sunday, September 1 with Howard facing off against George Washington in the first game at 5 p.m. Mason returns to action to wrap up the tournament at 7:30 p.m. against American.
