FAIRFAX, Va. – With less than three minutes remaining, Taylor Washington finished off a chip-in from Zach Herstek right in front of keeper Sascha Otte to give the George Mason men's soccer team a 3-2 victory over No. 13 Saint Louis on Sunday.
The Patriots pick up their first conference win of the year while dealing the Billikens its first A-10 loss of the season. Mason's record improves to 8-3-2, 1-1-1 in the A-10 while Saint Louis drops to 8-3-1, also 1-1-1 in the Atlantic 10.
"The guys showed a lot of character today," said head coach Greg Andrulis. T"he ebbs and flow of this game are what one would expect when two good teams battle."
"We scored three terrific goals, they were all well taken. Today the guys were good in the final third."
Mason let a two-goal lead slip away, however was able to break the tied in the 88th minute with Washington's goal, his first of the season. Saint Louis' Flip Pavisic was sent off the field with a red card in the 69th, giving the Patriots a man advantage for the remainder of the contest in which they were able to capitalize.
Matt Tucker scored the first goal of the match in the 30th minute, finishing off a pass from Henning Dirks near the left post for his first goal of the season. The 1-0 lead would hold at halftime, a half in which each side had five shots, four on goal from the Patriots.
Mason quickly gained momentum in the second half, scoring less than three minutes into play on Timi Mulgrew's ninth goal of the year. Colton Amidon fed a ball to Tucker who delivered a target pass to Mulgrew in the box where he found the left corner to put the Patriots up 2-0.
The Billikens evened the score in a span of less than two minutes, beginning with Anthony Manning's penalty kick conversion in the 59th minute after he was fouled in the box. Shortly after, Robert Kristo used his six-foot four height advantage to put a header in the top right corner past Steffen Kraus to tie the game at two. Pressure from the Patriots in the remainder of the game finally paid off with Washington's late tally.
"Defensive we were really challenged by their size and a real quality forward in Robert Kristo, he showed why he's an all American and a Hermann Trophy candidate," continued Andrulis.
Kraus finished the match with two saves while each side finished with 11 shots.
"It's important to win your home games, especially in the conference, today's result was a good one," added Andrulis.
Mason returns to game action on Friday, October 17 against Rhode Island at 7 p.m. in Kingston, RI.
