FAIRFAX, Va. – Despite an encouraging effort in the second half, the George Mason men's soccer team could not overcome a three-goal, first-half hole.

The Patriots suffered a 3-0 loss to George Washington on Wednesday night at George Mason Stadium in the latest chapter of the Revolutionary Rivalry. The Colonials scored all three goals before halftime as Mason (2-8-1, 0-3-0 Atlantic 10) lost its fourth straight game.

“We didn't get it done in the first half,” George Mason head coach Greg Andrulis said. “We had chances to get goals ahead of theirs. Again, that is something that came back to haunt us. I just want to say how I proud I am of these guys. Not of the result, but the fact that even though we had some blunders in the first half and could have scored a couple goals, the second half we played our heart out. The guys left it out on the field. They fought the entire match. That just shows a tremendous amount of character.”

The Patriots had a chance to go ahead early in the game. After a feed from Zach Herstek in the ninth minute, Ryan Harmouche had a good look at the goal but his shot just missed wide right of the goal.

Nearly 15 minutes later, the Colonials jumped in front. On a cross from Garrett Heine, Oliver Curry delivered the perfect touch on a volley to finish in the far corner for a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Just more than two minutes later, Heine was in the middle of the action again. This time, he bent a shot inside the far post from 18 yards out after the ball slipped past the defense.

Heine scored again in the 36th minute. A long pass from Tobi Adewole bounced toward Heine, who chipped a shot over goalkeeper Steffen Kraus, off the crossbar and just over the goal line for a 3-0 lead.

After halftime, the Patriots came out with a sense of urgency. They fired off eight shots, including their first shot on goal of the night (by Zach Herstek), and Harmouche had another chance that just went wide in the first two minutes of the half. Mason played a total of 22 players, including six freshmen.

“It was about getting a lot of energy, making some subs and keeping the energy up,” Andrulis said. “We had to press it. Whether you lose it 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, doesn't make any difference. We were playing with six forwards at one time, just trying to get that goal and turn that momentum and give ourselves our bump. At the end of the day, it still ends up a win for them. But the commitment from the guys and the determination, we are proud of that.”

The Patriots were outshot just 14-13, but 7-3 in shots on goal. Harmouche led the team with three shots. Kraus, playing in his first game back after missing the last three to injury, made four saves. All four came in the second half, including one off the back of his heel and another diving through the air to swat a shot high.

Mason will try to snap its losing streak as it hits the road to play Saint Louis at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The Billikens (4-4-3, 3-0-0) are undefeated in A-10 play and are coming off a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island on Wednesday.

The Patriots are hoping to get on a roll in order to making the eight-team conference tournament in November.

“We've got to get some results,” Andrulis said. “We're not naïve. This moral stuff… but I believe these guys can do it. They showed it in the second half. The heart and the determination and the blood and guts they left out there. We've got to take that to Saint Louis and maybe we can get a goal and get a break on and get on a roll. Because that's what we need. These guys are good. It has just been a tough season on the defensive side. We've got to sort that out.”