Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. – Before Saturday night's final regular-season game, the George Mason men's soccer team recognized and honored its seven seniors.

But the Patriots couldn't send them out with a win.

Mason surrendered a penalty-kick goal in the 79th minute to Davidson to suffer a 1-0 loss at home on senior night Saturday at George Mason Stadium. It was the last game of the season for Mason (2-12-2, 0-7-1 Atlantic 10), which honored seniors Michael Butts, Ryan Harmouche, Zach Herstek, Daniel Hoffmann, Cullen Hunter, Steffen Kraus and Matt Tucker before the game.

"Obviously disappointed the seniors don't get to leave the field with a win," head coach Greg Andrulis said. "They've meant so much to the program. At the end of the day, it is a situation where we haven't been good enough at home. Defensively, we get hurt again today. And not putting away chances (on offense). We had a great chance right before the penalty kick was called. We put that away the game is a little different. But that is kind of the way things have been for us this year."

Davidson (4-12-1, 2-5-1) scored the lone goal of the game with less than 12 minutes left. The Wildcats drew a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick. Butts, who entered the game after halftime, guessed right as he dove to his right to try to make a stop but he couldn't reach the shot of Davidson's Maxi Pragnell. The ball soared past Butts and into the left corner.

The Patriots had several chances to go ahead, firing off 13 shots but just two were on goal. In the 71 st minute, Mason had one of its better chances of the night as Hunter got his head on a corner kick by Nick Malinowski. But the shot went just high over the crossbar.

Earlier in the half, Henning Dirks also had an opportunity go just wide after a great pass by Ryan Mingachos. The best two shots of the night, though, might have come in the first half. In the 41st minute, Malinowski's shot clanged off the far post. Dirks was right there for the rebound but his shot was halted by Davidson goalkeeper Andrew Kenneson.

Tolu Ibikunle and Tucker led the team with three shots, as Tucker also placed a shot on goal. Kraus, making his 61st and final collegiate start, made one save in the first half. He then handed it over to Butts, who also made one save – his a leaping stop to his left that kept the game scoreless early in the second half.

Though the Patriots will lose seven seniors, they'll a sizeable group of players coming back who logged significant minutes. Ten players will return who made six starts or more, including five with more than 10 starts this past season. The Patriots also saw promising signs from some of their eight freshmen, with three (Tunde Akinlosotu, Grant Robinson and Mingachos) combining for 27 starts and three goals and two assists.

Encouraged by the returning players and the team's effort this season despite the results, Andrulis is looking ahead to next season.

"We've had no issue with their heart or effort or determination," Andrulis said. "This has been a very close team that has worked very hard. We've had some deficiencies in key areas and we haven't been able to overcome them. We have to buckle down, work on it and get better for the future… We've got a good core of young guys coming back. We've got a lot of work to do and start getting ready for next season."