Men's Soccer | 10/18/2017 11:17:00 PM

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. – For the second straight game, the George Mason men's soccer team went to halftime in a scoreless tie.

But, for the second straight game, a flurry of goals riddled the second half. On Wednesday night, the Patriots had no answer in a 4-0 loss to in-state rival VCU at George Mason Stadium.

The Rams ended the deadlock with a penalty-kick goal in the 52nd minute and then scored three times in a 10-minute span to pull away. The Patriots, who allowed three goals in the second half of a 3-2 loss to Saint Louis on Saturday, have lost four straight.

"I thought we played well in the first half and had some chances," head coach Greg Andrulis said. "(VCU) did too. They are a possession team. They are a very good team. They've had a lot of positive results. We knew that we'd have to get the first one or at least keep them off the board. As soon as they got the penalty kick, they get a little head of steam."

Mason (5-6-2, 0-4-1 Atlantic 10) fired off seven shots in the first half. The team's only shot on goal of the game came in the 24th minute. Graduate student Agnar Sverrisson ripped a shot from the right side but VCU goalkeeper Mario Sequeira made a leaping save to his right to stymie the attempt.

Early in the second half, the Rams (7-4, 4-1) broke through. Mason was called for a foul on taking down a VCU attacker in the penalty box. Rafael Santos stepped up and buried the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.
The Patriots tried to regroup and put some pressure on, with a shot from sophomore Grant Robinson going high. Mason thwarted off three VCU shots and a pair of corner kicks over the next six minutes. But, again, the Rams kept pushing.

Ryo Shimazaki cranked a shot on goal but Mason goalkeeper Tomas Lanpas was there to make a diving save. The rebound bounced to VCU's Steven Dal Molin, who drilled a shot off the crossbar. The ball bounced back into play and Mason cleared the ball. But the whistle had been blown as an official ruled that the ball on Dal Molin's shot crossed over the goal line for a goal.  

Down 2-0, Mason moved sent more players up field in attempt to have the advantage in numbers and cut the lead in half. That left them vulnerable in the back and the Rams scored twice in less than two minutes, the fourth and final goal coming in the 77th minute.

"We responded well (after the penalty-kick goal)," Andrulis said. "I thought we had a chance or two to make it 1-1. Then the crazy second goal. We've been kind of the victim of crazy things on goals all year. Nobody thinks it was in but that is neither here or there right now. Then, at the end of the day, they open us up. Because we have to press. We got to go for it. They know it. They get a couple goals to make matters worse."

VCU attempted 12 shots after halftime and held the shooting advantage 15-10. Robinson led the Patriots with three shots and Sverrisson and Dirks each had two. Lapnas made three saves for Mason.

The Patriots will try to snap out of their losing streak as they hit the road to play St. Bonaventure at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Olean, New York.