PHILADELPHIA – On the road for the second straight game, the George Mason men's soccer team made sure to set the tone early. 

The Patriots scored two first-half goals and cruised to a 3-0 victory over La Salle on Wednesday night at McCarthy Stadium for their first road win of the year. Mason last won a road game in 2017 and hadn't beaten an Atlantic 10 foe on the road since Oct. 31, 2015.

Mason (4-5, 2-1 Atlantic 10) received goals from juniors Daniel Damiani, Grant Robinson and Ryan Mingachos and two assists from redshirt senior Tolu Ibikunle while senior goalkeeper Clark Gronek and the defense pitched a shutout for the third time this season – all in the last five games. The win capped off a two-game road trip as the Patriots bounced back from a 2-0 loss at defending A-10 regular season and tournament champ Massachusetts on Saturday.

"The guys got off to a good start and were able to score a couple of terrific goals," head coach Greg Andrulis said. "Our third goal sealed it and, with some hard defensive work and lots of blocked shots by our defenders, Clark recorded his second shutout in conference. Solid consistent performance over 90 minutes by the team at a difficult venue to play."

The Patriots jumped in front early. Damiani, a transfer from Virginia Tech, scored his second goal of the season in the 20th minute. The Alexandria native got the ball in space and dribbled to the left wing before firing a laser from 25 yards out with his left foot and into the top left corner. Junior Pablo Pertusa and Mingachos each assisted on the play.

"Getting on the scoresheet first was huge for us - that set the tone, but getting a shutout was even bigger," Damiani said. "As I kept carrying the ball, they weren't stepping (up). The defenders were dropping even further. So I just decided to take a shot and luckily it went in... We played well. We played the game that we are used to playing. We didn't acclimate to their style of play. We just played how we usually played and played well."

Mason then took a comfortable 2-0 lead into halftime thanks to a late first-half goal. Senior captain Jordan Edwards sent a long ball up the field to Ibikunle, who drribbled into the box and drew three defenders. He laid off a pass to Robinson, who lined a rocket from 12 yards away into the chest of La Salle goalkeeper Cameron Keys. The ball bounced high off Keys and into the right corner for Robinson's second goal of the season.

"That was huge," Damiani said. "We had kind of dropped off our pressure so Grant's goal was huge not only for our confidence but keeping that energy up and keeping that momentum on our side."

Mingachos, a junior captain, clinched the victory in the 88th minute with his second goal of the season. A header by Gregor von Westphalen landed at the feet of Ibikunle, who sent a pass across the field. Mingachos finished the play, scoring from 10 yards out.

The Patriots stymied any threat by La Salle (2-9-1, 0-3-1) in the second half. Gronek made two saves on seven shots stopped.

"The shutout was what we were hoping for," Gronek said. "You're always looking to get a shutout. It is always good for our confidence, our defensive confidence, our goalkeeper's confidence. We are capable of doing it every game. We just need to keep playing at this level we played at tonight."

Mason now returns to Fairfax for a two-game homestand, starting with a matchup against Duquesne at 7 p.m. on Saturday at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots will honor its three 2018 inductees of the George Mason Men's Soccer Hall of Fame - Raul Ricaurte, Jonathan Borrajo and Richard Edgar - at halftime.