FAIRFAX, Va. - Pablo Pertusa ended 107 minutes of scoreless action and sent the George Mason men's soccer team into a state of euphoria.
Pertusa scored on a header with less than three minutes left in double overtime to lift the third-seeded Patriots to a 1-0 victory over No. 6 seed Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday at George Mason Stadium.
Mason (8-7) advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2014 and will play seventh-seeded Dayton at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in St. Louis, Mo. The winner advance to the championship game, also in St. Louis, at 1 p.m. on Nov. 11.
"I'm so happy for the guys," head coach
Greg Andrulis said. "They've worked really, really hard. Especially for the seniors, who were promised when they decided to come to Mason that they would play in important games in the postseason. Then to win one at home the way we did, you could see the raw emotion in some of those guys and how meaningful it was for them and they've worked so incredibly hard to get here.
The Patriots ended the game on their only shot on goal. Time dwindled and the game appeared to be headed to penalty kicks until Mason received a corner kick in the 108th minute. Junior
Colin Brezniak booted a corner kick from the right side into the penalty box. Pertusa, a 6-foot-3 junior college transfer, ran toward the ball from about six yards out. He leapt above a Saint Louis defender and whipped a shot into the top right corner and out of the reach of SLU goalkeeper Seth Stiebel.
"We practice that set piece every Friday," Pertusa said. "It was perfect. The ball was at my head and I just had to hit it with my head and hopefully it was in. I can't say with words what I felt. I was just celebrating with all my teammates and friends. I'm so happy. Everyone on the team deserved that."
It marked the third straight shutout for the Patriots, who haven't allowed a goal in more than 352 minutes of action dating back to a loss against VCU on Oct. 20. Mason goalkeeper
Clark Gronek made three saves for his sixth career shutout - all coming this season.
The back line of defense of
Jordan Edwards,
Nick Malinowski,
Ato Williams and
Matt Scoliere, along with strong plays by several others, thwarted off 14 chances by the Billikens (6-4-7). SLU had lost only one conference game all season, against Rhode Island on Oct. 3.
"Obviously, from the soccer side, it was not maybe our best performance," Andrulis said. "We couldn't find a rhythm. All the credit to Saint Louis. They high-pressed us. They worked very, very hard. We weren't just able to gel offensively like we've been in the last few games. At the end of the day, it is that cliche, 'Defense wins championships.' That's three shutouts in a row and that's why we are here. If we don't have a shutout today we don't get a result."
The Patriots have won three straight for their longest winning streak since 2015. The three consecutive shutouts are also their most since the 2014 team rattled off five clean sheets in a row. Mason last registered three straight shutouts against conference foes in 1997 when they were still in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Mason is just one win away from reaching the A-10 title game for the first time since 2013. Seventh-seeded Dayton (9-5-4) has won five in a row, including a 2-1 double-overtime victory on the road over No. 2 seed Davidson on Sunday. The Flyers scored with 13 seconds left to force overtime and then netted the game-winner in double overtime with 49 seconds to go. Mason and Dayton did not meet in the regular season this year.
"We're going to have to play a lot better," Andrulis said. "Dayton has won five in a row. We're four out of five. So both teams are carrying momentum into this game. The next couple of days will be about assessing injuries and getting the right kind of recovery and getting ready. We fly out to St. Louis on Wednesday, train on Thursday and lace them up on Friday, hope that we play well and get a good result.'
