FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason soccer team dropped its season opener to James Madison, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at George Mason Stadium.
 
Playing for the first time since Nov. 9, 2019, Mason (0-1-0) fell behind in the final minute of play in the first half when James Madison (1-0-1) sophomore forward Rodrigo Robles bent a corner kick through traffic into the lower left side in the 45th minute to make it 1-0.
 
The Dukes added a pair of goals in the second half in a span of eight minutes. 
 
Junior forward Luca Erhardt found the back of the net from 15 yards out in the 57th minute, scoring into the lower left corner to increase the lead 2-0. 
 
In the 64th minute, James Madison sophomore midfielder Evan Paez scored when he deflected a Mason clearing attempt into the net to extend the Dukes advantage to 3-0.
 
Mason freshman goalkeeper Jackson Lee made one save in his Patriots debut.  James Madison senior goalkeeper T.J. Bush played the first half, making one save, while classmate Alex Desatnick played the second half for the Dukes.
 
Mason freshman midfielder Henry Wachsman recorded two shots, while Robles led the Dukes with four shots in the match.
 
For the Patriots, 12 players saw action for the first time for the Green and Gold.  Nicolas Anguil-Andriacchi, Daniel Chica, James Cornwell, Kent Harrison, Ishmail Kamara, Peter Kim, Noah McGrath, Evan Pedraza, Jakob Rylander, Christopher Schray, Wachsman and Lee all made their Mason debuts.
 
HOW THEY SCORED
 
44' | Robles scored into the lower left side on a corner kick.
56' | Erhardt scored into the lower left from 15 yards out inside the penalty area.
63' | Paez deflected a clearing attempt into the lower right from six yards out.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 
The Dukes outshot the Patriots 8-4, including 5-1 in shots on goal.  James Madison had 11 corner kicks, while George Mason had two in the match.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Patriots are back in action against Virginia on Tuesday, March 2 with the opening kick scheduled for 1 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va.