Category Archives: Men’s Soccer
Dominant Defense Carries GW to a Win over Rhode Island
Clay Miller
Staff Contributor
A game of contrast was marked by a dominant defense performance by George Washington in the Colonials 2-0 victory. Constant on the ball pressure, frequent steals, and excellent play by goalie Luke Farrell limited the Rams chances for shots on goal and prevented the few they managed to take from going in. The game was marked most by the aggressive style of the Colonials, as the ferocious defense combined with a constantly attacking offense snapped a three game losing skid and improved the Colonials record to 5-9. The Colonials struck relatively early on a free kick from Glen Sousa, but the most impressive display of offense came in the second half, when the Colonials missed two breathtaking leaping kicks by about an inch. One of these kicks caused a collision that stunned the packed audience. The Colonials finally put the game on ice with six minutes remaining, when Seth Rudolph juked and jived his way for a spectacular game sealing score.
The Colonials will now get set to take on Massachusetts on Sunday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and you can listen live right here on wrgwsports.com.
Quick Shift in Momentum Dooms GW Early Against UMBC
Kyle Menyhert
Staff Contributor
Seth Rudolph took a beautiful pass from Zach Abaie and bombed the ball into the left corner of the net. Rudolph’s early and brilliant goal came in the 8th minute for the Colonials and energized the fans right off the bat. Unfortunately though, the team was unable to defend that lead as UMBC stormed back to take the match 2-1 at Mount Vernon Field. Milo Kapor, who made his presence very well known in the first half, landed a penalty kick in the back of the net in the 14th minute to tie the game It was his second goal of the season. It was followed four minutes later by Jordan Becker, who took advantage of a rebound off an excellent save by Colonials goalkeeper Jean-Pierre van der Merwe and gave the visiting Retrievers the lead with his first goal of the season. After that, the Retrievers’ defense stayed put and kept the Colonials at bay for the rest of the game.
GW started fast, but almost immediately felt the momentum shift to their adversaries after taking the lead. All three goals were scored within ten minutes of each other. The Colonials fought hard, but errors in communication ruined many of their chances as they only managed one shot on goal in the second half.
The team started to show its frustration as the game wound down. Ross Higgins received a yellow card in the 79th minute, and Bailey Hinners received one eight minutes later. Tensions flared between the two squads as time expired and the entire Colonials team received a yellow card at the 90th and final minute.
The Colonials, now 3-4-0, will stay in Washington and play their next game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Wednesday at Mt. Vernon Field.
GW Week in Review: September 4-9
Jeff Pawling
Assistant Director, News and Social Media
It was a busy week in the sports world with the kickoff of the 2012 NFL season, a full slate of college football and baseball games, and the conclusion of U.S. Open tennis in New York. With all of these events going on, it might have been easy to miss the action in the realm of GW athletics, where two varsity programs were in action against ranked opponents. No worries however, we’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of the week that was GW sports:
Men’s Soccer:
September 7 – VMI 3, GW 1
September 9 - GW 2, Liberty 0
Women’s Soccer:
September 7 - GW 2, Towson 1
September 9 – Rider 1, GW 0
Volleyball:
September 5 - GW 3, UMBC 2
September 7 – #16 Tennessee 3, GW 0
September 8 – Maryland 3, GW 0
Boston College 3, GW 1
Men’s Water Polo:
September 8 – #2 UCLA 22, GW 4
M.I.T. 12, GW 6
September 9 – #18 Brown 11, GW 3
Fordham 11, GW 8
Women’s Tennis:
September 7 - GW 3, Howard 2
GW 3, Saint Joseph’s 2
September 8 – Delaware 3, GW 2
Match vs Mount St. Mary’s went unfinished
Match vs Towson was cancelled
Game of the Week: Volleyball - GW 3, UMBC 2
In the home opener at the Charles E. Smith Center, the Colonials managed to rally for a five-set victory after squandering a two sets to one lead. Redshirt Junior Jessica Lubic led the way for GW in the final set, tallying three kills and seven assists to help the Colonials claim the fifth set 15-7. Senior Lauren Whyte had a match-high 19 kills versus only three errors in 53 attempts and added 13 digs for her second double-double of the season and 34th of her career. Junior Jamie Armstrong added 13 kills of her own against zero errors in 22 attempts to go along with four digs, four service aces, two assists and two block assists in the winning effort. The victory improved GW’s home record under Coach Amanda Ault to 13-1 and improved to 35-10 at the Smith Center over the past five seasons.
GW Weekend in Review: August 30-September 3
Jeff Pawling
Assistant Director, News and Social Media
This weekend marked the first of the new school year at The George Washington University, and that meant an action packed weekend not only for the University in general, with Diplo crashing University Yard to headline this year’s “Fall Fest,” but also for GW Athletics. Five varsity squads were in action over Labor Day weekend, including both the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams. Here is a quick rundown of how they fared:
Men’s Soccer:
August 30- George Mason 3, GW 0
September 1- GW 2, Howard 1
Women’s Soccer:
September 1- GW 1, Columbia 0
September 3- GW 3, Cornell 2
Men’s Water Polo:
September 1- GW 21, Penn State Behrend 5
GW 11, Iona 10
September 2- GW 16, Notre Dame (OH) 9
GW 18, Gannon 6
Men’s Cross Country: GW finished 3rd out of 10 teams at the Sea Gull Opener in Salisbury, Maryland.
Women’s Cross Country: GW finished 2nd out of 11 teams at the Sea Gull Opener in Salisbury, Maryland.
Game of the Weekend: Women’s Soccer, September 3: GW 3, Cornell 2
In what may very well be considered a GW “instant classic,” the Colonials scored 3 second half goals to overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Cornell on Labor Day at Mount Vernon Field. Freshman Amanda Gaggioli got the Colonial scoring started just 54 seconds into the 2nd half when she received a crossing pass from fellow freshman Kristi Abbate and put it into the back of the net to equalize the match at 1. Junior Alex Neal then gave the Colonials their first lead of the afternoon at the 60:17 mark when she charged around the Big Red defense and unleashed a powerful shot for her second goal of the season. After Cornell knotted it up at 2, sophomore Meg Murphy put GW ahead for good with an unassisted goal at the 85:53 mark, her first of the season. In all, the Colonials managed to hold off a late onslaught from Cornell and pull out a thrilling win to improve their overall record to 2-2 despite being out shot 22-13 by Cornell.
