With an explosive second-half run, American University men’s soccer (2-0-1) pulled out of Friday’s match against the George Mason Patriots (0-2-0) with a 2-1 victory.
During the ninth minute of the game, George Mason’s sophomore defender, Ahmed Mohammed, headed in a goal off of a corner kick to give the patriots an early 1-0 lead. Following Mohammed’s goal, the Eagles’ chances of scoring seemed to be slipping away, as Patriots’ goalie Jake Langley performed three saves that kept AU from scoring until late into the second half.
After an hour-long scoring drought, graduate forward Jerry Zouantcha took an on-goal shot which was deflected onto the foot of sophomore forward Zemi Rodriguez, who fired the ball into the back of the net, tying the score at 1-1.
With three minutes left in the game, junior forward Robbie Matei scored a game-winning goal off an assist from junior midfielder Evan Schweickert. This marks back-to-back games where Matei has scored to secure an AU victory.
“[Evan] Schweickart was headed towards the corner so I figured I’d run behind him and yell at him,” Matei said in a postgame interview. “He had a perfect back heel pass, and I just put it in.”
Similar to the Eagles’ previous two games, defensive poise played a critical role in Friday’s win. After the Patriots took an early lead with their first shot of the game, AU held George Mason to zero goals in eighty one minutes of play, showcasing their ability to limit their opponents’ quality shots. George Mason’s goal in the first half was the first goal that the Eagles have given up in their first three games of the season.
For head coach Zach Samol, this victory meant more than just an addition to the win column.
“For me, this game is more about the character that our team took from the game,” Samol said, after the game. “The game is more about what we’re made of, and today it’s good to see us being made of something that can come back against a team that made it really hard for us.”
The Eagles will look to remain undefeated with a win on Tuesday against West Virginia.
