Maryland 2, George Mason 0
Boxscore
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (November 25, 2008) ? The George Mason men’s soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time since the 1996 season but were unable to come away with a win, falling to the second-seeded Maryland Terrapins by a final score of 2-0 on Tuesday evening at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md. The loss snaps the Patriots eight-match winning streak and brings an end to a 2008 season that saw Mason advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons under head coach Greg Andrulis.
With the loss, the 2008 CAA Champion Patriots wrap up the season with a 14-7-2 record. The 14 wins is the most for the program since the 1996 season. Maryland improves to 19-3-0 with the win, extending its winning streak to 12. The Terps will play the winner of Tuesday’s match between California and No. 15 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ludwig Field in the third round.
Maryland scored the first goal of the contest 21:16 into the match when freshman forward Casey Townsend scored his 11th goal of the season. Junior midfielder Doug Rodkey found sophomore forward Jason Herrick on the throw-in. Herrick kicked the ball towards the middle of the field to Townsend, who knocked the ball past Mason junior goalkeeper Sean Kelley from 16 yards out to put the Terrapins up 1-0.
The Terps added to their lead in the 43rd minute when senior midfielder Graham Zusi scored his fourth goal of the season on a close-range header to give Maryland a 2-0 lead. A pair of junior midfielders, Drew Yates and Jeremy Hall, were credited with assists on the goal. The Terrapins ended the first half with a 10-2 advantage in shots taken and finished the match with a 19-4 advantage.
Mason held Maryland without a score in the second half but the Patriots were unable to get a goal to cut into the deficit. It marked the first time George Mason was held without a goal since Oct. 22 against Hofstra.
With the loss, Mason falls to 5-8-1 against Maryland in the all-time series. The two sides have split a pair of matches in the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. The Patriots took a 2-1 overtime win in the first round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament.
Wake Forest 1, William and Mary 0 (ot)
Boxscore
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The William and Mary men’s soccer took top-seeded Wake Forest into overtime before falling to the defending national champions, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday evening at Spry Stadium.
After playing to a 0-0 tie in regulation, WF’s Cody Arnoux found the back of the net 4:32 into the initial overtime session. His chip shot from the right side of the six-yard box trickled just past a diving Tribe goalkeeper Andrew McAdams into the lower left side of the goal.
Despite the loss, the College turned in a remarkable defensive effort against the nation’s best scoring team. The Tribe’s outstanding defensive performance marked just the second time this season that the Demon Deacons have been held scoreless in regulation. WF entered the contest as the nation’s top scoring team with an average of 3.4 goals per contest and 68 total markers on the campaign.
The Tribe generated the contest’s first scoring opportunity in the 11th minute when junior forward Andrew Hoxie corralled a free kick from just in front of the goal but had his shot saved by WF’s goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald.
Wake Forest had its first scoring opportunity in the 19th minute when Jamie Franks’ shot from 10 yards out on the right side was blocked just a few feet wide of the right post. The Deacs nearly got on the scoreboard five minutes later when Sam Cronin sent a free kick into the box where Marcus Tracy headed the ball to Cody Arnoux. Arnoux in turn sent a header on goal that bounced off the crossbar.
In the 41st minute, sophomore forward Alan Koger had a good look from about 10 yards out on the right side but his header off a cross from junior back Roger Bothe sailed high.
The teams went to the locker room with the score tied at 0-0, as the Tribe held Wake Forest scoreless for just the sixth time this season. However, WF held an 8-3 advantage in shots, while both teams took one corner kick apiece.
The Demon Deacons had a good scoring opportunity in the 53rd minute when Arnoux found Zack Schilawski open in box, but his attempt went wide of the right post. W&M came equally close to finding the back of the net less than a minute later when Hoxie tapped a pass to a streaking Nat Baako in the box, but Fitzgerald made a sliding save.
The Tribe threatened again in the 57th minute when Koger took a pass from Hoxie and had his strike from 15 yards out on the left side ring hard off the near post. Wake Forest hit the woodwork as well moments later as Danny Wenzel sent a header off the crossbar following a free kick from Sam Cronin.
Tracy had shot from just outside the top of the box in the 66th minute, but he had his attempt carom off the right post. Wake Forest’s Lyle Adams put a shot on goal from close range in the 79th minute, while Corben Bone did the same in the 88th minute, but both attempts were denied by McAdams as the teams would eventually go into overtime with the score knotted at 0-0.
Wake Forest finished the night with a 22-6 advantage in shots, but only a 5-3 margin in attempts on frame. McAdams finished with four saves on the night for the Green and Gold.
The Tribe capped the 2008 campaign with an 11-7-3 overall record, its best since the 2002 season. W&M also made to the NCAA Tournament field for the first time in six seasons and advanced to the second round for the eighth time.