George Washington University Athletics
Men's Soccer Loses Early Lead Against Rider, 2-1
9/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington sophomore forward Andy Stadler netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season just 13 seconds into the match, but Rider answered with a pair of first-half goals to defeat the Colonials men's soccer team, 2-1, in their home opener at Mount Vernon Field on Saturday.
GW (3-3-0) struck in the first minute against Rider (3-4-0) for the second consecutive season. Thomas Stuber scored 18 seconds into the match in last year's meeting on the Broncs' home field and added the game-winner in the 73rd minute as the Colonials earned a 2-1 victory.
The Colonials couldn't come away with the same positive result on Saturday, as Colin Jennings opportunistic goal in the 15th minute knotted the match at 1-1, and Tom Antonucci's header off a Lee Tomasso free-kick boosted the Broncs to the victory.
Jennings seemingly harmless free-kick from near midfield sailed over all of his teammates only to glance off a GW defender's head and into the upper right corner of the net. Just over 25 minutes later, Antonucci freed himself on the right corner of the six-yard box and headed home the game-winner off Lee Tomasso's service from the left wing.
Stadler, who entered Saturday's match leading the Atlantic 10 with 2.00 points per game, has now recorded a point in each of his last five matches. He leads GW with 12 points on five goals and two assists this season.
GW dominated the majority of the play, especially in the second half, where it outshot Rider 10-0. The Colonials held an 18-4 shot advantage and 12-1 edge in corner kicks for the match.
Senior goalkeeper Greg Yahr made one save on three shots faced, while Randall Zapolski turned away three of GW's four shots on target.
Sophomore Erick Perez-Segnini, who earned A-10 Co-Player of the Week honors on Sept. 4, nearly brought GW level in the 41st minute, but his 25-yard blast from straight out was pushed over the crossbar by Zapolski. The Colonials had two other strong chances late in the match - junior Mike Rollings weaved through the 18-yard box only to have a low left-footed shot stopped by Zapolski, while senior Abimbola Pedro sent a poor-angle shot from the endline into the side-netting.
GW plays the second of its three consecutive home matches at Mount Vernon Field against Mount St. Mary's next Saturday at 3:00 pm.
