George Washington University
<b>RICHMOND</b>
Men's Soccer Shuts Out Richmond, 1-0
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 31, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - Redshirt senior Mike Rollings' goal 17 seconds into the second half proved to be the game-winner as redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Erik Haug and the George Washington defense blanked Richmond, 1-0, in a key Atlantic 10 men's soccer match at Mount Vernon Field Saturday afternoon.
With the win, GW (9-7-0, 3-4-0 A-10) climbs into a four-way tie for seventh place in the A-10 standings with nine points, along with Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Temple, all of whom are in action Sunday. Richmond (5-9-2, 2-3-2 A-10) is one point behind in 11th place.
In a match that featured just 15 combined shots, Rollings took advantage of a Spiders back-line miscue for the lone goal and Haug made three crucial saves to give the Colonials a much-needed three points in their quest to qualify for the A-10 Championship at Rhode Island in two weeks.
Richmond misplayed a back pass out of the second half kick-off and Rollings capitalized, racing past a defender into the left side of the 18-yard box and beating goalkeeper Jed Antoun to the near post for the decisive tally. It was Rollings' fourth goal of the year and 13th career strike in 60 matches.
Haug and the GW defense, led by seniors Nikolay Aleksandrov and Mike Holland, junior Kory Trott and sophomore Jake Davis, withstood a flurry of chances from Richmond midway through the second half, including a series of corner kicks between the 74th and 76th minutes.
Haug made back-to-back saves on a header and rebound attempt by Jonathan Stephenson in the 75th minute to preserve his fourth shutout of the season and sixth clean sheet for the Colonials' defense this year.
GW held an 8-7 advantage in shots, including attempts that struck the crossbar and post in the first half, while Richmond took nine corner kicks in the second half and led 10-3 in the category. Antoun made two saves for the Spiders, highlighted by a charging stop on a breakaway in the 80th minute.
The victory is GW's third straight over Richmond and increases the series lead to 9-2-3. The Colonials have won six of seven home matches this season to improve to 43-20-5 overall and 30-11-2 in league play at nine-year old Mount Vernon Field.
The Colonials wrap regular-season play with a pair of home matches next weekend. GW hosts Rhode Island Friday at 2:00 pm, then welcomes Massachusetts for Senior Day on Sunday at 1:00 pm. Seniors Byron Walker, Mike Holland, Kyle Albrecht, Andrew Kroculick, Erick Perez-Segnini, Andy Stadler, Mike Briscoe, Mike Rollings, Luke Wildy and Nikolay Aleksandrov will all be honored prior to Sunday's match.
