George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Soccer to Face 2014 National Champ Virginia
9/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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Sept. 28, 2015
WASHINGTON -- Coming off its best offensive showing of the season, the George Washington men's soccer team looks to carry its momentum into a showdown with 2014 national champion Virginia on Tuesday evening. Kickoff from the Cavaliers' Klöckner Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
GW (3-5-0) scored four goals in the opening 26 minutes on Friday afternoon in a 4-1 rout of Robert Morris at the GW Soccer Field. Junior Garrett Heine notched the first multi-goal game of his career, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist, while senior Eddie Painter, who found the back of the net for the second straight game, tallied a goal and an assist. Sophomore Christian Lawal also found the back of the net for the Colonials.
GW's four goals were its most since a 4-1 victory over Howard on Aug. 31, 2014, and Heine's five points were the most by a Colonial since Tyler Ranalli tallied seven against VMI on Sept. 14, 2013.
Heine ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in goals (5), goals per game (0.62), points (13) and points per game (1.62), and he is third with three assists on the year. He is also tied for the league lead with three game-winning goals, as he has netted the game-winner in all three of GW's victories this season. In addition, freshman goalkeeper Thor Arne Höfs ranks second in the conference with 5.20 saves per game.
As a team, the Colonials rank third in the Atlantic 10 with 1.38 goals per game after netting seven markers in the last three contests. GW is also third in the league with 12 assists and 34 points on the season.
No. 4 Virginia (5-1-2) is coming off its first loss of the season, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of No. 14 Notre Dame on Friday, snapping a three-game win streak. Todd Wharton scored the Cavaliers' lone goal on a penalty kick in the 79th minute. Jake Rozhansky leads Virginia with three goals on the year, while Riggs Lennon and Nicko Corriveau have each tallied two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell has played all 760 minutes between the pipes and boasts a 0.83 goals-against average and .774 save percentage, allowing just seven goals in eight games with four shutouts.
Virginia represents GW's second opponent of the season which participated in the 2014 NCAA College Cup after the Colonials faced UMBC on Tuesday. The Cavaliers, who reached the College Cup for the second year in a row, knocked off the Retrievers in the semifinals to reach the title game, then defeated UCLA for their seventh national championship.
GW and Virginia, who will face off for the fifth time on Tuesday, last met in 2009, when the Cavaliers edged the Colonials, 2-1, in overtime.
