Men’s Soccer falls to Hofstra at home

The George Mason Men’s Soccer team (7-6-2, 3-4-2) faced a tough loss to the Hofstra Pride, falling 2-1 in overtime Wednesday night. Hofstra’s game-winning goal in overtime was scored off a direct kick, hitting junior Eber Martinez in the chest before landing in the net.

Hofstra did not dominate the close game.

At the 10-minute mark, Mason senior forward Ernesto Marquez crossed the ball over rolling it right in front of the net. The shot just was missed.

Sophomore midfielder Derek Markheim created several more opportunities for the attack, yet the shots were still unable to find the back of the net. Mason continued taking shots and trying to secure opportunities.

“We fought well it just wasn’t enough,” senior forward Parker Walton said.

The Patriots were finally able to get the ball in the net with just under 20 minutes remaining in the first half with a cross pass from Markheim to senior Victor Freeman. It was Freeman’s third goal of the season. This was the only one of eight shots in the first half to go in.

Despite the players’ evident sense of satisfaction for finally knocking one in, the challenge was yet to come.

“We had a lot of good chances that we didn’t take opportunities of,” Walton said. “These could have helped us win.”

In the second half, Mason had the first big opportunity. Junior midfielder Ryan Gracia’s shot deflected off the post and Freeman was there for the rebound and also got a shot off the opportunity.
Freeman had another close shot 10 minutes into the second half.

The momentum turned 22 minutes into the second half when Hofstra player Chris Griebsch scored to tie the game on a header off the hands of Mason’s freshman goalie, Sean Cote. Still, the Patriots kept battling as Freeman continued to have close shots on goal.

Freshman forward Hugh Roberts and Walton both had close shots on goal late in regulation, but the ball just did not go in.

The Patriots, who fell to seventh in the CAA with the tough loss, have two more conference games including a game on Saturday,
Oct. 30, against Georgia State. They hope to turn the tide by capturing a big win on the road. They return home to end the season against UNC Wilmington on Nov. 6.

“We have to treat the rest of the games like the playoffs,“ Roberts said. “We have to finish off our opportunities.”