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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Men’s soccer grabs pivotal points against A-10 powerhouses

Two games. Two ties. One solid weekend of Atlantic 10 conference competition for the men’s soccer team.

With some impressive defense and last-second scoring, the Colonials went punch for punch with two of the conference’s heavyweights – Dayton and Saint Louis – and came away with some much-needed points.

“This shows that the group has character. They really fought for each other,” head coach Craig Jones said.

Down 1-0 with less than three minutes to play in regulation Sunday against the Billikens (7-3-1), last year’s A-10 champion, senior midfielder Bailey Hinners headed a corner kick past the outstretched hands of the Saint Louis goalie, sending the game into overtime.

GW stormed into the two overtime periods by recording four shots, but failed to capture a goal. Ultimately, the wear and tear of 110 minutes of soccer took its toll on both teams, and by the final whistle neither could break the 1-1 tie.

During much of the first half, emotions ran high. Two yellow cards were issued between the teams, with four more coming in the second half, forcing both of them to go into attack mode.

“We’re away from home, and you expect to be put under pressure,” Jones said.

Despite allowing nine corner kicks and four shots in the first 40 minutes, GW’s defense was able to fend off the SLU scoring attack, until a Saint Louis goal from seven yards out in the 43rd minute gave them the lead.

“They did a great job defensively as a unit to deal with the pressure,” Jones said. “And that allowed us to come back into the game.”

The Colonials’ offense sped up the pace of the second half, outshooting Saint Louis 11-3.

When prospects appeared dim, Hinners’ heroics gave the Colonials a fighting chance in overtime and exemplified the team’s resolve.

Most impressively, GW did all of this with a new goalkeeper – junior Luke Farrell – who was in net to replace sophomore Jean-Pierre van der Merwe, who had started all the team’s previous games this season.

The work of Farrell, whose second career shutout Friday against Dayton propelled GW to a solid scoreless tie, also kept SLU’s offense at bay. Through 90 minutes of regulation, Farrell had allowed only one goal on seven shots. Farrell’s shining moment came in the 96th minute when he saved two consecutive SLU shots on goal that could have ended the sudden death period.

“He has made some big saves in overtime to keep us in the game,” Jones said. “He gathered some crosses and serves to relieve some pressure off us.”

After 110 minutes of play on Friday, GW shut out No. 19 Dayton, the nation’s top-scoring offense team, and concluded its conference opener with a 0-0 tie.

It may have been a scoreless effort, but the game was a moral victory for the struggling Colonials (3-6-2), who earned a point on the road against one of the nation’s best teams. Going into the game, Dayton (10-0-2) was the only remaining Division I team without a loss or tie.

The top-ranked Flyers’ offense, entering the the game averaging 2.8 goals per game, did in fact outshoot the Colonials 19-6 in regulation. But GW put on the pressure in the two overtime periods, outshooting them 4-2.

With a slow start to the season, the tie serves as another building block to success after GW almost went the distance against No. 11 UMBC for two overtime periods last week, before finally surrendering a goal to the Terriers.

While the team currently sits in the middle of the pack, GW should be able to grab some wins against weaker competitors like UMass and Fordham in the coming weeks.

“Now that there are eight teams going to the A-10 [playoffs], those two points could be huge for us,” Hinners said.

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