Oct. 28, 2007

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - In a match that featured three first-half goals, George Mason took an early 1-0 lead but was unable to hold on for the win, falling to the James Madison Dukes 2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association men's soccer action on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Soccer Complex.

George Mason jumped out to an early lead when freshman Patrick Barthold (Centreville, Va./Westfield) blasted a shot from 25 yards out past JMU goalkeeper Ken Manahan at the 19:25 mark of the match. Sophomore Ernesto Marquez (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) was credited with an assist on the goal.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Dukes tied the score 1:02 later. Senior Lasse Kokko flicked a header past Mason sophomore goalkeeper Sean Kelley (Lexington, Ky./Paul Laurence Dunbar) into the left corner of the goal. Junior Nick Zimmerman lofted a cross from the right side for Kokko to put in his shot.

Freshman CJ Sapong netted the game-winning goal for Madison at 31:47. Sapong received a pass from Zimmerman in the center of the field, turned, and fired a shot from 20 yards out. The shot glanced off Kelley's hands and into the goal.

With the loss, George Mason falls to 5-8-2 overall and 2-5-1 in conference play. The Patriots are winless in their past five matches, with their last victory coming on Oct. 12 at Delaware. JMU won its third straight match, improving to 5-7-3 overall and 4-3-0 in the CAA.

Mason will attempt to get back in the win column when it returns to action on Friday, Nov. 2 for a 6 p.m. match against Northeastern at Parsons Field in Brookline, Mass. The Huskies are 6-8-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the CAA after Sunday's 2-0 shutout over Drexel, which improved their home record to 5-1 this season at Parsons Field.