Men’s soccer loses season finale

Rhode Island men’s soccer was defeated by George Mason University, 2-1, in Fairfax, Virginia, this past Saturday ending the Rams’ regular season with a record of 9-7-2. The loss placed the team in fourth place going into the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.

In the 33rd minute of the first half, junior forward Nick Ferguson headed home a Ryan Oakley cross from about 10 yards in for his first-career goal to put Rhode Island ahead early 1-0. Oakley’s assist was his seventh on the season, marking him atop the Atlantic 10 for total assists. Going into halftime, Rhode Island held on to the 1-0 lead, but the second half was a different story.

“Oakley has been in great form for us the last few contests,” head coach Gareth Elliott said. “I believe he’s leading the A-10 in assists following Saturday, but all of our guys are in postseason form at this point.”

Entering the second half, Rhode Island allowed a 49th-minute equalizer to George Mason’s Henning Dirks for an unassisted goal as he struck a shot from the far post into the back corner of the net. Two minutes later, Dirks struck again from a Daniel Hoffman cross for his second goal of the afternoon in the inside of the far post to give George Mason the 2-1 advantage. George Mason was able to hold Rhode Island scoreless for the remainder of the match and left the final score at 2-1. George Mason was the third team this year to win a game against Rhode Island scoring more than one goal. Rhode Island outshot George Mason (10-7) yet George Mason was able to finish their opportunities in the second half while the Rams were held scoreless.

“We hoped to end our regular season with a victory but we couldn’t find the back of the net in the second half,” Elloit said. “I felt we played well the majority of the game. The outcome just didn’t go our way. Our job now is to focus on the postseason.”

Rhode Island will begin the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships this Thursday at 8 p.m. in Fairfax, Virginia, against Saint Louis University. Rhode Island tied the Billikens 1-1 earlier this season .

“Any game in the Atlantic 10 Championships is going to be hard fought regardless of who the opponent is, we know that,” Elliott said. “However St. Louis is a side we battled well against in the regular season so we know what to expect come Thursday. All teams are in a win or go home mentality we know what the stakes are. Our guys have a quiet confidence about them so we are all mentally prepared for Thursday’s match.”