Men's College Soccer
George Washington University 3, Rider University 0
LAWRENCEVILLE—Rider lost to GW Sunday afternoon. The loss snapped Rider's three-game winning streak. “We had a fantastic week of practice,” said Rider head coach Russ Fager. “We were all ready for this game. But today we look uninspired. I think everybody tried, but the energy and mental approach was not there.”
GW (7-3) scored the only goal it needed 9:34 into the game on a 35 yard blast from left-side defender Nikolay Aleksandrov of Poland. The Colonials took a 2-0 lead on a header from in close in the 20th minute and made it 3-0 on a penalty kick with four minutes left in the first half. “We had a hard time adjusting to what they were doing,” Fager said.
GW out-shot Rider (3-5) 12-8, including 6-3 in the second half. “We have to do things that are going to create opportunities for ourselves,” Fager said, “and we didn't do that for 90 minutes today.”
Rider sophomore goalkeeper Christopher Pimentel (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) made three saves. “I thought Pim did a good job keeping us in the game with some big saves,” Fager said. “He played a very good game.”
Erik Haug made three saves for GW.
“Our young players are very good at doing what they are told, but not as good at problem solving," Fager said. “That was the problem we had the first few games of the season. It was a disappointing effort today, in that we are always looking to make improvements, and today we did not take a step forward. Today we went sideways, maybe backwards.”
In the last meeting Rider defeated GW 2-1 at Mount Vernon Field in 2007, tying the series record at 2-2-1. The series began in 1989. “They have a good side,” Fager said. “They have a lot of seniors who know how to solve problems.”
Rider begins conference play with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Loyola October 10.
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