On Monday, May 24, George Mason High School’s boys soccer team advanced to the Bull Run District Finals by thrashing the Madison County Mountaineers 7-0 in a semifinal home game.
The Mustangs controlled the action from the outset, peppering Madison goalkeeper Mike Compton with shots from the top of the box. The Mustangs had several good scoring chances, but couldn’t capitalize early on.
With a little over 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Madison County committed a costly handball in the box to give the Mustangs the break they needed: a penalty kick.
Senior midfielder Andrew Arias prepared for the kick deliberately, then fired away for the first tally of the game. The floodgates were open.
“I’m still suffering from a hamstring injury, so I wasn’t able to play 100 percent, but gave it all I got, scoring a few goals to help us out,” said Arias, who had two goals in the contest. “We have good team chemistry. All the players know each other really well, been playing together for years and years, and that’s why we’re able to execute.”
Senior forward Nick Smirniotopoluos added to the Mustangs’ lead with a little more than six minutes left in the half when he received a pretty pass through traffic, weaved his way through the defense and put it past the keeper. Smirniotopoluos had two goals in the contest; sophomore midfielder Eion Oosterbaan and senior defender Mark Kolev also tallied for Mason in the game.
The team also had a quality effort on the defensive end, as goalkeeper Tyler Back made a number of impressive saves in the shutout effort.
“We pretty much dominated,” said Mason coach Art Iwanicki after the game. “We had great possession, and we had many shots in the first 20 minutes that should have gone in. Those were frustrating, but the boys kept in it and we worked hard to get the goals that we got.”
With the win, the Mustangs moved on to the Bull Run District tournament finals on Wednesday, May 26. Results were unavailable at press-time
Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Mustangs will continue postseason play thanks to an automatic regional berth due to their regular season dominance.
Mason is currently scheduled to play a home game on Monday, May 31 at 5 p.m. against a team to be determined.
The Mustangs will be without stalwart goalkeeper Tyler Back in Monday’s regional playoff game.
Back will be in Florida with the Under-16 DC United Academy team.
