Men's Soccer: George Mason edges TU on penalty kicks Friday

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - For the third time in two years and second in a week, No. 15 Towson and George Mason required extra time to determine a winner. Following a second half goal by the Patriots' Dan Ames, the two sides entered overtime to decide the CAA Tournament semifinal match in Virginia Beach, Va. Despite out-shooting the Patriots, 10-2, in the two overtime periods, the Tigers were unable to score and the contest moved to penalty kicks. Junior midfielder Pat Healey was first to shoot, converting his chance. Junior T.J. Thompson and senior Sebastian Haensel followed, also scoring their shots. Of the first three shots for the Patriots, goalkeeper Billy Chiles saved one, giving Towson the advantage, 3-2. Shooting fourth for the Tigers was freshman Kevin Ruck, who aimed for the low-right corner, where Mason goalkeeper Sean Kelley stopped it. Looking to tie the match, Mason freshman Richard Edgar stepped forward. Diving to the low-right corner, Chiles guessed correctly and made the save. Sophomore Mosca Cisneros lined up for a shot with a chance to put the game away. Leaping toward the top-left corner, Kelley deflected the shot wide, allowing Mason senior Josh Fleming to tie the count with his next shot. After both sides converted their sixth attempts, Tiger sophomore Jahnai Raynor was unsuccessful on his shot. Mason defender Jonathan Barrajo stepped forward and converted his shot, moving Mason into the CAA Conference Finals. "I thought we played very well today except for a 10 to 15 minute stretch at the beginning of the second half," Towson head coach Frank Olszewski said. "They took a good run at us and got the tying goal. In penalty kicks, we were ready and took some good shots, and Billy made some good saves. In the end, it goes down as a tie and we have to look forward." In the first half, the Tigers jumped on the scoreboard early when Haensel hooked up with Healey for a goal in the 24th minute. Haensel gathered a pass from Thompson on the right flank, inside the penalty box. After beating Barrajo, Haensel passed the ball across the face of the goal, away from Kelley. Healey sent the ball on one touch into the net for the score. Mason tied the score in the second half, following a defensive miscue on part of Towson defender Nigel Marples. Following a long ball played over the top, Marples and Mason forward Adam Lobene raced for the loose ball. Attempting to head the all back to Chiles to scoop up, Marples stumbled, allowing Lobene to gain possession. Taking the ball to the end line, Lobene sent a high, lofting pass to the far post where Ames headed the shot past Chiles. Even with the loss, the Tigers remain confident in their chances of receiving an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament field. "This goes down as a tie game. We are 15-1-3, and [GMU] is in the top 30 of the RPI as well, so there shouldn't be much movement at all in the rankings," Olszewski said. "Now it is a matter of where we get seeded. I think we should get seeded fairly high considering how we have played all season." The tournament selection will be announced Monday at 4 p.m. on ESPNEWS. Of the 48 spots, 22 will be awarded to conference tournament champions. The top 16 seeded teams will receive first-round byes. The first round of the tournament will begin Saturday Over the weekend, the CAA announced their postseason awards. After being picked to finish seventh in the preseason, Olszewski led the team to a 13-game unbeaten streak and regular season conference championship. For his efforts, Olszewski was named CAA Coach of the Year. Three Tigers received First-Team All-Conference recognition. Leading Towson in overall scoring, and the conference in assists, Haensel earned All-CAA honors for the second straight season. Joining Haensel on the list were Healey and Marples. Healey, who scored five goals and had two assists, started every game at center midfield leading the Tigers' counter attack. Marples, who captained the team out of the back, missed just one game all season as the Tigers allowed 0.58 goals per game. Towson ranked seventh in the nation in goals against average.

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