By Khush Wadhwa
The Revolutionaries men’s soccer team narrowly defeated Navy 1-0 in their second home match on September 10.
GW generated a plethora of offensive chances in the first half, a promising sign after allowing nine goals and failing to score in each of the last two games against Rider University and St. Peter’s University.
“We played well, believe it or not, against Rider in the last 30 minutes. Just everything they did, they scored so you knew that it was disappointing,” said Head Coach Craig Jones. “At 0-0 you start getting a little nervous after coming off that result but I thought they dug in. They got the goal and were able to see the game out.”
Since their last match, GW changed their formation to combat defensive and communicative struggles. The team cited changes in both as part of the reason for their win. “I think just a little bit of the communication from the back.” Goalkeeper Tom Macaulay said, “I think there was also other leaders that stepped up today but I think that was the biggest difference from this game to the two games we lost on the road.”
Joel Russ, when asked about playing alongside his brother, said,.“It’s really fun, it’s been great since we know each other so well, we trust each other on and off the ball so when he has the ball I’m able to make the run that I know will support him.”
For the opening 20 minutes of the game, GW dominated possession and offered many crosses into the boxes but only came up with two shots. In the 23rd minute, following a Navy corner kick, the Revs hit back with a quick counter that culminated in a shot by forward Alex Nicholson, hit right at Navy goalkeeper Robert Eaton. They failed to produce another quality chance in the first half.
Russ’s third shot on target produced dividends for the Revs, coming after he ran up the right-hand side of the pitch and slipped past Navy’s left-back, finishing with poise. His goal granted GW a 1-0 lead that they held onto until the match’s end.
“I got the ball in a good position from my teammate. Teammates were making good runs, creating space for me, and I just took the space and I finished as I’ve been practicing in training,” Russ said.
Russ’s chance was not the only one from there on out. Until the match’s end, Revolutionaries forwards peppered the Navy net with attempts from both sides of the pitch, though Navy’s Eaton came up with five saves after GW’s goal to prevent a larger Navy deficit.
“We really needed to focus on getting shots off because we’re not gonna score if we don’t shoot. We’ve been doing drills and that’s been very helpful.” Russ said, “Many players had multiple shots so that’s what we’re trying to work towards.”
Russ also gives praise to the attendance. “[The home crowd] means the world. It’s so great hearing them talk, hearing them try and get into the other players’ heads is awesome, cheering us on when we’re pressing. It’s just an encouragement and it helps motivate us to work hard and reminds us what we’re working for—to represent GW well,” Russ said.
Having taken care of business at home, the Revs must now look to approve their away record against a promising New Haven squad on Saturday. “I think New Haven are gonna be really tough opposition. They’ve obviously just gone up from D2 but they’ve got a couple of good results this season so far so I think it’s going to be a tough game,” Macaulay said.
However, with the defensive changes, men’s soccer seems to have figured out the key in capturing those elusive away results. “If we can show the same desire, defensively, keep a clean sheet, we can go on and win games this year,” Jones said.
The result takes the Revolutionaries to 2-3 on the season and 2-0 on the Vern.
