Mason’s men’s soccer team won 2-1 Saturday night over the Davidson Wildcats. The game was tied 1-1 after 90 minutes and ended midway through the first overtime with a penalty kick by Mason senior captain Timi Mulgrew.

A first half that would end scoreless started off slow for both teams. Mason had the first good chance in the 20^th minute when Mason midfielder Henning Dirks took a shot from inside the box that was saved, but not controlled. The ball bounced around in the box for a few seconds, ending with a chance for Mason’s Daniel Hoffman who was unable to get control of the ball. The ball was then cleared.

Davidson saw its best chance of the first half in the 44^th minute. The ball was crossed into the box and settled by Davidson senior midfielder Alan Reiter. His shot went just over the crossbar, and the teams went into half tied at zero.

The second half saw Davidson score early. At the 52′ mark, Davidson junior midfielder Shane Macnamara took a shot that was saved by Mason’s goaltender, Michael Butts. The rebound was then followed up by sophomore forward Maxi Pragnell who was able to put the ball in the back of the net and give Davidson a 1-0 lead.

Mason’s lone senior and leading goal scorer Timi Mulgrew was given a rest shortly after Davidson took the lead. Mulgrew came back into the game in the 21^st minute and did not waste much time providing a spark for his team. At 71′, Mulgrew got positioned in the box, received a cross from his teammate Daniel Hoffmann and buried the ball in the net to knot the game at 1-1.

“All the credit goes to Danny, he was playing out of his mind tonight beating that guy almost every time,” Mulgrew said post-game. “He put the ball literally on my forehead.”

Both teams had their chances with the remaining time in the second half, but neither scored. The game would go into overtime, where once again Mason leaned on their senior captain to pick them up. “Big players come up in big games,” Mulgrew said the coaching staff told him on the sideline when they took him out briefly in the second half.

At 5′ of the first overtime Mason’s Henning Dirks got into the box and drew a foul. Mulgrew was called on to take the penalty kick for Mason and put the ball in the bottom right corner giving Mason and their fans a 2-1 victory at home.

The win improves the team’s record to 10-3-3 with an in-conference record of 3-2-1. Mason will celebrate senior day this coming Friday, Oct. 31 when they take on George Washington University at George Mason Stadium as a continuation of the Revolutionary Rivalry. They then finish the season on Nov. 9 on the road at La Salle before playing in the Atlantic 10 tournament.