Nov. 17, 2003

FAIRFAX, VA ... For the first time since 1996, the George Mason men's soccer team was excited about the prospects of being included in the NCAA College Cup. Alas, it was not to be as George Mason (11-6-6) learned it was left out of the 48-team field for the 2003 NCAA College Cup as it was announced Monday afternoon on ESPNEWS.

George Mason felt it had enhanced its position to earn the at-large berth by advancing to the title game of the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Soccer Championship last week. The third-seeded Patriots tied No. 6 UNC Wilmington, 2-2 in double overtime, at home Tuesday before advancing on penalty kicks, 5-4, then Mason knocked off No. 2 Old Dominion, 1-0, in the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth, 2-0, in the championship game. The final two rounds were hosted by VCU at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond.

With the contests against nationally ranked Old Dominion (ranked seventh in the nation by Soccer America, 11th by SoccerTimes.com, 13th by the NSCAA and 14th by College Soccer News last week) and Virginia Commonwealth (ranked tied for eight by the NSCAA, 11th by Soccer America and College Soccer News, and 14th by SoccerTimes.com), George Mason was 2-4-1 against ranked opponents this year and posted 11 shutouts as a team.

George Mason had not advanced past the first round of the CAA Championship since 1997 before its tie with UNC Wilmington Tuesday. The victory over ODU was Mason's first in the conference postseason since a 2-0 win over the Monarchs in the 1997 quarterfinals, snapping a six-game winless streak (0-4-2). The trip to the CAA Championship final game was the third for the Patriots since the conference went to a postseason tournament in 1990, as they also reached the title contest in 1990 and 1995. Mason won four CAA championships from 1984-89, but none since the title has been decided by a postseason tournament.

The George Mason defense was the strength of the team as it posted 11 shutouts, including eight in the last 15 games as the Patriots went 7-3-5. In that span, the group of seniors Keith Nakai and Mirza Kurspahic, junior Danny Climo and sophomore Damian O'Rourke - who was named to the All-CAA first team -- allowed only 11 goals in 1,470 minutes for a 0.67 goals-against average. Mason entered last week ranked 12th in the nation for shutout percentage at 0.50.

Junior goalkeeper John O'Hara, who was named to the All-CAA first team for the second straight year, had an excellent season for the Patriots. Setting a Mason season record for minutes played (2,205) in the game vs. VCU, O'Hara benefited from the stellar Patriot defense to post 10 full shutouts and another shared this season. He had a 0.98 GAA with 73 saves, including a 0.71 GAA and 28 saves with four shutouts against CAA foes during the regular season. For his career, he ranks third in Patriot history with 22 shutouts and fourth with 215 saves.

The George Mason offense also was solid. Sophomore Steve Alabi, who had missed four straight games with a leg injury before returning as a reserve against James Madison in the final game of the regular season, is among the CAA and South Atlantic Region leaders and paced the Patriots with 12 goals and 28 points, and he tied for the team lead with Climo at four assists. Juniors Karim Manneh and Matt Mendy supported him with 18 points (eight goals, two assists) and 10 points (four goals, two assists, respectively. Nakai was third on the team with three assists.