Nov. 4, 2003

FAIRFAX, VA ... George Mason junior goalkeeper John O'Hara has been named to the men's soccer National Team of the Week selected by College Soccer News.

O'Hara is the second Patriot to earn a spot on the College Soccer News Team of the Week this season. Senior defender Keith Nakai was selected to the team on Oct. 6.

A 6-1, 185-pound native of Foxford, Ireland, and a 1999 graduate of St. Jarlaths College, O'Hara had six saves as George Mason posted a pair of shutouts last week. He had two saves in a 0-0 tie vs. William & Mary on Oct. 31 and four in a 1-0 victory over nationally ranked Old Dominion on Nov. 2.

O'Hara has posted three straight shutouts and currently has a scoreless streak of 335 minutes, 44 seconds over his last four games, and he had a streak of 451:52 over parts of six games from Sept. 24-Oct. 10. For the season, O'Hara has nine full shutouts and has shared another to go along with a 0.89 goals-against average with 55 saves. Against CAA foes, he has a 0.56 GAA and 23 saves with four shutouts in eight games.

A first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection last season after being a second-team pick and the CAA Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2001, O'Hara already has had an excellent career with the Patriots. He ranks third in George Mason history with 21 shutouts and is fourth with 197 saves, and he has a 1.11 GAA (66 goals allowed in 5,340 minutes) in 56 career games.

George Mason (10-4-5 overall, 4-1-3 in the CAA) is third in the CAA standings this week and ranked sixth in the NSCAA South Atlantic Region poll. The Patriots, ranked in the top 15 in the nation this week for shutout percentage at 0.53 per game (10 shutouts in 19 games), have clinched no worse than the No. 4 seed for the upcoming CAA Championship, which begins Nov. 11, and could gain a first-round bye in the conference tournament with a win at James Madison (9-6-2, 3-3-2 CAA) Friday at 7 p.m. and a victory by William & Mary over Old Dominion on Saturday.