Oct. 6, 2004
Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's men's soccer team (6-3-1, 2-0 CAA) will continue conference play this weekend at home as the Patriots face UNC Wilmington (7-2-1, 1-1) on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. and will then compete against #6 Virginia Commonwealth (6-2-1, 2-0) on Sunday (Oct. 10) at 1 p.m. for a rematch of the 2003 Colonial Athletic Association championship game.
The Patriots, who are currently ranked sixth in the South Atlantic Region by NSCAA, claimed two victories this past weekend at George Mason Stadium to improve its 2004 record at home to 3-1. On Oct. 1, junior forward Teba McKnight (Couva, Trinidad) netted his third game-winning goal of the 2004 campaign to lift the Patriots to a 3-2 win over Delaware with less then seven minutes remaining in the second overtime. The Patriots then defeated Towson, 3-0, on Oct. 3 as forward Kephern Fuller (Jr.; Marietta, Ga.) scored his first goal of the season, while McKnight netted the final two for the Patriots with senior midfielder Damien Quinn (San Diego, Calif.) earning the assist on both goals. Senior goalkeeper John O'Hara (Foxford, Ireland) earned a league-leading fifth shut-out on the year against the Blue Hens to put his career total to 27.
McKnight earned Brine co-CAA Player of the Week for his efforts conference opening weekend, as well as against #3 Penn State on Sept. 28. McKnight leads the conference in points (19) and is tied for third in goals (7), while Quinn is tied for first in assists (6) and senior midfielder Matt Mendy (Banjul, Gambia) is fifth in goals (5).
The Seahawks, who are 3-0-1 on the road this year, got off to a solid start in league action, knocking off 12th-ranked Old Dominion 2-0 on Friday before falling just short versus #8 William & Mary (2-1) on Sunday. Junior midfielder Will Clark converted a free kick from 19 yards out to give UNCW a 1-0 lead on the Monarchs in the 10th minute, and then assisted on a score by sophomore Chris Murray just 10 minutes later. Sophomore goalkeeper Brad Knighton made six saves versus ODU to record his third shutout of the season and the 11th of his short career. UNCW out-shot the Tribe 9-5 and limited them to just one shot in the second half. Both UNCW losses this season have been by just one goal.
The Rams began defense of their CAA championship in successful fashion, knocking off #8 William & Mary (2-1) and #12 Old Dominion (3-1). VCU is currently riding a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1), which includes wins over three nationally ranked teams. Junior goalkeeper Saul Montero was outstanding, stopping a penalty kick in the first half against W&M and another in the second half versus ODU. He finished with seven saves over the two contests and his efforts earned him co-CAA Player of the Week, as well as National Player of the Week (College Soccer News).
Mason defeated UNCW during the regular season last year by with an overtime score of 2-1 and went on to defeat the Seahawks in the first round of the CAA Tournament after knocking in five penalty kicks to UNCW's four. VCU shut-out Mason in Richmond in 2003, 2-0, and the score was mimicked in favor of the Rams in the championship game of the conference tournament on Nov. 16. The Patriots lead the overall series between the Seahawks, 18-3-1, while the overall record between Mason and VCU stands at 6-6-6.
