Aug. 25, 2004

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason begins its 22nd season of Division I competition this weekend, hosting Miami Friday at 7 p.m. and Navy Sunday at 1 p.m. at George Mason Stadium. A FREE "moon bounce" will be available to all youth attending Sunday's game against the Midshipmen. The ROTC will be the color guard at Sunday's match as well. The Patriot women return 14 letterwinners from a team that finished 9-6-6 overall and 3-3-3 in the CAA last season, advancing to the conference tournament semifinals for the eighth time in nine seasons. Senior co-captain and goalkeeper Sarah Coughlin (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake), a 2003 first-team all-CAA and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) first-team Mid Atlantic all-Region selection, leads the returning players. She is joined by senior forward Sarah Wilkinson (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove), who led the Patriots with 13 points, and senior co-captain and midfielder Allison Cowan (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) (1G, 3A). Seven newcomers join the Patriots in 2004 as they face a schedule that includes four teams that competed in the 2003 NCAA Women's College Cup tournament. Mason tackles one of those four teams this weekend, as Navy advanced to the College Cup as the Patriot League champion. The Midshipmen return eight starters and 17 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 17-5-1 overall. Players to watch include senior goalkeeper Kim Bonafede, who earned second-team all-Patriot League honors and posted a 1.24 goals-against average, and senior defender Xochitl Piedra, who garnered second-team NSCAA Mid-Atlantic all-Region accolades. Senior midfielder Stephanie Parker, a first-team all-Patriot League selection (0G, 9A), and sophomore midfielder Meggie Curran (9G, 4A) also return. The Hurricanes are listed 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll. Miami posted a 9-9-1 overall record in 2003 as a member of the Big East, losing in the tournament's first round in overtime to national power Notre Dame. The `Canes return virtually all of their scoring from last season, including top goal scorer and junior forward Lindsey Yach (9G, 3A), senior forward Brittany Butcher (3G, 5A) is also back as is sophomore midfielder Sheuneen Ta (2G, 4A). Also returning is sophomore goalkeeper Alex Alford, who posted five shutouts and registered a 1.60 goals-against average. The Patriot women's soccer team was selected to finish fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association for the upcoming 2004 season in voting conducted by the league's 10 women's soccer head coaches. In the Mid-Atlantic Region, SoccerBuzz Magazine rated the Patriots 10th overall in their preseason poll released last week. The Midshipmen were listed ninth in the region.