Sept. 10, 2004

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's men's soccer team (1-2-0) held No. 5 Santa Clara (3-0-0) scoreless in the second half Friday evening, but fell by a score of 1-0 in the second game of the George Mason/Comfort Inn Classic at George Mason Stadium. In the opening contest of the Classic, Loyola (Md.) claimed a 2-0 victory over Robert Morris.

The lone goal of the game came at the 18:06 mark as the Broncos' sophomore midfielder Devin Skrade hit a cross shot to teammate freshman midfielder Peter Lowry, who headed it in the net past the Patriots' senior goalkeeper, John O'Hara (Foxford, Ireland).

Mason amassed a total of eight shots and held the Broncos to just 10 shots on the night after Santa Clara had totaled 37 shots in its opening two games of the 2004 season. The Patriots held the advantage in the corner kicks with four to the Broncos' two and Santa Clara, which advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup last season, collected more fouls with 14 to the Patriots' 10.

O'Hara saw all 90 minutes in the net for Mason and earned five saves on the night, while giving up one goal. Senior netminder Kent Harkness played the entire game for the Broncos and amassed five saves as well.

"The key from competing against one of the best teams in the country is to gain from this experience," said head coach Fran O'Leary. "While we did not get the result we wanted, if we continue to play at this level of performance, we will have a fantastic season."

The Patriots will return to action for the final game of the George Mason/Comfort Inn Classic on Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. Santa Clara will face Loyola in the first contest on Sunday at noon.