Sept. 29, 2004
Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's men's soccer team (4-3-1) is slated to open up its Colonial Athletic Association schedule at home this weekend against Delaware (3-4) on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. and Towson (5-2-1) on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. This marks the first of three-straight weekends in which the Patriots will be playing on their home turf after playing five of the first eight contests on the road.
The Patriots head into this weekend's matchup with a 1-1 record at home, which includes a 2-1 win over Longwood on Sept. 3. Most recently, Mason faced No. 3 Penn State in University Park, Pa. (Sept. 28) to end in a scoreless tie for the Patriots second overtime game of the season and their fourth shutout of the 2004 campaign. Mason is currently tied for first in the conference in shutouts and senior goalkeeper John O'Hara (Foxford, Ireland) earned all four to sit tied for first among CAA peers.
Senior Matt Mendy (MF; Banjul, Gambia) currently leads the Patriots with five goals and is tied for sixth in the conference with teammate forward Teba McKnight (Jr.; Couva, Trinidad) in points (10) and points per game (1.25). Senior midfielder Damien Quinn (San Diego, Calif.) is tied with McKnight in assists with four and both sit tied for second in the conference in assists. In addition, the Patriots are ranked nationally in scoring offense with 2.14 goals per game to sit at 32nd.
The last game for the Blue Hens was Sept. 21 against Navy and Delaware recorded a 1-0 victory in double overtime with sophomore defender Matt Haney scoring the game-winner, knocking in the rebound off of a free kick from freshman forward Sobhan Tadjalli. The assist was the first for Tadjalli, who leads the team and ranks second in the CAA in goals (6) and points (13). Senior goalkeeper Kyle Hanes made three saves against the Midshipmen for his first shutout of the season.
Towson concluded its non-conference schedule with a 1-0 triumph over Lehigh on Sept. 22. Sophomore forward Sebastian Haensel scored the game's lone goal off an assist from freshman Pat Healy. Haensel, who has tallied three goals and two assists in his last three games, leads Towson in goals (4), assists (4) and points (12). Healey's assist was his fourth of the year, tying Haensel for the team lead in that category. Junior goalkeeper Zak Thompson has amassed three shutouts thus far this season and is currently ranked 15th, out of 30, in the nation with 5.57 saves per game.
Mason leads the overall series between Delaware, 2-0-1, while the overall series against Towson stands at 7-7-2. The Patriots' meeting against the Blue Hens last season on Oct. 10 ended in a 1-1 tie in Newark, Del., and the score was mirrored at Towson two days later. Since becoming a member of the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985, Mason holds a 14-4-1 overall record in conference home openers.
