Oct. 28, 2005

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's men's soccer team (6-5-4, 2-2-4 CAA) closes out its 2005 home regular season this weekend as the Patriots host #7 Old Dominion (11-2-2, 6-1-1) on Oct. 28 (7 p.m.) and William & Mary (4-7-4, 2-2-4) on Oct. 30 (1 p.m.) for a pair of Colonial Athletic Association match-ups. Mason's contest against the Monarchs is the "Broadside Game of the Week" and Mason students will receive free pizza at the game.

The Patriots have won their last two games as Mason claimed a 1-0 victory at Delaware (Oct. 21) and then went on to defeat Drexel 3-2 two days later in Philadelphia. Sophomore forward Dan Ames (Livonia, N.Y.) garnered CAA Player of the Week honors on Oct. 24 as he scored the game-winning goal in both of these contests as his first goal of the season was in the 72nd minute against the Blue Hens off of a pass from freshman defender Hugh Fike (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Ames' second goal of the weekend came in the 86th minute off of a pass from senior forward Teba McKnight (Couva, Trinidad) which secured the Patriots' win over Drexel. Freshman goalkeeper Eric Barnes (Aiken, S.C.) played all 180 minutes in net for the Patriots, tallied eight saves and now has nine career shut-outs.

ODU, which is currently first in the league, dropped its first conference home game of the season against James Madison on Oct. 23 with an overtime score of 2-1. Prior to this loss, the Monarchs had not been defeated since Sept. 18 when they dropped a 2-1 decision at then-No. 2 North Carolina. ODU senior forward Brian Cvilikas leads the CAA in goals (11), goals per game (0.79) and is tied for second in points with 22.

William & Mary, which is tied for seventh in the CAA with Mason, is 0-2-3 in its past five games, which includes two-straight scoreless ties against JMU (Oct. 21) and Va. Commonwealth (Oct. 23). The Tribe own a 3-3 mark when playing on the road, which include wins at both Drexel (2-1) and Delaware (1-0). Jarrett Thomas leads W&M in goals (7) and points (16), while Clayton Voss has dished out a team-leading four assists.

Mason leads the overall series against ODU, 17-11-1, but fell to the Monarchs last season by a score of 2-0 in Norfolk, Va. on Oct. 24. The Tribe has a 20-13-2 advantage in the overall series against the Patriots, which includes a 1-0 win over Mason last year in Williamsburg, Va. on Oct. 22.