Oct. 17, 2006

Next up for the Patriots (10-3-1, 6-1-1 CAA):
Oct. 20: at VCU (8-2-1, 3-1-1), 7 p.m.
Oct. 22: vs. James Madison (6-6-1, 2-2-1), 2 p.m.

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Series Records...

Virginia Commonwealth has a slight edge in the overall series, 6-7-7, and one of those ties was in 2005 when the game ended with no goal scored after 110 minutes on Sept. 30 in Fairfax, Va. The last time the Patriots won in Richmond was on Nov. 7, 2001 by a score of 2-1.

Mason leads the overall series between James Madison, 15-14-4. Last season, the Patriots were downed by a score of 3-0 on Oct. 2 in Harrisonburg. The last time Mason defeated the Dukes at George Mason Stadium was back in 1997 on Oct. 29 by an overtime score of 1-0.

In the Rankings... After going 0-1-1 on the weekend, Mason now stands at 30th in the College Soccer News National Poll that was released on Oct. 15. The Patriots started off at the 29th spot on Oct. 1 and then moved up to 22nd a week later.

A Lock for the Tournament... With a CAA mark of 6-1-1 and with three games to go, Mason has solidified a place in the CAA Championship. If the Patriots close out the regular season in one of the top two spots in the league, the team will get a bye in the First Round. Otherwise, Mason will play in the First Round on Oct. 31. The semifinals and finals are slated to be played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex on Nov. 3 and 5, respectively.

Don't Shut Me Out... Twelve of Mason's 14 matches this season have been shutouts, with the Patriots going 8-3-1 in those contests.

Hall of Fame Honorees...

Six former athletes and one coaching legend, who were formally inducted into the newly formed George Mason Men's Soccer Hall of Fame on April 29, 2006, will be honored at halftime during the James Madison game on Oct. 22, which begins at 2 p.m.

Mason men's soccer alumni, along with family and friends, will be admitted free of charge to the contest and are invited to attend an Alumni Reception from 1-2 p.m. at George Mason Field. In addition, there will be a postgame reception at Brion's Grille, located in the University Mall off of Braddock Road and Route 123.

Among the inductees are former head coach, Gordon Bradley (1985-2000), Mike Reynolds (1982-85), Fred Thompson (1982-85), Tamir Linhart (1991-93), Eduardo Lima (1996-2000), Dennis Hamlett (1989-91) and Martin Dunphy (1986-89).

Not Since 1998... Mason had its nine-game win streak snapped on Friday by Old Dominion. It was only the third time in school history in which there was a nine-game win streak and the first since 1998.

Five is Alive... The Patriots have been honored by the conference five times this season with freshman Sean Kelley earning CAA Rookie of the Week three times and league player of the week once. In addition, freshman Richard Edgar was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Aug. 28.

Not Allowed... When the Monarchs scored on Friday, Mason had gone 259 minutes without allowing a goal with the last goal allowed in Mason's 3-1 win at Georgia State (Oct. 1).

More Honors For Kelley... Kelley was also named to the National College Team of the Week (Oct. 9), was featured in Sports Illustrated's `Faces in the Crowd' (Oct. 12) and was also listed as one of soccertimes.com's `Best of the Rest' (Oct. 12).

Minding the Net... Freshman goalkeeper Sean Kelley has been in net this entire season for the Patriots and has collected nine shutouts on the year.

Where in the CAA?... As a team, Mason is tied for first in the Colonial Athletic Association in overall games in goals allowed (8), is second in goals against average (0.56) and is tied for first in shutouts (0.64).

About the Competition...

Heading into this weekend's competition, VCU is on a five-game losing streak with the Rams last win coming on Sept. 29 at Delaware (3-2).

JMU has also not won since Sept. 29 as the Dukes have gone 0-3-2 the past five games with the last win coming by a score of 3-0 at Drexel.