Aug. 23, 2006

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's men's soccer team will open up its 2006 campaign this Friday, Aug. 26 with a non-conference match-up against Monmouth at George Mason Stadium with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. This contest is the featured `Broadside Game of the Week' and Mason students with a valid student ID will receive free hot dogs and hamburgers.

Mason leads the overall series against Monmouth, 1-0-0, as the Patriots defeated the Hawks on Sept. 27, 1998 by a score of 6-2 on a neutral site. Since 1985, Mason holds a 15-2-4 overall record in home openers, which includes a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia on Sept. 4, 2005 in head coach Greg Andrulis' first year with the Patriot program.

In preseason action, the Patriots collected a 2-0-1 record as Mason defeated Navy, 3-0, and Loyola (Md.), 1-0, both of which were at George Mason Stadium. In addition, Mason tied UMBC by a score of 2-2 in Baltimore.

Mason returns 13 players from last year's squad, five of whom were starters, and add 16 new faces to the 2006 roster. The five starters returning from 2005 are senior defender Jacob Weitz (Lovettsville, Va.), junior Brian Barry-Austin (D; South Orange, N.J.), sophomore midfielder Jonathan Borrajo (Clifton, N.J.), midfielder Josh Fleming (Sr.; Fairfax, Va.) and senior Francis McCardle (MF; Fairfax, Va.). Two of the 16 newcomers on the squard are freshmen Richard Edgar (MF; Mechanicsville, Md.) and goalkeeper Sean Kelley (Lexington, Ky.), both of whom were named as "Top 100 Freshman to Keey an Eye On in 2006."

The next time the Patriots play at George Mason Stadium is Sept. 22 against Northeastern (7 p.m.) as Mason plays its next five contests on the road, including a Sept. 1 match-up at Virginia (7 p.m.).