Men's Soccer | 10/27/2017 7:55:00 AM

FAIRFAX, Va. – The best team in the conference comes to town as the George Mason men's soccer team closes out its home schedule.

The Patriots host Atlantic 10 frontrunner Massachusetts at 7 p.m. on Saturday at George Mason Stadium for Senior Night. The matchup is also the Game of the Week as Mason students with a valid Mason student ID will receive free head ties (while supplies last).

The team will honor its six seniors before the game: defender Dan Casey, forward and co-captain Henning Dirks, midfielder and co-captain David Galdo, defender Noah Kemble, midfielder Conlan Kemmerer and defender and co-captain Alain Sargeant. Collectively, the group has combined to play in 281 games and make 190 starts over the last five years.

UMass (11-2-3, 5-0-1) currently leads the league with 16 points. The Minutemen ride a 10-game unbeaten streak (eight wins and two ties) into the match. They have won three straight and last lost on Sept. 12, a 1-0 setback at Dartmouth.

They are led by freshman Davis Smith, who is tied with Mason's Dirks for the most goals in the A-10 with eight. Massachusetts is led by third-year coach Fran O'Leary, who was the head coach of the Patriots from 2001-04.

Despite being in the same conference the last five years, this is just the third meeting all-time between the teams. The series is tied 1-1 but the teams have met only once in the last 31 years. That came in 2013 when Mason won its first game as a member of the Atlantic 10, a 2-1 decision in Fairfax.

The Patriots (5-7-2, 0-5-1) are still looking for their first conference win this season and are trying to snap a six-game winless streak. They are coming off a 1-0 loss at St. Bonaventure last Saturday.