WOMEN'S SOCCER vs. East Tennessee State University
WHEN:  Friday, Sept. 15, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium | Weather
RECORDS:  Mason (1-6-0, 0-0-0 A-10); ETSU (2-5-0, 0-0-0 Southern Conference)
SERIES RECORD:  Mason leads, 1-0-0
LAST MEETING:  The Patriots defeated the Buccaneers 3-1 on Sept. 18, 2005 in Fairfax, Va.
COVERAGE:  A-10 Network ($) | Live stats

WOMEN'S SOCCER vs. Penn
WHEN:  Sunday, Sept. 17, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium | Weather
RECORDS:  Mason (1-6-0, 0-0-0 A-10), Penn (1-4-2, 0-0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD:  All-time series tied, 4-4-0
LAST MEETING:  Mason defeated Penn 3-2 on Sept. 18, 2011 in Fairfax, Va.
COVERAGE:  A-10 Network ($) | Live stats

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's soccer team begins a three-game homestand, hosting East Tennessee State University on Friday with the kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.  The Patriots will then welcome Penn at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Mason (1-6-0) earned a 2-1 win at Towson last time out when senior forward Erin Mitchell scored the game-winner with just three seconds remaining in double overtime, lifting the Patriots to their first victory of the season. 

"I'm happy for the players and I thought we played just as well Sunday as we did against Maryland and Rutgers, the main difference was we found a way to win" Mason head coach Todd Bramble said.  "With the rate of chances that we are creating, we should be able to convert more of the chances.  That's something that has been a point of emphasis for us in our training this week."

Junior Emily Littell scored her first goal of the season, converting on a penalty kick in the 56th minute of play.  Littell, who leads the team in assists (2) and points (4), also set up the game-winning tally to finish with a goal and an assist in the contest.

"Emily is a key cog in the machine for us, there's no doubt about it," Bramble said.  "On the field, she is someone that we want to have around the ball as much as possible.  She's a really sound player and composed under pressure."

Mason will enjoy a three-game homestand for the second time this season.  ETSU is 0-3-0 on the road this season and has been outscored by a combined score of 13-3 away from home.

"It's a chance for us to build a little bit of momentum," Bramble said.  "You have momentum that you can build in games and you have momentum that you can generate as part of your season schedule.  Anytime you play at home, you feel like you have a little bit of an advantage and we want to try to capitalize on that." 

Mason and ETSU will be meeting for just the second time.  The Patriots last played the Buccaneers nearly 12 years ago, defeating ETSU 3-1 on Sept. 18, 2005 at George Mason Stadium.

"We talk a lot about the importance of not focusing on our opponent, but just focusing on ourselves," said Bramble.  "Every time out we want to play the best that we can possibly play because that's what we can control.  We feel confident enough with the players we have here that if we do that every time out, we're going to win more games than we're going to lose throughout the course of the season."

SCOUTING ETSU

The Buccaneers finished the 2016 season with a 13-6-2 overall record and posted a 6-2-1 mark in the Southern Conference.  ETSU went 10-1-0 at home and 3-5-2 on the road during the 2016 campaign.

ETSU advanced to the Southern Conference title match last season as the second seed, but fell 2-1 to Samford.

The Buccaneers (2-5-0) lost their third straight game on Tuesday, falling 3-1 at Eastern Kentucky.  ETSU dropped a 4-1 decision at Radford on Sept. 5 and fell 3-1 to Virginia Tech on Sept. 7.

Junior forward Eleonora Goldoni leads the Buccaneers in goals (6) and points (14).  She netted ETSU's lone goal against Eastern Kentucky.  Goldoni ranked eighth in the nation in goals and 14th in points after Tuesday's game.

The Buccaneers will be without their second-leading scorer, junior Pauline Vienne, who will be playing for the Swiss National Team in their World Cup Qualifiers.  She is second on the team in goals (4) and leads the squad in assists (3).

"We have a lot of respect for East Tennessee State," Bramble said of the matchup with the Buccaneers.  "We know the quality of the players they have on their squad and we certainly know that they have a really good coaching staff and they'll be well-prepared."

SCOUTING PENN

Penn finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 9-3-5 and went 2-2-3 against Ivy League opponents.  The Quakers finished 4-3-2 at home and 5-0-3 on the road last season.

Penn (1-4-2) earned their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Delaware on Monday.  Senior midfielder Erica Higa scored 54 seconds into the match to record Penn's fastest goal since 2004 and the fifth-fastest in program history.

Penn plays at Drexel at 7 p.m. on Thursday before the matchup against Mason this weekend.

Higa has scored both of Penn's goals through the first six games of the season.  Sophomore goaltender Kitty Qu has allowed only three goals while posting a 0.61 goals against average over five games played.

"Most of the time when we play on a Sunday, the opponent is in the exact same situation that we are," Bramble said.  "We have a deep team this year, where we feel confident that any of the reserves that come into the game for us are going to be able to contribute."

CORNER KICK

Mason has faced ETSU and Penn in back-to-back games one other time in program history.  The Patriots defeated the Buccaneers 3-1 on Sept. 18, 2005 at George Mason Stadium and dropped a 2-1 decision at Penn on Sept. 21, 2005.