MEN'S SOCCER at Saint Joseph's
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 | 5 p.m.
WHERE: Philadelphia, Pa. | Sweeney Field
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 3-2-2
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Hawks, 4-3, on Oct. 17, 2018 at George Mason Stadium.
TV ($): ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Click here
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team opens Atlantic 10 Conference play on the road against Saint Joseph's on Friday, with the opening kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. at Sweeney Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Last time out, Mason (1-3-1) fell to Old Dominion, 2-1, on Tuesday at George Mason Stadium.
 
Sophomore midfielder Louis Lehr scored the lone goal of the match for the Patriots when he converted on a penalty kick in the 89th minute of play. 
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Lee (1-3-1, 1.44 GAA) made three saves before leaving the match in the 77th minute, while classmate William Schutze played the final 13 minutes in his Mason debut.
 
Mason and Saint Joseph's have met seven times, with six of the contests in A-10 play.  The Patriots are 2-0-1 at home and 1-1-1 on the road against the Hawks.
 
In the last meeting between the two teams, the Patriots won a high-scoring affair over the Hawks, 4-3, on Oct. 17, 2018 at George Mason Stadium. 
 
Mason played six league games in the spring 2021 season, with home-and-home matches in the COVID-19 shortened campaign against Davison, George Washington and VCU.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
The Patriots have 12 returners and 19 newcomers on the roster under second-year head coach Elmar Bolowich.
 
Returning for the Patriots are senior defender Jakob Rylander, along with junior forward Kent Harrison and defender Jonathan Fawole.  Mason has nine sophomores on the roster with goalkeeper Jackson Lee, defender Noah McGrath, midfielders Daniel Chica, Evan Pedraza, Christopher Schray and Henry Wachsman, and forwards Nicolas Alt, Ishmail Kamara and Louis Lehr.
 
The newcomers include 14 freshmen.  Forwards Balint Kocso, Ryan Mahon and Darri Palsson, and midfielders Jose Alvarado, Luciano Covella, Linus Dahl and Michael Medina.
 
Rookie defenders Jaden Berman, Valentin Brandis, Marcel Cole, Ahmed Mohamed and Josh Morrobel will join the back line in front of freshmen goalkeepers Matthew Bauer and Jake Lee.  
 
The Patriots added graduate student defender Kennedy Davis and forward Miles Montgomery, in addition to junior midfielder Cameron Revels, sophomore goalkeeper William Schutze and sophomore midfielder Mike Oropeza.
 
Mason played two games in August, is in the middle of seven games in September, and will play seven matches in October. 
 
The eight-game Atlantic 10 schedule includes road contests against Saint Joseph's (Sept. 17), Saint Louis (Sept. 25), Fordham (Oct. 9) and George Washington (Oct. 20).  The Patriots will host St. Bonaventure (Oct. 6), VCU (Oct. 16), Davidson (Oct. 23) and La Salle (Oct. 30) in A-10 play.
 
Admission is free for all Patriots' men's soccer home games played at George Mason Stadium.
 
SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S
 
The Hawks have an overall record of 1-5-0, including a mark of 0-2-0 at home and 1-3-0 on the road.
 
Last time out, Saint Joseph's fell to Rutgers, 2-1, at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.  The Hawks out shot the Scarlet Knights, 14-13, while Rutgers finished with an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.  Senior midfielder Alex Hood put the Hawks on the board with his first goal of the season in the 88th minute of play.
 
Saint Joseph's returns home after playing its last four games on the road. 
 
The Hawks began the season with two home matches, falling to Marist (Aug. 26) and LIU (Aug. 29) by identical 1-0 scores.
 
Saint Joseph's has scored five goals this season, with five different players finding the back of the net.  The Hawks have yet to score a goal at home through two games.
 
Graduate student forward Matias Mancini leads the club in shots (11) and is second in shots on goal (4).  Graduate student midfielder Alvin Dahn paces the team in shots on goal (5) and in second in shots taken (10).
 
Freshman goalkeeper Lars Haavie (0-3-0, 1.74 GAA) has started three games, while sophomore goalkeeper Luis Ludosan (0-2-0, 2.00) has started two games for the Hawks.
 
CORNER KICK
 
Mason joined the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the start of the 2013 season and faced Saint Joseph's in the first round of the A-10 Tournament on Nov. 14, 2013 at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.
 
The second-seeded Patriots and seventh-seeded Hawks remained scoreless after 110 minutes of play.  Mason won the match, 4-2, in a penalty kick shootout.
 
Mason went on to defeat VCU, 3-2, in the semifinals, and blanked Saint Louis, 1-0, to claim the Atlantic 10 Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.