MEN'S SOCCER at American
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 | 4 p.m.
WHERE: Washington, D.C. | Reeves Field
RECORDS: Mason (0-1-0); American (1-0-1)
SERIES RECORD: All-time series tied, 21-21-5
LAST MEETING:  The Eagles defeated the Patriots, 1-0, on Sept. 28, 2021 at George Mason Stadium.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team travels to face American on Friday, with the opening kick scheduled for 4 p.m. at Reeves Field in Washington, D.C.
 
In the season opener, the Patriots (0-1-0) fell to Old Dominion, 1-0, last Friday at the ODU Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Va.  The Monarchs netted the lone goal of the match in the 66th minute of play.

Mason senior goalkeeper Jake Langley (0-1-0) made five saves, including four in the second half in his Patriots debut.  Mason graduate students Ariel Aguas and Noah Raphael each made their debut in a Mason uniform, while freshmen Eric Allen, Will Carson, Zach Eichelberger, Nathan Montini, Nicholas Prioli and Christian Xantus each made their collegiate debut. 

When Mason faces American on Friday, it will be 48th all-time meeting between the two schools, the most in program history against an opponent. 

The Patriots have recorded 21 victories against the Eagles, tied for fourth-most wins against an opponent in program history.  Mason has the most wins in program history against George Washington (27), Richmond (25) and UNC-Wilmington (22).

Mason and American met last season, with the Eagles posting a 1-0 victory on Sept. 28, 2021 at George Mason Stadium.  The Eagles scored the lone goal of the match in the sixth minute of play. 
 
The Patriots played a man up for the final 13 minutes of the match after a red card was issued to American forward Jerry Zouantcha.
 
The Eagles outshot the Patriots 7-5, while the Patriots finished with a 3-2 edge in shots on goal.  American finished with 10 corner kicks, while Mason had two corner kicks in the match.

This season, the Patriots are scheduled to play 15 regular season games, a slate that includes two matches against NCAA Tournament teams.  Mason will play seven home games, three against non-conference opponents and four against Atlantic 10 rivals.
 
Mason will host Penn State in the home opener on Monday, Sept. 5, with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium. 

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
The Patriots have 20 returners and 13 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under first-year head coach Rich Costanzo (Maryland, '08).

Assistant coaches Noel Orozco (St. Bonaventure, '17) and Michael Callahan (North Carolina, '08) each enter their first year with the Patriots.

Returning seniors from last year's squad are forward Kent Harrison (Newcastle, Australia), midfielder Cameron Revels (Clover, S.C.) and defender Jonathan Fawole (Columbia, Md.).  Returning juniors are forwards Nicolas Alt (Basel, Switzerland) and Ishmail Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.), midfielders Louis Lehr (Dielheim, Germany) and Henry Wachsman (Barrington, Ill.), along with defender Noah McGrath (Melbourne, Australia).

Mason has 11 sophomores on the roster with forwards Balint Kocso (Munich, Germany), Michael Medina (Central Islip, N.Y.), midfielders Jose Alvarado (Alexandria, Va.), and Darri Palsson (Kópavogur, Iceland), defenders Valentin Brandis (Hamburg, Germany), Marcel Cole (Mosley, Va.), Linus Dahl (Königstein im Taunus, Germany), Ahmed Mohamed (Cairo, Egypt), Joshua Morrobel (Burke, Va.) and goalkeepers Matthew Bauer (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Billy Schutze (Wayne, N.J.).

The Patriots added two graduate students, forward Noah Raphael (Calvert County, Md.) and midfielder Ariel Aguas (Quito, Ecuador), in addition to senior goalkeeper Jake Langley (Villanova, Pa.).

The Patriots have 11 freshman on the roster with midfielders Zach Eichelberger (Baltimore, Md.), Zach Golden and Nicholas Prioli (Houston, Texas), defenders Eric Allen (Columbia, Md.), Jaden Berman (Winchester, Va.), Will Carson (Wheeling, W.Va.), Chase Hutson (Fairfax, Va.), Nathan Montini (Braselton, Ga.), Kunandy Ouattara (Alexandria, Va.) and Christian Xantus (Woodbridge, Va.) and goalkeeper Jack Desroches (Virginia Beach, Va.).

The Green and Gold kick off the season at Old Dominion on (Aug. 26) and American (Sept. 2) in the first two games of seven non-conference matches.

Mason will then play three straight games at George Mason Stadium, the longest homestand of the season.  The Patriots host Penn State (Sept. 5) in the home opener, welcome Radford (Sept.10) and play their first conference match of the season against St. Bonaventure (Sept. 17).
 
Mason plays seven games in September, with four on the road and three at home. 

The Patriots will play a season-high four straight matches on the road from Sept. 20 through Oct. 1, alternating non-conference and league games. 

The Patriots make the trek to take on Wake Forest (Sept. 20), play their first A-10 road game against Davidson (Sept. 24), visit William & Mary (Sept. 27) and travel to Dayton (Oct. 1).

The match against the Flyers is the first of seven that the Patriots will play in October, with four at home and three on the road.

Mason returns to Fairfax to continue league play against La Salle (Oct. 5) and Duquesne (Oct. 8).  After an A-10 road matchup at Rhode Island (Oct. 15), the Patriots are back home for a non-conference game against UNCW (Oct. 18).  Rhode Island finished second in the A-10 last season with a 5-2-1 record and went 10-5-2 overall.

The Patriots travel to face in-state rival VCU (Oct. 22) and conclude the regular season at home against the George Washington Colonials (Oct. 29) in a Revolutionary Rivalry contest.

SCOUTING AMERICAN

The Eagles finished the 2021 season with a 9-5-4 overall record, including a mark of 6-2-1 against Patriot League opponents.  American went 6-1-2 at home and 3-4-2 on the road last season.

Forward David Coly graduated after leading the club in goals (8), assists (5), points (21), shots (36) and shots on goal (18) in 16 games played with 14 starts.  Ethan Boyle returns after tying for second on the team in goals (3) and finishing third in assists (4) in 18 games played with 17 starts his sophomore year.

Last season, goalkeeper Dominic Dominguez started 11 games (7-2-0, 1.15 GAA), while Lorenzo Gordon (2-3-4, 1.38) played nine games with seven starts for the Eagles a year ago.

American is 1-0-1 to start the 2022 campaign and has yet to surrender a goal.  The Eagles played to a 0-0 draw in the season opener at Reeves Field against UNC-Wilmington on Aug. 26 and then blanked Old Dominion on the road, 1-0, at the ODU Soccer Complex last Sunday.

Junior goalkeeper Lorenzo Gordon (1-0-1, 180 MIN) has stopped all eight shots that he has faced over two matches to record consecutive shutouts.

CORNER KICK
 
When Mason faces American on Friday, it will be the 48th all-time meeting between the two schools, the most games against an opponent in program history.

The Patriots faced the Eagles for the first time during the 1968 season.

The 10 opponents that the Patriots have faced the most all-time are American (48), William & Mary (47), George Washington (47), James Madison (42), Old Dominion (39), VCU (38), Richmond (35), UNC Wilmington (31), Virginia (31) and Towson (26).