MEN'S SOCCER at Duquesne
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 7 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Pittsburgh, Pa. | Rooney Field
RECORDS: Mason (2-5-2, 1-3-0 A-10); Duquesne (5-3-2, 2-1-1 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: Duquesne leads, 4-0-2
LAST MEETING: The Dukes defeated the Patriots, 1-0, on Oct. 8, 2022 at George Mason Stadium.
LIVE STATS: Click here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team is back on the road to take on Duquesne on Saturday with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rooney Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
Mason (2-5-2, 1-3-0 A-10) and Duquesne (5-3-2, 2-1-1 A-10) have met six times.  The Dukes lead the all-time series, 4-0-2.  The Patriots have played to a pair of draws in their two previous visits to Pittsburgh (1-1 on Nov. 8, 2013 and 2-2 on Oct. 19, 2016).
 
In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Dukes downed the Patriots, 1-0, on Oct. 8, 2022 at George Mason Stadium.
 
Duquesne outshot Mason, 15-8, including a 8-4 advantage in shots on goal in the match.  The Patriots registered all four of their shots on goal in the second half.
 
Last time out, the Patriots defeated Rhode Island, 4-2, on Wednesday at George Mason Stadium. 
 
Sophomore midfielder Asparuh Slavov netted a pair of goals in a span of six minutes, including a penalty kick for the eventual game-winner, in the second half.
 
Junior forward Souley Diouf scored his fourth goal of the season when he converted a penalty kick in the 11th minute.  Graduate student midfielder Luis Maestre tallied his first goal as a Patriot in the 74th minute. 
 
Mason junior goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (2-5-2, 1-3-0 A-10) made five saves in the match against the Rams.
 
Diouf leads the club in goals (4), points (9) and shots (14) and is tied for first in shots on goal (7) in nine games with eight starts.
 
Slavov is second on the team in goals (3) and tied for second in points (7) in seven starts.  He is second on the club in shots (12) and tied for first in shots on goal (7).
 
Maestre leads the team and is tied for second in the Atlantic 10 in assists (5) and is tied for second on the club in points (7) in nine starts.
 
Senior midfielder Henry Wachsman is third on the club in goals (2), points (4), shots (8) and shots on goal (4) in nine starts.
 
Sophomore midfielders Nicholas Prioli (8 games/3 starts), freshman forwards Davis Crittenden (8 games) and Abdul Kamara (5 games) and freshman defender Kelly Janssen (7 games/2 starts) have each recorded one goal.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
The Patriots have 12 returners and 17 newcomers on the roster heading into the 2023 season under second-year head coach Rich Costanzo (Maryland, '08).
 
Assistant coaches Noel Orozco (St. Bonaventure, '17) and Michael Callahan (North Carolina, '08) also enter their second year with the Patriots.
 
Returning from last year's squad is graduate student goalkeeper Jake Langley (Villanova, Pa.).  Returning seniors include forward Ishmail Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.), defender Noah McGrath (Melbourne, Australia) and midfielders Cameron Revels (Clover, S.C.) and Henry Wachsman (Barrington, Ill.)
 
Returning juniors are defender Ahmed Mohamed (Cairo, Egypt) and midfielder Zach Golden (Morlboro, N.J.).
 
Mason has four returning sophomores on the roster with defenders Eric Allen (Columbia, Md.), Will Carson (Wheeling, W. Va.) and Joshua Morrobel (Burke, Va.) and midfielder Nicholas Prioli (Houston, Texas).  Goalkeeper Jack Desroches (Virginia Beach, Va.) returns for his redshirt-freshman campaign.
 
The Patriots added eight transfers during the offseason including graduate student midfielder Luis Maestre (Elche, Spain).  Three juniors made their way to Mason, with forward Souley Diouf (Thies, Senegal), defender Javi Sanchez (Elche, Spain) and goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (Barcelona, Spain) set for their first year with the Green and Gold.
 
The Patriots have four sophomore transfers with defender Levi Stephens (Akron, Ohio), forward Gabriel Silveira (Concordia, Brazil) and midfielders Erick Kilosho (Roanoke, Va.) and Asparuh Slavov (Easton, Pa.).
 
Eight freshmen enter their first year with the Patriots.  Defenders David Garcia (Woodbridge, Va.) and Kelly Janssen (Sebastopol, Calif.), midfielders James Eliuda (Juba, South Sudan), Brent Fields (Alexandria, Va.) and Anton Siren (Berlin, Germany), forwards Abdul Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.) and Davis Crittenden (Newport News, Va.) along with goalkeeper Blake Moness (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
 
PATRIOTS SCHEDULE
 
The Patriots are scheduled to play 15 regular season games, a slate that includes eight matches against Atlantic 10 opponents and six games at George Mason Stadium.
 
Head coach Rich Costanzo begins his second season after being named the Patriots' 11th men's soccer coach in program history last year.
 
The Green and Gold kicked off the regular season at home against UMBC on Aug. 24 (4-3 Retrievers) and played the first road match against Virginia on Aug. 31 (1-0 Cavaliers). Charlottesville.
 
Mason returned home to take on Old Dominion on Sept. 24 (2-2 draw).  The Patriots traveled to battle Bucknell on Sept. 8 (0-0 draw) in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
The Patriots downed Navy, 4-0, for their first victory of the season on Sept. 11 at George Mason Stadium.
 
Mason dropped its Atlantic 10 Conference opener to Davidson on Sept. 16 (2-0 Wildcats) and fell at St. Bonaventure on Sept. 23 in the first A-10 road match of the season (2-0 Bonnies).
 
Mason will then alternate road and home games over a six-match span from Sept. 30 through Oct. 21.
 
The Patriots wrapped up the month of September on the road against La Salle on Sept. 30 (2-1 Explorers) in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
The Patriots posted their first conference victory of the season at home against Rhode Island on Oct. 4 (4-2 Patriots). 
 
The match against the Rams is the first of seven that the Patriots will play in October, with three at home and four on the road in the month.
 
Mason makes the trek to take on Duquesne (Oct. 7) in Pittsburgh, Pa. and then returns home for a clash against Dayton (Oct. 14).
 
The Patriots travel to face Radford (Oct. 17) in a non-conference matchup before returning to league play at home against in-state rival VCU (Oct. 21).
 
The Patriots will play their final two matches of the regular season on the road against Delaware (Oct. 24) and George Washington (Oct. 28).
 
Prior to the start of the regular season, Mason played two exhibition games.  The Patriots traveled to Loyola on Aug. 12 (3-1 Greyhounds) and hosted Mount St. Mary's on Aug. 19 (3-0 Patriots).
 
Campus sites will host the Atlantic 10 tournament, with the first round scheduled for Nov. 5 and the final slated for Nov. 13.
 
SCOUTING DUQUENSE
 
Duquesne has a record of 5-3-2 including a mark of 2-1-1 against Atlantic 10 opponents. The Dukes are 2-1-1 at home, 2-2-1 on the road and 1-0-0 at a neutral site.
 
Last time out, Rhode Duquesne fell at Davidson, 2-1, on Wednesday at Alumni Soccer Stadium in Davidson, N.C.  The Wildcats scored in the 17th and 25th minute, while Dukes junior forward Jayden Da tallied his sixth goal of the season in the 83rd minute.
 
The Wildcats outshot the Dukes, 17-10, including had a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.  Davidson had eight corner kicks and Duquesne finished with five corner kicks in the match.
 
Duquesne has notched its first conference win of the season against Massachusetts (1-0, Sept. 16) at Rooney Field.  The Dukes played to a 1-1 draw at Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 23) and earned a 2-1 road victory at Saint Joseph's (Sept. 30) in Philadelphia. 
 
Da is tied for the team lead in goals (6) and paces the Dukes in assists (3) and points (15) in 10 games with nine starts.  He is second on the team in both shots (19) and shots on goal (12).
 
Sophomore midfielder Ask Ekeland is tied for first on the club in goals (6) and is second in points (13) in 10 starts.  He leads the team in shots (27) and shots on goal (13).
 
Both Da and Ekeland are tied for third in the A-10 in goals (6), while Da is second in the league in points (15) and Ekeland ranks sixth (13)
 
Junior goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy (5-3-2, 900 minutes) has started all 10 matches with a 1.30 goals against average and .787 save percentage.  He ranks second in the A-10 with 48 saves and allowed 13 goals against. 
 
CORNER KICK
 
Duquesne is one of the Atlantic 10 teams that Mason has played the least since joining the league in 2013.
 
The Patriots are looking for their first win against the Dukes, who hold a 4-0-2 advantage in the six meetings between the two clubs.  Duquesne and Loyola-Chicago are the only current A-10 teams that Mason has not defeated.
 
Mason and Duquesne met for the first time 24 years ago, with the Dukes recording a 1-0 win at George Mason stadium on Sept. 3, 1999.