MEN'S SOCCER vs. UMBC
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 24 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 8-6-1
LAST MEETING: The Retrievers defeated the Patriots, 2-0, on Sept. 26, 2015 at Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Md.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team hosts UMBC on Thursday in the season opener with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.
 
Mason and UMBC have met 15 times, with the Patriots holding an 8-6-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
In the last meeting between the two clubs, UMBC scored in the 10th minute and 52nd minute to earn a 2-0 victory over Mason on September 26, 2015 at Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Md.
 
The Retrievers outshot the Patriots, 14-7, including a 10-1 advantage in shots on 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 Caroliona, '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 will 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 kick off the regular season at home against UMBC (Aug. 24) and play the first road match against Virginia (Aug. 31) in Charlottesville.
 
Mason returns home to take on Old Dominion (Sept. 4) before playing two straight on the road.  The Patriots battle Bucknell (Sept. 8) in Lewisburg, Pa. and then face Navy (Sept. 11) in a neutral site match that will be played in Germantown, Md.
 
The Patriots play their first Atlantic 10 match of the season when they host Davidson (Sept. 16).  Mason will then travel to play St. Bonaventure (Sept. 23) in Olean, N.Y.
 
Mason will then alternate road and home games over a six-match span from Sept. 30 through Oct. 21.
 
The Patriots wrap up the month of September on the road against La Salle (Sept. 30) in Philadelphia, Pa. before returning to George Mason Stadium to host Rhode Island (Oct. 4). 
 
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, Md. 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 UMBC
 
UMBC finished the 2022 season with a 10-6-2 overall record, including a mark of 4-3 in America East Conference (AEC) play.  The Retrievers went 8-2-0 at home and 2-4-2 on the road.
 
UMBC fell to fifth-seeded Binghamton, 3-2, in the AEC Quarterfinals held at Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Md.
 
The Retrieves scored 44 goals and surrenders 25 during the 2022 campaign.
 
Senior forward Taylor Calheira was second on the club last season in goals (11), assists (7) and points (29).  He led the Retrievers in both shots (70) and shots on goal (32).
 
Senior forward Alek Wroblewski was third on the team in goals (5), assists (4), points (14), shots (34) and shots on goal (17).
 
Starting goalkeeper Quantrell Jones graduated.  He started all 18 games last season with a 10-6-2 record and 1.38 goals against average.  Senior goalkeeper Brenden LeMaster returns for UMBC.  He appeared in one match last season.
 
Anthony Adams, who has been on the Retrievers staff for 27 years, was elevated to head coach last February.  He served as associate head coach the last 12 years.
 
CORNER KICK
 
Mason and UMBC met for the first time during the 1972 season.  The Patriots edged the Retrievers 3-2.