MEN'S SOCCER at Virginia
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 31 | 8 p.m.
WHERE: Charlottesville, Va. | Klöckner Stadium
SERIES RECORD: Virginia leads, 20-8-3
LAST MEETING: The Cavaliers defeated the Patriots, 3-0, on March 2, 2021 at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
WATCH ($): ESPN+
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team plays its first road match of the season against Virginia with the opening kick scheduled for 8 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
 
Mason (0-1-0) and Virginia (1-1-0) have met 31 times, with the Cavaliers holding a 20-8-3 advantage in the all-time series.
 
In the last meeting between the two clubs, Virginia scored three goals in the first half to earn a 3-0 victory over Mason on March 2, 2021, at Klöckner Stadium.
 
The Cavaliers outshot the Patriots, 11-10, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.  Virginia finished with seven corner kicks while Mason had five in the match.
 
The Patriots fell to UMBC, 4-3, in their season opener last Thursday at George Mason Stadium.  Sophomore midfielders Henry Wachsman and Nicolas Prioli along with freshman forward Abdul Kamara each scored for the Patriots.  Graduate student midfielder Luis Maestre had three assists in the match.
 
Freshmen midfielders Brent Fields and Giovanni Sanna-Lenzi, defender David Garcia and forward Davis Crittenden and Kamara each made their NCAA debut.
 
Graduate student midfielder Luis Maestre, sophomore defender Levi Stephens and midfielders Erick Kilosho and Asparuh Slavov, junior defender Javi Sanchez, forward Souley Diouf and goalkeeper Jaume Salvado each made their Mason debut in the match.
 
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 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 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 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 VIRGINIA
 
Virginia finished the 2023 season with a 10-4-5 overall record, including a mark of 5-1-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play.  The Cavaliers went 7-3-3 at home and 3-0-2 on the road.
 
In the 2022 ACC Tournament, Virginia defeated Pittsburgh, 1-0, in the quarterfinal.  In the semifinal, the Cavaliers and Syracuse played to a 2-2 draw after three overtime periods.  The Orangeman advanced with a 5-3 victory on penalty kicks.
 
Virginia entered the 2022 NCAA Tournament ranked No. 11 in the nation and faced No. 9 Marshall in the opening round on Nov. 20, 2022 at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.   With the match even 1-1 after three overtime periods, the Thundering Herd won the game 5-3 on penalty kicks.
 
The Cavaliers (1-1-0) are beginning the 2023 season with a four-game homestand.  Virginia won its first match of the new campaign 1-0 over Iona on Aug. 24 in the season opener.
 
Last time out, the Cavaliers fell to Loyola Marymount, 3-1, this past Sunday.  The Lions outshot the Cavaliers, 17-11, including a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.

Senior forwards Leo Afonso and Daniel Mangarov have each tallied one goal over the first two matches.
 
Senior goalkeeper Holden Brown (1-0-0) and junior goalkeeper Joey Batrouni (0-1-0) have each started one game for the Cavaliers.
 
CORNER KICK
 
Mason made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1982.  After a first-round bye, the Patriots defeated Virginia, 1-0, at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.