MEN'S SOCCER at La Salle
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 30 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Philadelphia, Pa. | McCarthy Stadium
RECORDS: Mason (1-4-2, 0-2-0 A-10); La Salle (3-3-3, 0-0-2 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: La Salle leads, 4-3-4
LAST MEETING: The Patriots and Explorers played to a 0-0 draw Oct. 5, 2022 at George Mason Stadium.
WATCH ($): ESPN+
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team is back on the road to face La Salle on Saturday with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Mason (1-4-2, 0-2-0 A-10) and La Salle (3-3-3, 0-0-2 A-10) have met 11 times.  The Explorers lead the all-time series, 4-3-4.  Eight of the 11 meetings between the two teams have been played at George Mason Stadium.  The Patriots are 1-1-1 on the road against the Explorers. 
 
Each of the last three meetings between the two teams have been played in Fairfax.  The last match that Mason played at La Salle the Patriots blanked the Explorers, 3-0, on Oct. 10, 2018.
 
In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Patriots and Explorers played to a 0-0 draw on Oct. 5, 2022 at George Mason Stadium.  La Salle outshot Mason, 9-8, while the Patriots finished with a 4-3 edge in shots on goal in the match.
 
Last time out, the Patriots fell 2-0 at St. Bonaventure last Saturday at the Marra Athletics Field Complex in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
 
Mason junior goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (1-4-2, 0-2-0 A-10) made three saves in the match against the Bonnies.
 
Junior forward Souley Diouf leads the club in goals (3), points (7), shots (11) and shots on goal (6) in seven games with six starts.
 
Graduate student midfielder Luis Maestre leads the team and ranks tied for second in the Atlantic 10 in assists (5) in seven starts.
 
Senior midfielder Henry Wachsman is second on the club in goals (2), third in points (4) and tied for second in shots on goal (4) in seven starts.
 
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 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 LA SALLE
 
La Salle has a record of 3-3-3 including a mark of 0-0-2 against Atlantic 10 opponents. The Explorers are 2-1-1 at home and 1-1-2 on the road.
 
Last time out, the Explorers played to a 0-0 draw at Rhode Island last Saturday in Kingston, R.I.
 
The Rams outshot the Explorers, 14-4, while each team registered three shots on goal.  Rhode Island had 12 corners kicks and La Salle had two corner kicks in the match.
 
La Salle went 3-0-1 in its first four matches of the season.  The Explorers began the campaign with a 3-3 draw at Stonehill in Easton, Mass. (Aug. 24). 
 
La Salle then recorded three straight clean sheets.  The Explorers defeated Army, 1-0, in their home opener (Aug. 28), then blanked Manhattan, 2-0, in Riverdale, N.Y. (Sept. 1) and shutout Lehigh, 1-0, at McCarthy Stadium (Sept. 5).
 
La Salle is winless in its last five matches with a record of 0-3-2.  The Explorers fell 3-0 at home to Quinnipiac (Sept. 9), dropped a 3-2 decision at NJIT in Newark, N.J. (Sept. 12) and played to a 1-1 draw at home against Saint Joseph's in the A-10 opener (Sept. 16).
 
The Explorers have played their last two matches on the road, with a 3-1 loss at Rider in Lawrenceville, N.J. (Sept. 19) and a 0-0 draw at Rhode Island (Sept. 23).
 
Freshman midfielder Yuval Nimrodi is tied for the team lead in goals (3) and points (12) in eight games with six starts.  He paces the Explorers in shots (12) and shots on goal (4).
 
Sophomore defender Americo Pereira is tied for first on the team in goals (3) and points (12) in seven starts.  Senior midfielder Omri Ezra is second on the club in goals (2) and points (4).
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Filip Sabatti (3-3-1, 630 minutes) has started each of the last seven games for the Explorers with a 1.43 goals against average and .730 save percentage.  He has made 27 saves and allowed 10 goals against.
 
Randy Burkhardt (0-0-1, 90 minutes) started the season-opener against Stonehill on Aug. 24.  He made one save and allowed three goals against in a 3-3 draw.
 
CORNER KICK
 
The Patriots and Explorers have faced each other 11 times, with La Salle leading the all-time series, 4-3-4.
 
Mason is 1-3-3 against La Salle since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2013.
 
The Patriots and Explorers met for the first time in 1999, with Mason recording a 2-1 overtime victory on Sept. 18, 1999 in Fairfax.