MEN'S SOCCER at Bucknell
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 8 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Lewisburg, Pa. | Holmes Stadium
SERIES RECORD: Bucknell leads, 1-0-1
LAST MEETING: The Patriots and Bison played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Sept. 24, 2019 at George Mason Stadium.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team is on the road to take on Bucknell on Friday with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at Holmes Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
Mason (0-2-1) and Bucknell (1-2-0) have met just two times, with the Bison leading the all-time series, 1-0-1.
 
In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Patriots scored the first goal of the match in the 17th minute and the Bison netted the equalizer in the 75th minute in a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Sept. 24, 2019 at George Mason Stadium. 

The Bison outshot the Patriots, 14-7, including a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.  Bucknell finished with seven corner kicks while Mason had four corner kicks in the match.
 
Last time out, the Patriots and Old Dominion played to a 2-2 draw on Monday evening at George Mason Stadium.  Junior forward Souley Diouf scored the equalizer in the 57th minute for his first goal in a Mason uniform.  Sophomore defender Levi Stephens picked up his first assist as a Patriot on the play.
 
Senior midfielder Henry Wachsman netted his team-leading second goal of the season in the 22nd minute, with Diouf picking up his first Mason assist.
 
Mason junior goalkeeper Jaume Salvado made seven saves, four in the second half, against the Monarchs.
 
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 are back on the road to battle Bucknell (Sept. 8) in Lewisburg, Pa. and then face Navy (Sept. 11) at George Mason Stadium.
 
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 BUCKNELL
 
Bucknell has a record of 1-2-0 after its first three matches of the season.  The Bison are 0-1-0 at home and 1-1-0 on the road.
 
Last time, the Bison dropped their home opener, 3-2, to Robert Morris last Friday at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium.  The Colonials converted on all three of their shots on goal in the first half, with goals in the 17th, 25th and 37th minute of play.
 
Bucknell sophomore forward Charlie Holmes scored his second goal of the season in the 32nd minute and sophomore defender Ben Sheffield netted his first NCAA goal in the 52nd minute.
 
The Bison outshot the Colonials, 11-4 while both clubs recorded three shots on goal.  Bucknell had eight corner kicks and Robert Morris had six corner kicks in the match.
 
Bucknell began the season with a 2-1 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Aug. 24 at Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Md.  The Bison were then blanked 2-0 by West Virginia on Aug. 28 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.
 
Holmes leads the Bison in goals (2), points (4), shots (4) and shots on goal (3).  Sophomore defender Aiden Kieffer and Sheffield are second on the club in goals (1) and points (2).
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth (0-2-0) has started the last two matches for the Bison with a 2.50 goals against average and .500 save percentage.  He has made five saves and allowed five goals against.
 
Junior goalkeeper Jake Nicoll (1-0-0) recorded a victory in the season-opener against Mount St. Mary's.  He made two saves and allowed one goal against the Mountaineers.
 
CORNER KICK
 
Mason has faced Bucknell only twice in program history.  In the last meeting, the Patriots and Bison played to 1-1 double-overtime draw on Sept. 24, 2019 at George Mason Stadium.
 
The Patriots fell to the Bison, 1-0, in overtime in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
 
Mason has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 11 times in program history.  The Patriots made the tournament for the first time in 1982 and after a bye in the first round, Mason defeated Virginia, 1-0, for the first-ever NCAA tournament win in program history.