MEN'S SOCCER at VCU
WHEN: Saturday, November 2 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Richmond, Va. | Sports Backers Stadium
RECORDS: George Mason (12-3-0, 6-1-0 A-10); VCU (4-6-6, 1-4-2 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: VCU leads, 19-10-11
LAST MEETING: The Rams defeated the Patriots, 2-1, on Oct. 21, 2023 at George Mason Stadium.
WATCH ($): ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Click here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team plays its final match of the regular season on Saturday, traveling to face VCU with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va.
 
The Patriots are in first place in the Atlantic 10 with 18 points and receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Association poll.  George Mason has posted six regular season victories in conference play for the first time since joining the league in 2013.
 
George Mason (12-3-0, 6-1-0 A-10) and VCU (4-6-6, 1-4-2 A-10) will meet for the 40th time.  The Rams lead the all-time series, 19-10-11.
 
The Patriots are second in the A-10 in goals per match (2.2), third in goals scored (33) and tied for the third-fewest goals allowed (17).
 
The Patriots are 3-11-5 in 19 games played in Fairfax against the Rams and 7-8-6 in 21 games played in Richmond.
 
In the last meeting between the Patriots and Rams, defender Luis Maestre scored late in the second half (76th minute), but the Patriots fell to VCU, 2-1, on Oct. 21, 2023 at George Mason Stadium.
 
The two clubs played a scoreless first half before the Rams took the lead with a pair of goals in a span of three minutes (59th minute, 62nd minute) early in the second half.
 
The Patriots outshot the Rams, 17-8, while each team finished with four shots on goal.  George Mason finished earned nine corner kicks and VCU didn't have a corner kick in the match.
    
Last time out, sophomore forward Kelly Janssen scored a pair of goals in a span of just over two minutes in the second half in a 4-1 victory over St. Bonaventure on senior night last Saturday at George Mason Stadium.
 
Sophomore midfielder Javier Montava and graduate student defender Jordi Navio Sanchez each scored their first goal in a George Mason unform.
 
The Patriots scored four goals in just over eight minutes of play (57th, 59th, 63rd, 65th).
 
The Patriots won their first four matches in Atlantic 10 play for the first time since joining the conference in 2013.
 
The Patriots finished the regular season 7-1-0 at home, with victories over Delaware (4-2, Aug. 30), Bucknell (1-0, Sept. 3), Howard (4-3, Sept. 7), William & Mary (1-0, Sept. 24), George Washington (5-2, Sept. 28), Loyola Chicago (2-1, Oct. 9) and St. Bonaventure (Oct. 26).
 
George Mason is 5-2-0 on the road with wins at Navy (2-0, Aug.22), UNCW (1-0, Sept. 10), Massachusetts (2-1, Sept. 21), La Salle (2-1, Oct. 5) and Saint Joseph's (4-1, Oct. 19).
 
George Mason is one of only two Division I program to post 12 victories this season along with No. 3 Pittsburgh.  The Patriots have recorded 12 wins in a season for the first time since 2013.
 
The Patriots have scored the first goal in 10 of their 15 matches this season, including the first goal of the match in the first 28 minutes of play in nine games.
 
Graduate student forward Marek Gonda leads the club in goals (8), points (19) and game winners (3) in 14 games with 12 starts.  He is second on the team in shots on goal (16) and third in shots (30).  Gonda has converted both of his penalty kick attempts.
 
Among A-10 leaders, Gonda is tied for third in both goals (8) and game-winning goals (3), and is fourth in points (19).
 
Sophomore midfielder Quentin Clain is second on the team in goals (5) and points (14) and tied for second in assists (4) in 14 starts.  He paces the Patriots in shots (37) and shots on goal (18).
 
Among A-10 leaders, Clain is tied for fourth in the league in shots on goal (18) and ranks seventh in shots (37). 
 
Sophomore midfielder James Eliuda is tied for the team lead in assists (5), tied for third in both goals (2) and points (9) and fourth in shots (24) in 15 starts.
 
Freshman forward Martim Sereno is tied for first on the team in assists (5) and is tied for third in both goals (2) and points (9) in 15 games with 14 starts.  He is second on the club in shots (34) and tied for third in shots on goal (7).
 
Maestre is tied for first in assists (5) and tied for third in both goals (2) and points (9) in 14 games with 13 starts.
 
Graduate student defender Jordi Navio Sanchez is tied for second on the team in assists (4) and tied for third in goals (2) in 15 starts.
 
Graduate student goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (10-3-0, 4-1-0 A-10) has started 14 matches with a 1.14 GAA, .674 save percentage and four clean sheets.  He has made 31 saves and allowed 15 goals against (1187 minutes).
 
Redshirt sophomore goalkeepers Blake Moness (1-0-0, 1-0-0 A-10, 4 SV, 1.23 GAA) and Jack Desroches (1-0-0, 1-0-0 A-10, 1 SV, 1.00 GAA) have each posted their first collegiate victories this season.
 
SCOUTING VCU
 
VCU has a record of 4-6-6 on the season, including a mark of 1-4-2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.  The Rams are 3-2-2 at home, 1-4-3 on the road and 0-0-1 at a neutral site.
 
After posting a 4-1-2 record over their first seven games of the season, the Rams are 0-5-4 in their last nine matches.
 
Last time out, VCU fell on the road to No. 15 Dayton, 2-0, on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.  The Flyers outshot the Rams, 14-12, including a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.

Sophomore midfielder Andrey Salmeron and junior forward Papa Toure share the team lead in goals (3) and points (7).  Salmeron paces the club in shots (37) and shots on goal (15).
 
Senior goalkeeper goalkeeper John Ermini (4-6-6, 1440 MIN, 49 SV, 20 GA, 1.25 GAA, 2 SO) has started all 16 matches with three of his four victories clean sheets. 
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
The Patriots have 21 returners and 10 newcomers on the roster heading into the 2024 season under third-year head coach Rich Costanzo (Maryland, '08).
 
Assistant coaches Noel Orozco (St. Bonaventure, '17) and Michael Callahan (North Carolina, '08) also enter their third year with the Patriots.
 
Graduate students returning from last year's squad are midfielders Luis Maestre (Elche, Spain) and Henry Wachsman (Barrington, Ill.), defender Noah McGrath (Melbourne, Australia) and goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (Barcelona, Spain). 
 
Returning seniors include forward Gabriel Silveira (Concordia, Brazil), midfielder Asparuh Slavov (Easton, Pa.) and defenders Ahmed Mohamed (Cairo, Egypt) and Javi Sanchez (Elche, Spain).
 
Returning juniors are midfielders Erick Kilosho (Roanoke, Va.) and Nicholas Prioli (Houston, Texas) along with defenders Will Carson (Wheeling, W.Va.) and Joshua Morrobel (Burke, Va.).
 
George Mason has eight returning sophomores on the roster with forwards Davis Crittenden (Newport News, Va.), Kelly Janssen (Sebastopol, Calif.) and Abdul Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.), midfielders James Eliuda (Juba, South Sudan) and Brent Fields (Alexandria, Va.), defender David Garcia (Woodbridge, Va.) and goalkeepers Jack Desroches (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Blake Moness (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
 
The Patriots added five transfers during the offseason including graduate student forward Marek Gonda (Schaumburg, Ill.) and graduate student defenders Jordi Navio Sanchez (Vallirana, Spain), Matthew Trakszelis (Aurora, Ill.) and Leo Lemoine (Pau, France).  Junior defender Zayyan Ahmed (Leesburg, Va.) also enters his first year with the Patriots.
 
Four freshmen enter their first year with the Patriots.  Forwards Gianluca Franco (Clermont, Fla.) and Martim Sereno (Mira de Aire, Portugal), midfielders Quintin Clain (Villiers le Bel, France) and Thomas DeRoussel (Mason, Ohio).  Sophomore midfielder Javier Montava Ortega (Alcoy, Spain) enters his first year with the Green and Gold.
 
PATRIOTS SCHEDULE
 
George Mason will play 16 regular season games, a slate that includes eight matches against Atlantic 10 opponents and eight games at George Mason Stadium.
 
Head coach Rich Costanzo begins his third season after being named the Patriots' 11th men's soccer coach in program history.
 
The Green and Gold kicked off the regular season on the road against Navy (Aug. 22) with a 2-0 win over the Midshipmen in Annapolis, Md. Graduate student midfielder Henry Wachsman (22nd minute-GWG) and sophomore midfielder James Eliuda (53rd minute) each scored their first goal of the season.
 
The Patriots played their first home match against Delaware (Aug. 30) and defeated the Blue Hens, 4-2, at George Mason Stadium.  Graduate student defender Leo Lemoine (6th minute), sophomore midfielder Quentin Clain (45th minute) and freshman froward Martim Sereno (60th minute-GWG) each scored their first collegiate goals in the match, while senior midfielder Asparuh Slavov (90th minute) netted his first goal of the season.
 
The Patriots continued their season-high, three-match homestand with a 1-0 win over Bucknell (Sept. 3).  Sophomore midfielder James Eliuda scored his second goal of the season (15th minute-GWG). 
 
George Mason stayed unbeaten with a 4-0 victory over Howard (Sept. 7) in the last match of the homestand.  Freshman forward Martim Sereno scored his second goal of the season (28th minute) and sophomore midfielder Quentin Clain found the back of the net twice, his second and third goals of the season, in less than two minutes late in the first half (37th and 39th minute).  The Patriots took the 4-3 lead on an own goal (88th minute).
 
George Mason played three straight games on the road Sept. 10 through Sept. 21.
 
The Patriots blanked UNCW 1-0 (Sept. 10) in Wilmington, N.C.  Graduate student forward Marek Gonda scored his first goal as a Patriot into the lower left corner (25th minute-GWG).  
 
George Mason fell 1-0 at Old Dominion (Sept. 15) in Norfolk, Va.
 
The Patriots opened Atlantic 10 play at Massachusetts (Sept. 21) with a 2-1 victory over the Minutemen in Amherst, Mass.
 
Graduate student forward Marek Gonda (74th minute – GWG) and graduate student defender Luis Maestre (60th minute) each found the back of the net.
 
The Patriots returned home for a non-conference match against William & Mary (Sept. 24) and defeated the Tribe, 1-0.  Junior midfielder Nicholas Prioli scored his first goal of the season (18th minute-GWG) to lift the Patriots to the victory.
 
George Mason scored three goals in the second half to down rival George Washington (Sept. 28), 5-2.  Patriots graduate student forward Marek Gonda (32nd minute and 85th minute) and sophomore midfielder Quentin Clain (77th minute-GWG and 84th minute) each scored two goals, while graduate student midfielder Henry Wachsman scored his second goal of the season (42nd minute).
 
George Mason began October with a 2-1 road victory over La Salle (Oct. 5) in Philadelphia, Pa.  Graduate student forward Marek Gonda scored two goals (49th minute PK, 83rd minute-GWG) in the second half to lift the Patriots to their fourth straight win.
 
The match against the Explorers was the first of six that the Patriots will play in October, with three at home and three on the road in the month.
 
The Patriots defeated Loyola University Chicago (Oct. 9) 2-1 at George Mason Stadium.  Graduate student defender Leo Lemoine (67th minute) and senior defender Javi Sánchez (73rd minute-GWG) both scored goals in the second half to propel the No. 13 Patriots to the victory.
 
The Patriots dropped their first home match of the season 2-1 to Duquesne (Oct. 12).  Graduate student forward Marek Gonda converted a header (8th minute) for his seventh goal of the season.
 
George Mason were shutout 2-0 at No. 6 Maryland (Oct. 15) in College Park, Md.
 
The Patriots returned to A-10 play with a 4-1 victory at Saint Joseph's (Oct. 19) in Philadelphia, Pa.  Graduate student defender Luis Maestre (8th minute), Hawks own goal (17th minute), graduate student forward Marek Gonda (53rd minute) and senior defender Javi Sanchez (60th minute) found the back of the net.
 
George Mason scored four goals in the second half in a span of 8:10 in a 4-1 win in the final home game of the regular season against St. Bonaventure (Oct. 26).  Sophomore forward Kelly Janssen scored a pair of goals (63rd minute, 65th minute), while sophomore midfielder Javier Montava (57th minute) and graduate student defender Jordi Navio Sanchez (59th minute) each scored their first goal in a George Mason unform.
 
The Patriots conclude the regular season on the road against in-state rival VCU (Nov. 2).
 
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Patriots will play exhibition games at home against American (Aug. 11) and Loyola-Md. (Aug. 17).
 
CORNER KICK
 
The Patriots have faced the Rams 40 times, sixth-most against any opponent in program history behind William & Mary (49), George Washington (49), Albany (46), James Madison (42) and Old Dominion (42).

The 11 draws against VCU are the most that the Patriots have recorded against any opponent.