MEN'S SOCCER vs Howard
WHEN: Saturday, September 7 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium
RECORDS: George Mason (3-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic 10); Howard (0-2-0, 0-0-0 Northeast Conference)
SERIES RECORD: George Mason leads, 15-4-5
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Bison 5-1 on Aug. 28, 2015 at George Mason Stadium.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team hosts Howard on Saturday, Sept. 7 with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.
George Mason (3-0-0) and Howard (0-2-0) have met 24 times, with the Patriots leading the all-time series 15-4-5.
Tuesdays match will be the first played between the Patriots and Bison in nine years. The two clubs last met during the 2015 campaign. Each of the last nine matches between the Patriots and Bison since 1996 have been played at George Mason Stadium, with the Patriots 7-2-0 with four shutouts in those games.
Last time out, Patriots sophomore midfielder
James Eliuda his second goal of the season in the 15th minute of play to lift the Patriots past Bucknell, 1-0, on Tuesday night at George Mason Stadium.
Sophomore midfielder
Quentin Clain recorded his first assist as a Patriot and freshman forward
Martim Sereno notched his second assist of the season.
Senior goalkeeper
Jaume Salvado (3-0-0) made two saves in the match to post his second clean sheet of the season.
SCOUTING HOWARD
Howard finished the 2024 season with a 2-13-1 overall record, including a mark of 1-7-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play. The Bison went 2-3-0 at home and 0-10-1 on the road last season.
The Bison have dropped their first two matches of the 2024 campaign. Howard is in the middle of playing its first four games of the season on the road.
Howard fell in the season opener at Delaware, 3-0, on Aug. 22 in Newark, Del. The Blue Hens outshot the Bison, 17-10, including a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Last time out, the Bison allowed the game-winning goal in the 81st minute in a 3-2 setback to UMBC, 3-2, on Aug. 26 at Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Md. The Retrievers outshot the Bison 18-7, including a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Graduate student midfielder Peter Gansallo (44th minute) scored his first goal with the Bison and freshman forward Daniil Kaban (70th minute) netted his first collegiate goal in the match.
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 forward
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 continue their season-high, three-match homestand hosting Bucknell (Sept. 3) and Howard (Sept. 7).
George Mason will then play three straight games on the road with matchups against UNCW (Sept. 10) in Wilmington, N.C., Old Dominion (Sept. 15) in Norfolk, Va. and the first Atlantic 10 game of the season at Massachusetts (Sept. 21) in Amherst, Mass.
The Patriots return home for a non-conference match against William & Mary (Sept. 24) and then host A-10 rival George Washington (Sept. 28).
George Mason begins October on the road with a conference contest against La Salle (Oct. 5) in Philadelphia, Pa.
The match against the Explorers is 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 will then host Loyola-Chicago (Oct. 9) and Duquesne (Oct. 12).
George Mason travels for a non-conference matchup against Maryland (Oct. 15) in College Park, Md. and the Patriots return to league play at Saint Joseph's (Oct. 19) in Philadelphia, Pa.
George Mason plays its final home game of the regular season against St. Bonaventure (Oct. 26) and concludes 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).
TICKET INFORMATION
George Mason men's soccer regular season home games will require a ticket for entry. Tickets are $10 and are available for purchase online in advance, calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 703-993-3270 or by purchasing at the George Mason Stadium gate. Discounted rates are available for group of 10 or more as well as for George Mason faculty and staff. More information on men's soccer tickets can be found
here.
CORNER KICK
George Mason and Howard have 24 times, with the Patriots leading the all-time series 15-4-5.
Tuesdays match will be the first played between the Patriots and Bison in nine years. The two clubs last met during the 2015 campaign.
Each of the last nine matches between the Patriots and Bison since 1996 have been played at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots are 7-2-0 with four shutouts in those games and have outscored the Bison by a combined score of 33-6.
The Patriots have a record of 12-3-2 in the 17 matches against Howard at George Mason Stadium with eight of the victories by shutout. The Patriots have a mark of 3-1-3 in the seven matches against the Bison on the road.
The two clubs first met during the 1978 season and played each other 10 consecutive years from 1978 through 1987.
