MEN'S SOCCER vs. La Salle
WHEN: Saturday, October 18 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium
RECORDS: George Mason (6-4-1, 3-1-1 A-10, 10 Pts.); La Salle (2-4-7, 0-2-3 A-10, 3 Pts.)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Series Tied, 5-5-4
LAST MEETING: Last year, the Patriots defeated the Explorers, 2-0, in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Soccer Championship on November 8, 2024 at George Mason Stadium.
PROMOTION: Alumni Night
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoMason.com
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2025 George Mason Men's Soccer season are on sale. All regular season home games will require a ticket for entry. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under as well as George Mason faculty/staff. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 703-993-3270, or at the George Mason Stadium Gate on game day. Discounted rates and special experiences are available for groups of 15 or more. More information on Men's Soccer tickets can be found here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team hosts La Salle in an Atlantic 10 matchup on Saturday with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium. 

George Mason (6-4-1, 3-1-1 A-10, 10 Pts.) and La Salle (2-4-7, 0-2-3 A-10, 3 Pts.) are meeting for the 15th time. The all-time series is tied, 5-5-4. The Patriots are 2-2-1 in 5 games played away against La Salle and 3-3-3 in 9 games played in Fairfax.

Last year, the Patriots and Explorers met twice.  In the regular season match, George Mason defeated La Salle, 2-1, on Oct. 5, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pa.  The clubs then met in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Soccer Championship, with the Patriots blanking the Explorers, 2-0, on Nov. 8, 2024, at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots outshot the Explorers 21-4, including a 8-1 advantage in shots on goal.  Forward Kelly Janssen and midfielder Javier Montava each found the back of the net.

Last time out, the Patriots earned a road victory against St. Bonaventure, 6-5, on Saturday. Junior forward Kelly Janssen scored two goals and graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu scored the game-winner. Graduate student defender Elijah Jackson scored his first goal as a Patriot while junior midfielder Javier Montava netted his first goal of the year and junior midfielder James Eliuda tallied his fourth goal of the season.

The Patriots lead the Atlantic 10 in goals scored (27) and goals per game (2.45).

Graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu is tied for first place in the conference in goals (7) and game-winning goals (3).  He is second in the league in points (16) and points per game (1.45).

Sophomore forward Martim Sereno is tied for third in the conference in goals (5) and is tied for fourth in shots on goal (11).  He is fourth in the league in both points (13) and points per game (1.18).

Junior forward Kelly Janssen is tied for third along with Sereno in goals (5), is tied for fifth in points per game (1.00) and is tied for sixth in points (11).

Three Patriots are among the league leaders in assists.  Graduate student midfielder Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez is tied for second (5), junior midfielder James Eliuda is tied for the third-most (4) and graduate student defender Jordi Navio Sanchez is tied for the fourth-most (3) in the conference.

Graduate student goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (6-4-1, 2.18 GAA, .676%, 3 SHO) ranks third in the A-10 in total saves (50) and is second in saves per game (4.55).

The Patriots were predicted to finish second in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll as voted on by the league's head coaches. Graduate student defender Javi Sánchez, junior midfielder James Eliuda and sophomore forward Martim Sereno were selected to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team..

Head coach Rich Costanzo is in his fourth season with the Patriots and is two wins shy of 25 with the Patriots.  He was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year last season after leading the Patriots to one of the most successful regular seasons in program history.  Costanzo guided the club to the Atlantic 10 regular season title for the first time in program history in 2024.  The Patriots finished the season 13-4-1 overall, won seven of eight matches at home in the regular season, went 6-1-1 in conference play to post six wins in the A-10 regular season for the first time, and after earning the top-seed in the A-10 Championship, advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.    
                                                                   
The Patriots finished the 2024 A-10 regular season third in both goals (33) and goals per match (2.2) and tied for the third-fewest goals allowed (17).

SCOUTING LA SALLE

La Salle has an overall record of 2-4-7 including a mark of 0-2-3 in Atlantic 10 play.  The Explorers are 1-2-4 at home and 1-2-3 on the road.

The Explorers are 1-1-2 in their last four games, with their last three games being at home. They played to a 1-1 draw at VCU (Oct. 4) followed by a 1-0 loss to Davidson (Oct. 8), a 1-1 draw to Loyola Chicago (Oct. 11) and a 4-0 win against Arcadia (Oct. 14).

Last time out, La Salle won its posted its second victory of the season with a 4-0 win over Arcadia on October 14.  The Explorers outshot the Knights, 32-7, including a 12-2 advantage in shots on goal.

The two victories for the Explorers this season have come against non-conference teams, with a 2-0 road victory against NJIT (Sept. 9) and a 4-0 home win against Arcadia (Oct. 14). 

Junior forward Kyrese Lynch-Bailey is tied for first in the club in goals (3), game-winning goals (1) and is first in points (8) and shots (21).  Sophomore forward Pedro Amadou is tied for second in goals (2), points (7) and is tied for third in shots (17).

Senior Goalkeeper Tino Kneis (1-4-7, 1.67 GAA, .730%, 1 SHO) has played 12 games.  He has made the second-most saves in the A-10 (54) and allowed 20 goals against. 

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS

The Patriots have 14 returners and 13 newcomers on the roster heading into the 2025 season under fourth-year head coach Rich Costanzo (Maryland, '08).  Assistant coaches Noel Orozco (St. Bonaventure, '17) and Michael Callahan (North Carolina, '08) also enter their fourth year with the Patriots.

Graduate students returning from last year's squad are defenders Leo Lemoine (Pau, France), Javi Sánchez (Elche, Spain) and Jordi Navio Sanchez (Vallirana, Spain) along with goalkeeper Jaume Salvado (Barcelona, Spain).  Returning for his senior junior year is defender Will Carson (Wheeling, W.Va.).

Junior returners include goalkeeper Jack Desroches (Virginia Beach, Va.), defender David Garcia (Woodbridge, Va.), midfielders James Eliuda (Juba, South Sudan), Brent Fields (Alexandria, Va.), Quentin Clain (Villiers le Bel, France) and Javier Montava (Alcoy, Spain) along with forwards Abdul Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.) and Kelly Janssen (Sebastopol, Calif.).  Forward Martim Sereno (Mira de Aire, Portugal) enters his sophomore season.

The Patriots added eight transfers during the offseason.  Graduate students entering their first year with the Patriots are goalkeeper Fernando Carreon Garcia (Saltillo, Mexico), defender Elijah Jackson (Summerfield, N.C.), midfielders Sergio Fernandez (Villanueva del Pardillo, Spain) and Kenzo Brito (Sao Paulo, Brazil), and forwards Jacobo Sanfeliu (Barcelona, Spain) and Nacho Diaz Barragan (al Maria, Spain).

Senior midfielder Mouhamed Tucker (Dakar, Senegal) and junior defender Yannick Mambo (Kinshasa, Congo) also enter their first year at George Mason.
Five freshmen enter their first year with the Patriots.  Forward Cristian Ramos (Lorton, Va.), midfielders John Balkey (Leesburg, Va.) and Alen Kapetanovic (Nyack, N.Y.), and forwards Tresz McLeod (Wheeling, W.Va.) and Jaime Godinho (Lisbon, Portugal).

PATRIOTS SCHEDULE

The George Mason is scheduled to play 15 regular season games, a slate that includes four matches against College Cup teams, eight matches against Atlantic 10 opponents and eight games at George Mason Stadium.

Head coach Rich Costanzo begins his fourth season.  He guided the Patriots to a 13-4-1 overall record last season and a 6-1-1 mark in conference play to claim the first-ever Atlantic 10 Regular Season title in program history.  George Mason recorded six A-10 wins in the regular season for the first time since joining the league in 2013.

In the regular season, George Mason will play two matches in August, six in September and October and one in November.

 The Patriots played a pair of exhibition matches, facing Maryland on the road (Aug. 9,) and Pittsburgh at George Mason Stadium (Aug. 15).

 The Green and Gold kicked off the regular season on the road and fell to #2 Marshall (Aug. 22), 2-1, in Huntington, W.Va.

 The Patriots defeated No. 11 Virginia (Aug. 28) in their home opener, 4-1. George Mason sophomore forward Martim Sereno scored twice for his first career two-goal game, while junior midfielder James Eliuda netted his first goal of the season and graduate student midfielder Jacobo Sanfeliu scored his first goal as a Patriot.

The victory marked the highest-ranked win by the Patriots in 14 years and the second-highest seeded team that George Mason has beaten since they took down No. 2 Maryland on September 29, 2009.  The win is the seventh win over a top-20 team in program history.  The crowd of 3,077 marked the largest for a George Mason men's soccer match in 25 years.  The 1,385 students in attendance set a new program record.

The Patriots defeated Bucknell (Sept. 2) 3-2.  Junior midfielder Brent Fields scored his first career goal, the game-winner in the 90th minute of play.  Sophomore midfielder Martim Sereno scored his third goal, while graduate student Jacobo Sanfeliu tallied his second goal of the season.

George Mason fell to No. 6 West Virginia, 6-4 (Sept. 7.) Graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu converted a penalty kick in the 30th minute for his third goal, sophomore forward Martim Sereno netted his fourth goal of the year in the 31st minute, graduate student forward Nacho Diaz Barragan scored his first goal with the Green and Gold in the 67th minute when he converted the penalty kick and junior forward Abdul Kamara tallied his first goal of the season in the 81st minute.

In the first Atlantic 10 match of the season, the Patriots played to a 1-1 home draw with Davidson (Sept. 12). Graduate student forward Nacho Diaz Barragan scored late in the second half, while graduate student goalkeeper Jaume Salvado stopped a penalty kick in the second half as part of a four save performance.

George Mason blanked UMBC, 1-0 (Sept. 20) at Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Md.  Graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu scored his fourth goal of the season in the 18th minute of play for his first game winning goal in a Patriots uniform.

George Mason dropped their last home match to Georgetown, 5-2 (Sept. 23).  Junior forward Kelly Janssen scored in the 38th and 44th minute to record the second two-goal game of his career, both at George Mason Stadium.

George Mason defeated Loyola-Chicago 3-0 (Sept. 27) in Chicago, Ill.  Junior midfielder James Eliuda scored his second goal of the season (game-winner), sophomore midfielder Martim Sereno netted his fifth goal of the year and junior forward Kelly Janssen tallied his third goal in the last two matches.

George Mason defeated George Washington, 1-0 (Oct. 4) in Washington, D.C. to begin the six-game October slate.  Graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu scored his fifth goal of the season, the lone goal of the match in the 60th minute of play.

The Patriots will alternate home and road games over the final six matches of the season.

George Mason dropped the A-10 home match against VCU, 2-1 (Oct. 8). Graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu scored his 6th goal of the season in the 24th minute when he sent a header past the defenders and into the lower left corner.

George Mason defeated St. Bonaventure, 6-5 (Oct. 11) in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.  Junior forward Kelly Janssen scored two goals and graduate student forward Jacobo Sanfeliu scored the game-winner.  Graduate student defender Elijah Jackson scored his first goal as a Patriot while junior midfielders Javier Montava and James Eliuda scored their first and fourth goals for the season.

The Patriots return to George Mason Stadium to tangle with La Salle (Oct. 18, 7 p.m.) and travel for a non-conference matchup against William & Mary (Oct. 21, 7 p.m.) in Williamsburg, Va.

George Mason returns to league play with the final home match of the regular season against Saint Joseph's (Oct. 25, 7 p.m.).

The Patriots wrap up the regular season on the road against Duquesne (Nov. 1, 7 p.m.) in Pittsburgh, Pa.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for the 2025 George Mason Men's Soccer season are on sale. All regular season home games will require a ticket for entry. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under as well as George Mason faculty/staff. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 703-993-3270, or at the George Mason Stadium Gate on game day. Discounted rates and special experiences are available for groups of 15 or more. More information on Men's Soccer tickets can be found here

CORNER KICK

The Patriots and Explorers have faced each other 14 times, with the all-time series tied 5-5-4.
 
George Mason is 3-4-3 against La Salle since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2013.
 
The Patriots and Explorers met for the first time in 1999, with George Mason recording a 2-1 overtime victory on Sept. 18, 1999 in Fairfax.