MEN'S SOCCER vs. #11 Virginia
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 28 | 7:15 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium
RECORDS: George Mason (0-1-0); Virginia (2-0-0)
LAST MEETING: The Cavaliers defeated the Patriots, 1-0, August 31, 2023 in Charlottesville, Va.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Virginia leads, 21-8-3
LIVE STATS: Click here
WATCH: Click here
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 hosts No. 11 Virginia in the home opener on Thursday, August 28 with the opening kick scheduled for 7:15 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.
 
In their season opener, the Patriots fell to No. 2 Marshall last Friday, 2-1, in Huntington, W.Va.  Marshall outshot George Mason, 14-5, including a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal.  The Thundering Herd had seven corner kicks while the Patriots had three corner kicks in the match.

George Mason freshman forward Jaime Godinho (71 minutes) made his collegiate debut in the starting lineup.  Senior midfielder Mouhamed Tucker (90 minutes/start), graduate student forwards Jacobo Sanfeliu (36 minutes) and Nacho Diaz Barragan (2 minutes), along with graduate student midfielders Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez (77 minutes/start) and Kenzo Brito (13 minutes) each made their Patriots debut.
 
George Mason played Virginia for the first time during the 1972 season.  In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Cavaliers defeated the Patriots, 1-0, August 31, 2023 in Charlottesville, Va.
 
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 enters his fourth season 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 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 climbed to 13th in the United Soccer Coaches Association poll last season, the first time in 10 years that George Mason has been in the national rankings.  The Patriots finished the 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 No. 11 Virginia
 
Virginia finished the 2024 season with a 11-7-3 overall record, including a mark of 3-3-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.  The Cavaliers went 8-5-0 at home, 3-1-3 on the road and 0-0-1 at a neutral site last season.
 
Virginia has won its first two games of the 2025 season, both at home.  The Cavaliers defeated San Diego State, 2-0, in the season opener on Aug. 21 and then blanked Stetson, 1-0, on Aug. 24.
 
The Cavaliers have allowed just two shots on goal over the two matches and have opened the season with consecutive shutouts for the first time since the 2019 season.

In last year's ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers were seeded ninth and defeated eighth seeded N.C. State, 2-1 in the opening round and then downed top-seed Pittsburgh, 2-0.  In the semifinals, Virginia lost to fifth seeded Wake Forest by a score of 5-1.

In the second Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Virginia hosted West Virginia and defeated the Mountaineers, 2-1.  The Cavaliers then fell to Massachusetts, 1-0, in the third round.
 
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 play their first home match against #17 Virginia (Aug. 28, 5:30 p.m.).
 
The Thundering Herd won four matches in the 2024 NCAA College Cup to advance to the championship match.  Marshall defeated Ohio State, SMU, Furman and N.C. State before falling to Vermont, 2-0, in the title game.
 
The Patriots continue their season-high, four-match homestand against non-conference opponents, hosting Bucknell (Sept. 2, 7 p.m.) and West Virginia (Sept. 7, 5 p.m.).  George Mason then hosts Davidson for the first Atlantic 10 match of the season (Sept. 12, 7 p.m.).
 
George Mason then plays two non-conference matches.  The Patriots are on the road against UMBC (Sept. 20, 7 p.m.) in Baltimore, Md. and then back home to take on Georgetown (Sept. 23, 7 p.m.).
 
The Patriots will play two straight games on the road for the only time during the season when they travel to face Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 27, 7 p.m.) in Chicago, Ill. to close out the six games in the month of September.  George Mason will make the trip to George Washington (Oct. 4, 7 p.m.) in Washington, D.C. to begin the six-game October slate.
 
George Mason will alternate home and road games over the final six matches of the season.
The Patriots are home to battle in-state rival VCU (Oct. 8, 7 p.m.) before going on the road to face St. Bonaventure (Oct. 11, 7 p.m.) in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
 
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
 
George Mason and Virginia have met three times in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Patriots winning two of the matches.
 
In 1985, George Mason defeated Virginia, 1-0, and in 1996, the Patriots earned a 1-0 victory.