MEN'S SOCCER vs. DAVIDSON
WHEN: Friday, September 12 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Stadium
RECORDS: George Mason (2-2-0); Davidson (2-2-0)
LAST MEETING: The Wildcats defeated the Patriots, 2-0, on Sept. 16, 2023 at George Mason Stadium.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Tied, 5-5-2
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

---

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's soccer team plays its first Atlantic 10 Conference match of the season against Davidson on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.

George Mason (2-2-0) and Davidson (2-2-0) have met 12 times with all-time series tied, 5-5-2.  Eight of the matches have been played in Fairfax, with the Patriots holding a mark of 4-4-0 at home against the Wildcats.  Eight of the last 11 meetings between the two clubs have been decided by one goal or ended in a draw.

Davidson won the last meeting against the Patriots, 2-0, on Sept. 16, 2023 at George Mason Stadium.  The Wildcats outshot the Patriots, 10-9, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Last time out, the Patriots fell to then-No. 6 West Virginia, 6-4 at George Mason Stadium.  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.

Sereno was named A-10 Offensive Player of the Week, earning the weekly honor for the second straight week on Monday.  He scored a goal in each of the two games this past week and recorded seven shots with two shots on goal. 
 
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 DAVIDSON
 
Davidson has a record of 2-2-0 overall.  The Wildcats are 1-1-0 at home and 1-1-0 on the road.

The Wildcats won their first two matches of the season with a 2-0 road victory at Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. (Aug. 21) and a 3-2 win at home over Charleston (Aug. 25).  Davidson has dropped its last two matches by one goal, falling 2-1 at home to then-No. 20 Gardner-Webb (Aug. 29) and 3-2 on the road to Furman (Sept. 4).

Junior forward Myles Culley and sophomore forward Tobe Ibe are tied for the team lead in goals (2), while Culley paces the club in points (6) and is second in assists (2).  Senior midfielder Baylen Young leads the team in assists (4) and is tied for second in points (4).

Junior goalkeeper Lucas Beltran (2-2-0, 1.75 GAA, 360 MIN) has started all four games.  He has made 15 saves and allowed seven 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.

The Patriots host 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 Davidson have met once in Atlantic 10 Tournament play, with the Patriots earning a 4-2 victory on penalty kicks in the first round on Nov. 13, 2014 in Richmond, Va.
 
The game was scoreless, 0-0, after double overtime.  George Mason goalkeeper Michael Butts surrendered just two goals on four penalty kicks, while Jannik Eckenrode, Daniel Hoffman, Conlan Kemmerer and Timi Mulgrew converted penalty kicks for the Patriots in the win.