Patriots Battle Bonnies in Atlantic 10 Play Saturday
The George Mason men's soccer team concludes its three-match homestand, beginning Atlantic 10 Conference play against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, with the opening kick scheduled for 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va.
Last time out, the Patriots (1-3-0) defeated Radford, 3-1, last Saturday. Graduate student midfielder Ariel Aguas netted the game-winner when he converted a penalty kick in the 46th minute for his first goal in a Mason uniform.
Graduate student forward Noah Raphael scored his second goal in as many games in the 27th minute to put the Patriots in front, 1-0. Sophomore defender Ahmed Mohamed and sophomore forward Balint Kocso each notched their first career assists on the play. The Patriots added to the lead in the 59th minute when junior midfielder Louis Lehr scored his first goal of the season to make the score 3-1.
The victory was the first for Patriots first-year head coach Rich Costanzo and his first as a NCAA head coach.
Mason senior goalkeeper Jake Langley (1-3-0, 1.75 GAA, 360 MIN) faced just two shots on goal and made one save to record his first win as a Patriot. The Patriots outshot the Highlanders, 16-6, including a 6-2 edge in shots on goal.
Mason and St. Bonaventure are meeting for the fifth time. After the first three games were played in Olean, N.Y., this is the second straight year the two teams have met in Fairfax.
Last season, Mason fell to St. Bonaventure, 2-1, in double-overtime on Oct. 6, 2021 at George Mason Stadium.
The Patriots took the lead in the 35th minute when Lehr scored his fourth goal of the season to put Mason in front, 1-0. The Bonnies scored the equalizer in the 67th minute from 18 yards out to tie the match, 1-1. In the second overtime, St. Bonaventure graduate student midfielder Francesco Caorsi scored his first game-winner of the season in the 104th minute of play, converting with a diving header into the center of the net from six yards out.
The Patriots outshot the Bonnies, 18-5, including a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. Mason finished with six corner kicks, while St. Bonaventure had one corner kick in the match. Mason forwards Kent Harrison and Kocso each recorded two shots on goal.
Mason assistant coach Noel Orozco played for St. Bonaventure for two years (2015, 2016). He appeared in 36 games with 33 starts for the Bonnies.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
The Patriots have 20 returners and 13 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under first-year head coach Rich Costanzo (Maryland, '08).
Assistant coaches Noel Orozco (St. Bonaventure, '17) and Michael Callahan (North Carolina, '08) each enter their first year with the Patriots.
Returning seniors from last year's squad are forward Kent Harrison (Newcastle, Australia), midfielder Cameron Revels (Clover, S.C.) and defender Jonathan Fawole (Columbia, Md.). Returning juniors are forwards Nicolas Alt (Basel, Switzerland) and Ishmail Kamara (Woodbridge, Va.), midfielders Louis Lehr (Dielheim, Germany) and Henry Wachsman (Barrington, Ill.), along with defender Noah McGrath (Melbourne, Australia).
Mason has 11 sophomores on the roster with forwards Balint Kocso (Munich, Germany), Michael Medina (Central Islip, N.Y.), midfielders Jose Alvarado (Alexandria, Va.), and Darri Palsson (Kópavogur, Iceland), defenders Valentin Brandis (Hamburg, Germany), Marcel Cole (Mosley, Va.), Linus Dahl (Königstein im Taunus, Germany), Ahmed Mohamed (Cairo, Egypt), Joshua Morrobel (Burke, Va.) and goalkeepers Matthew Bauer (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Billy Schutze (Wayne, N.J.).
The Patriots added two graduate students, forward Noah Raphael (Calvert County, Md.) and midfielder Ariel Aguas (Quito, Ecuador), in addition to senior goalkeeper Jake Langley (Villanova, Pa.).
The Patriots have 11 freshman on the roster with midfielders Zach Eichelberger (Baltimore, Md.), Zach Golden and Nicholas Prioli (Houston, Texas), defenders Eric Allen (Columbia, Md.), Jaden Berman (Winchester, Va.), Will Carson (Wheeling, W.Va.), Chase Hutson (Fairfax, Va.), Nathan Montini (Braselton, Ga.), Kunandy Ouattara (Alexandria, Va.) and Christian Xantus (Woodbridge, Va.) and goalkeeper Jack Desroches (Virginia Beach, Va.).
The Green and Gold kicked off the season at Old Dominion on Aug. 26 (1-0, Old Dominion) and American on Sept. 2 (2-1, American) in the first two games of seven non-conference matches.
Mason then played three straight games at George Mason Stadium, the longest homestand of the season. The Patriots hosted Penn State on Sept. 5 in the home opener (3-1, Nittany Lions), Radford on Sept. 10 (3-1, Patriots) and play their first conference match of the season against St. Bonaventure (Sept. 17).
Mason plays seven games in September, with four on the road and three at home.
The Patriots will play a season-high four straight matches on the road from Sept. 20 through Oct. 1, alternating non-conference and league games.
The Patriots make the trek to take on Wake Forest (Sept. 20), play their first A-10 road game against Davidson (Sept. 24), visit William & Mary (Sept. 27) and travel to Dayton (Oct. 1).
The match against the Flyers is the first of seven that the Patriots will play in October, with four at home and three on the road.
Mason returns to Fairfax to continue league play against La Salle (Oct. 5) and Duquesne (Oct. 8). After an A-10 road matchup at Rhode Island (Oct. 15), the Patriots are back home for a non-conference game against UNCW (Oct. 18). Rhode Island finished second in the A-10 last season with a 5-2-1 record and went 10-5-2 overall.
The Patriots travel to face in-state rival VCU (Oct. 22) and conclude the regular season at home against the George Washington Colonials (Oct. 29) in a Revolutionary Rivalry contest.
This season, the Patriots are scheduled to play 15 regular season games, a slate that includes two matches against NCAA Tournament teams. Mason will play seven home games, three against non-conference opponents and four against Atlantic 10 rivals.
SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE
St. Bonaventure finished the 2021 season with a 4-10-1 overall record, including a mark of 3-5-0 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. The Bonnies went 2-4-1 at home and 2-6-0 on the road last season.
Forward Joshua Pulla graduated after leading the club in goals (7) and points (16) in 15 starts. Midfielder Francesco Caorsi also graduated after pacing the Bonnies in assists (6) and finishing third in points (10) in 15 starts.
St. Bonaventure is 2-3-1 through the first six games of the 2022 campaign. The Bonnies are 2-2-0 at home and 0-1-1 on the road.
Last time out, the Bonnies were shutout at home by Cleveland State, 2-0, on Monday at the Marra Athletics Complex. The Vikings outshot the Bonnies, 21-2, including a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Sophomore forward Matthew Wrobel leads the club in goals (3), points (6) and shots on goal (5). Junior forward Rafael Pereira and senior midfielder Luca Nicastro are tied for second on the team in goals (1).
Wrobel was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after scoring three goals last week. He netted both goals for the Bonnies in a 2-0 victory over Binghamton (Sept. 5) and tallied the game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Canisius (Sept. 9). Wrobel finished the week with seven total shots, including five on goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Nicolas Pucci (1-1-1, 1.00 GAA, 270 MIN) has played three games with nine saves and three goals against. Junior goalkeeper Jules Dechert (1-2-0, 0.67 GAA, 270 MIN) has played three games with 15 saves and two goals against.
CORNER KICK
The Patriots and Bonnies have met just four times, with the first three games played in Olean, N.Y. The two clubs are meeting at George Mason Stadium for the second straight year.
Mason posted a 2-1 victory on Nov. 10, 2013 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. St. Bonaventure has won the last three meetings, with a 1-0 victory on Oct. 17, 2017, a 3-1 triumph on Oct. 19, 2019 and 2-1 win in double overtime Oct. 6, 2021.
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