Broadside Sports

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

Doc Nix led the Green Machine, President Alan Merten shot a t-shirt out of a launcher, head coaches Jim Larranaga and Jeri Porter started a chant of “George Mason,” and the fans erupted the whole night. The Patriots’ basketball is back.

“I’m really pleased with the energy from the crowd, the players put on a good show. The Green Machine has been working so hard and everything came together for us,” said Doc Nix of the great crowd reaction, a direct result, he believes, of his Green Machine.

Urbanknowlogy 101 had an incredible performance, combining their incredible dance style with songs like “You’re a Jerk,” “Heartless,” and “Break-up.”

Porter, the women’s head coach, was introduced, giving a special call-out to the Green Machine, calling it “the best [pep band] in the country.” The Green Machine performed to get the crowd pumped up for the coaches.

“As a band, I think we really get the crowd pumped,” said Green Machine member Kevin Thompson, a freshman music major.

The arena dimmed, and then, coming from green smoke, Larranaga appeared, jogging to the center of the stage to the familiar chant “Larr-a-naga.”

“Over the years, there has been so much excitement over the basketball program. I had a black tie event . . . but I made sure I was here. Basketball means a lot to our school and it will continue to mean a lot. Now, we have the right coaches and the right student athletes [for the program],” said university President Alan Merten.

Geared up for the night, the fans watched a skit by the Patriot, and then Doc Nix taught them how to help the Green Machine.

The dunking show went on for five minutes, with the high-flyers as the center of attention.

The actual dunking competition was even more incredible as the guys were split into teams of upperclassmen, sophomores and freshmen. For the Halloween-themed night, the sophomores dressed up as the superheroes Batman, Spiderman, Superman and the Green Lantern. For winning the night, the sophomores received a champion belt to end the basketball festivities.

“[It was a] great overall night. I really enjoyed the men’s basketball and the dunking,” said John Escobar, a freshman undeclared major.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Mason: The George Mason University women’s volleyball team is tied for fourth in the conference, but has the second-best overall record at 14-6.

With every match having great significance to the conference record, this weekend’s two matches can either improve Mason’s chances in qualifying for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament or make it tougher on them towards the end of the season.

After a tough fifth-set loss against the William & Mary Tribe, Mason responded with a strong offensive attack against their rival James Madison Dukes.

Mason out-hit their opponents .314-.128 in the match. After dropping the second set on Saturday, Mason exploded with a .684 attack percentage.

Junior middle blocker and outside hitter Holly Goode led Mason with 18 kills and seven blocks and posted a .455 attack percentage.

Goode is seventh in the CAA with 2.98 kills per set and eighth in attack percentage at .289.

Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman, who has been outstanding on the defensive side, added six blocks and recorded a tremendous .600 attack percentage, committing just one attack error from her 10 kills.

Bohman is currently the CAA’s top defensive player, leading with 105 total blocks.

Towson University: The Towson Tigers jumped to a 6-2 start this season, but have lately hit a slide, losing their past five matches, three of which were three-set sweeps. The Tigers currently stand at 8-12 with a 1-4 conference record.

Junior outside hitter Britney Loomis lead the team with 175 kills and 23 service aces. Loomis, who transferred from East Tennessee State University after her freshman year, had a strong sophomore campaign with 181 kills and 128 digs. She is on pace to surpass her season high for kills.

Freshman outside hitter Amanda Halls is second on the team with 133 kills and 161 digs. Halls is another asset for a team that can play spoiler as CAA contenders vie for a spot in the postseason.

University of Delaware: The Delaware Blue Hens will attempt to preserve the top position in the CAA as they remain the only team to be undefeated in the conference.

The Blue Hens currently have the best overall record in the CAA at 12-5.

Junior right side and outside hitter Katie Dennehy is the Blue Hens’ top player, leading the team with 204 kills.

She has the second-best kill rate in the CAA at 3.29 per set. Dennehy is looking to record her third-consecutive 400-kill season. Junior setter Jess Chason is the CAA-leading setter with 9.87 assists per set.
In the conference opener, the Blue Hens edged past Mason in three sets.

Chason led all players with 30 assists as the Blue Hens eased to a victory at Viera Court, where they have been a perfect 9-0 thus far.

In just four matches, the Blue Hens are 2-2 on the road. Mason will be a tough customer in Saturday’s shootout between two of the CAA’s top teams this season.

However, Mason will face a difficult task in defending against a robust Blue Hens’ squad.

Update: Mason swept the Hofstra Pride on Friday night to improve their win total to 15 games. Goode eclipsed the 200-kill mark after posting a match-high 19 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Noelle Fanella added 10 kills. Mason scorched the Pride with six service aces.

As of Sunday morning, Mason, with a 4-2 conference record, was in a three-way tie for third in the CAA.

Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer

Take a Walk in Jordan’s Shoes

In recent months, NBA superstar Michael Jordan has been in the spotlight, most notably from his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Last week, Jordan was in a new spotlight as his son, Marcus Jordan, refused to wear any shoes other than Nike.

Marcus Jordan, a freshman guard for the University of Central Florida men’s basketball team, started practice with his teammates. According to Fanhouse.com, Marcus Jordan let team officials know he would stick with Nike, despite the school having a contract with Adidas that “requires all intercollegiate athletes and coaches to wear its brand.”

Despite the difference in shoes, Jordan will wear Adidas’ team jersey like everyone else.

However, this has not been the first time an athlete at UCF has not worn Adidas. According to athletic director Keith Tribble, there has been at least one kicker on the football team who wore different shoes because of the way the Adidas brand fit.

Fergie to be Part-Owner of Dophins?

At the NFL owners meeting in Boston early last week, Stacy Ann Ferguson who is also known as Black Eyed Peas singer and solo artist  Fergie, was approved to be a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins.

Fergie has not yet become officially a part-owner since she is currently in Australia touring with the rest of the Peas. Once Fergie reaches a deal and signs the paperwork, she will have ownership.

According to Sportingnews.com, once-Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross “reaches a deal with Fergie, she will be the last of the team’s so-called celebrity investors.”

The Dolphins have a history of having celebrities around, with musicians Jimmy Buffett, Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marc Anthony, and tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams being part-owners of the franchise.

Tennis Pros Complain of Hard Schedule

Early last week, tennis star Andy Roddick voiced his opinion regarding the Association of Tennis Professional’s decision in lacking a tennis offseason. Tuesday, Roddick has to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters due to knee pains, and he isn’t the only one.

As of Thursday, seven players retired from the Shanghai Masters after just four days of play. The injury list includes current U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Tommy Haas, Jose Acasuso, Mischa Zverev, and Gael Monfils. Not included in this list are Roger Federer, who left due to fatigue, and Andy Murray, who left due to a wrist injury.

Rafael Nadal has also been out of the tennis spotlight due to a knee injury followed by an abdominal injury during the U.S. Open. Nadal, Federer and Serena Williams have now joined Roddick to voice their opinions.
Missing a match could be a very costly occurrence for Williams, who holds the number one women’s world ranking over Dinara Safina by an extremely small margin. One thing is for sure, if something doesn’t change soon, there will be no one left to play.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

It was a cold and rainy night, but a night for two teams that needed a win. The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens came in at 5-7-0 overall, needing to turn around their losing season.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens were 2-2-0 in the CAA, setting up for an important conference matchup. The George Mason Patriots came into the game 7-3-1 overall, continuing their success from last year.

Unfortunately, they have not lived up to their own conference expectations, beating the formidable foe William & Mary, yet subsequently losing to the dismal Towson Tigers.

To continue boasting a winning conference record, the Patriots would need to play against not only Delaware, but also the terrible weather conditions. At kickoff, the temperature was in the 40s, paired with a drizzle that never seemed to stop.

“We lost to Towson last week; we should have won against James Madison. Now . . . we want to win everything,” said sophomore midfielder Ryan Gracia on the two non-wins last week.

The night seemed to be characterized by awful plays from both sides, completely missing passes directly to them, missing foul shots over the box from just a few yards away and sometimes lazy play from the defenders when it mattered most.

The Patriots came out of the gate playing fast, despite the conditions, even attempting to kick a midair goal six minutes into the game. Gracia took the ball for eight yards from junior forward Irvin Martinez and curved it into the top of the goal past diving freshman goalie Brandon Paul for the first goal of the game.

“I’ve been struggling a lot this season. So I’ve been staying a lot after practice shooting, working on some shots, coming to practice early . . . because the two goals I had this year were from penalty kicks, so I wanted to get a goal in the run of play. I guess all that work finally paid off tonight,” said Gracia of this personal turning point in the season.

After the goal, the two teams traded shots until Fightin’ Blue Hen junior midfielder Jon Scheer fed the ball to freshman defender Roberto Vernaschi, who made a goal on a corner kick with 20 minutes to go in the half.

“They took [the corner kick] a little quicker than I think we were ready for. We have a problem with taking our foot off the gas a little after we score,” said senior goalkeeper Kelley of the penalty kick and the subsequent score.

Ball position continued to shift between the two teams until a Delaware foul kick. On the kick, Mason recovered the ball and traveled the distance of the field before junior forward Ernesto Marquez gave the ball to junior defenseman/midfielder Fro Adu, who punched it in for his first goal of the season. This forced the issue of conference superiority, as the Patriots led by one at the half.

The Patriots started the second half by scoring within three minutes. Gracia attempted a goal and, although Paul saved the shot, junior forward Draymond Washington found the goal on the rebound for his fourth of the season.

Ten minutes into the half, the Patriots caught a lucky break when, on a foul shot in the box, the Fightin’ Blue Hens kicked the ball just over the top of the goal. Sean Kelley made a leap to ensure the fact, but the ball flew over his outstretched hand.

After that, many shots were taken, mostly by Delaware, but nothing more came of them. The cap to an odd night came with a red card ejection for sophomore midfielder Eber Martinez with only a minute left in the game.

“We have to take care of our games at home; we’ve let some slip away. The conference is so tight and Northeastern is pretty much at the same place they were last year, and that’s the team that we beat in the conference finals last year. It’s going to be a heck of a match and we’re looking forward to it,” said coach Andrulis of the game against Northeastern last Saturday.

The Northeastern game was set to be a rematch of the conference finals, which Mason won. Mason looks to have a great rest of the year, taking down top teams in the conference.

“Our conference is really tight and the best teams on paper don’t always win. We just had to bounce back. We got in a hole last year, where we literally had to win out the rest of the season to be in it. That’s what we don’t want to happen this year. Overall, we appear to be learning from our mistakes,” said Kelley of the outlook for the rest of season.

The Patriots look to continue their recent success, focusing on Kelley, Gracia, as well as newcomer junior forward Victor Freeman.

Kelley has proven his worth throughout his collegiate career, with the pinnace of his success coming in his senior year. Kelley has only allowed 10 goals in 12 games. In the same stretch, Kelley has totaled 53 saves for the Patriots.

Gracia leads the team with 17 shots on goal. He is also tied for first on the team with three assists.
Freeman is tied for first in goals, totaling four goals in only seven games. He is also tied for first in ssists with three. This gives him sole posession of the team lead in points with eleven in his first year for the Patriots.

Mason looked to continue their success Saturday as they played Northeastern. The two teams know each other well after they met in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game last year. The Patriots took the title, leaving Northeastern to look for revenge coming into the game.

Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer

There are so many club teams at George Mason University that so few actually know about. One of those is the Mason rugby club teams.

Rugby at Mason has a team for men and another for women. The men’s rugby team was founded in 1963 and is the oldest club team on the Fairfax campus.

The men’s rugby team has held a winning record in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The National Guard has sponsored the team since 2007. The women’s team is new to Mason, founded spring 2009. Both teams compete against other NCAA Division II schools that bring about a lot of competition.

The men’s rugby team currently has 45 players on the roster and three coaches that bring vast international playing experience from England, France and South Africa.

The women’s team has 25 players and one head coach. Practices are held for both teams Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Intramural Field 4.

“We are very proud of our players,” said men’s Head Coach Frederic Bardot. “We were the clearly superior team, but we never lost our focus. Now we are still undefeated, but the real test comes next week at Salisbury.

Humility is a value of rugby, and we have to remain humble to work hard and improve.”
Both teams had road matches this weekend.

“Rugby is a participation sport,” states Bardot. “Nobody ‘sits on the bench’ and all the players coming to practice play come game time.”

For more information about the rugby club teams at Mason, visit www.masonrugby.com.

Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer

If you are a student interested in running with others, now you can. One of the newer club teams at George Mason University is the Mason Runners’ Club.

The runner’s club was founded in spring 2008 by juniors Nadar Hussein and Blake Silver and officially became a Mason club team the following fall semester.

“The only way students were able to competitively run on campus was by being a part of the NCAA division I varsity team,” said Silver. “We wanted something more accessible for students to be apart of and that’s why we formed the club.”

Practices are held at the track behind the Field House every weekday except Thursday. Athletes on the team range from complete beginners to very experienced runners and the team welcomes new runners to join year-round.

There are currently 60 members on the team, half of which are active members.

To be an active member of the club, a runner has to attend just one practice per week.

So far this season, the team has competed in two races. The first event was the Maymont Invitational in Richmond Va., where the team competed against many teams including University of Virginia’s club cross country team.

At Maymont, Hussein placed first on the team and 18th overall, and graduate student Maria Pustlauk placed first overall as well as first in her age group.

The team will also be competing at a Regional meet at James Madison University on Oct. 25 against other club teams in the region.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

It’s that time of year again. People are once again ready for the whistles of corrupt referees,
the yelling of corrupt coaches and the self-centered play of the stars of the court.

With the preseason starting up, the National Basketball Association looks to rectify its broken past with the new season.

“We did in fact tweak the language on traveling in this year’s book,” commented NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson on a rule change.

For a variety of reasons, mostly because players keep getting away with it, anyone can now take two steps without a traveling call. Now the NBA has finally made some changes to better their sport, second only to the replay rules that have already overturned wins and losses after the post-game celebration.

In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics look to add another championship to the 17 they have already earned and the Wizards look to have a breakout year.

The Orlando Magic had a great year, winning the championship out of the third seed, but Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis probably cannot put together a good playoff run twice in a row.

The Cleveland Cavaliers look for revenge on the Orlando Magic after the 2009 playoffs.

In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are the focus, with the other teams in the conference posting records with more than 10 wins less than the Lakers.

The Boston Celtics begin the year in hopes of a consecutive championship. These hopes rest on Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

Pierce averaged more than 20 points per game (PPG) in the 2008-09 season, and is off to a good start in the preseason, averaging near 15 PPG in his first four games.

Garnett, only playing in 57 games last year, hopes to play more this upcoming season, bolstering his stats and his hall-of-fame career, helping the Celtics toward their championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers look to capitalize on last year’s championship, utilizing Kobe Bryant.

While Bryant is averaging 18.3 PPG through three games, teammate Andrew Bynum is having a breakout preseason with 22.3 PPG.

The Lakers look to make it to the finals for a third straight year with these stars of the Western Conference.

The 2009-10 season is set to be the best in the last few years, with powerhouses trying to make a stronger season out of this year and the underdogs trying to lead the pack.

In the final part of the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards need to take another look at their team. The Wizards lead their conference in having the least number of wins last year, only totaling 19. The only other team to lose more was the Sacramento Kings, who totaled only 17 wins out of 82 games. Antawn Jamison is sidelined for the rest of the preseason after his shoulder popped out, after playing in five games and leading the team with 15.4 PPG. Stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, both averaging more than 14 PPG, will need to pick up the slack if the Wizards hope to have a good preseason. A good outlook was the result of a 109-104 win over the Cavaliers.

Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer

We started the month of October on the right note. On the first weekend, we played our first home conference games. It was a tough weekend, but it felt amazing to play our conference games in our new gym. With our new gym, our sense of “protection” of home court increased. We are starting a history for the RAC and we want to start it right.

We played the VCU Rams and the William & Mary Tribe, ranked second and third in the CAA respectively. We were able to pull off the victory against the Rams in five sets on Friday, but we did not have the same luck against the Tribe on Saturday. In our conference, everyone plays at a similar level. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. For example, the Hofstra Pride, ranked seventh, took a set against the Delaware Blue Hens, the undefeated conference leader. When it comes down to winning, details such as having home court advantage, having the momentum of the game or having a crowd cheering for you makes the difference.

For that reason, I personally would like to thank the crowd for showing up at the Friday and Saturday matches. It would not be the same without you. Thank you for every cheer, for every moment you were anxious about the score, for every clap and for every rally you held your breath, waiting for the kill. Thanks for coming and supporting Mason’s women’s volleyball team. We are trying to play our best volleyball for you.

After those two home matches, we resumed our road trips. We defeated our rival, the James Madison Dukes, in four sets at their home court a couple weeks ago. We faced the Pride on Friday and the Northeastern Huskies on Sunday on their home courts as well.

Now, we are back at the RAC for the next two weekends. This weekend, we play the Towson Tigers and the Blue Hens. Next weekend, it is time to face the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in the Broadside Game of the Week on Friday and the Georgia State Panthers on Saturday.

As October is the pink month, the match on Saturday is the Breast Cancer Awareness match. We will be wearing pink jerseys. Pink t-shirts will be sold at the match and the proceeds will be donated to the cause. This is another reason to come out to the game and support a good cause and our volleyball team.

As I said, October is our month, the RAC is our territory, green and gold (and pink!) are our colors and there will be nothing to stop us. Go Mason!

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country team matched the men’s team with a sixth-place finish at the James Madison University Open Invitational. The team averaged a time of 21:39.70, whereas both Duke Blue Devils’ teams won the meet. Junior Samantha Fickel ranked 31st overall, crossing the finish line at 20:42.30. Three sophomores also placed in the top 100. Karlyn Lockie and Kailyn Lockie finished in 84th and 90th, respectively, while Elizabeth Smith inched past a Delaware Blue Hens runner by one second for 100th place. The team also competed in the Lou Onesty Invitational, where freshman Rochelle Sceats placed fifth in 18:46.90.

Under the Scope: Fickel, Mason’s top runner last year, enters this season with high hopes again. Last season, she was only one of two Mason runners to participate in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. In addition to her 31st-place finish at the JMU Open Invitational, Fickel finished in 16th place at the Lou Onesty Invitational.

Men’s Cross Country
The men’s cross country team opened their 2009 campaign at the James Madison University Open Invitational at the New Market Battlefield last month. Mason took sixth place among the nine competing schools. Senior James Burns led all Mason runners with a time of 25:44.90, which was good enough for 17th place. In 42nd place, fellow senior Matt Bailey was the only other Mason representative to rank in the top 50 with a time of 26:40.80. The team placed fourth in the Lou Onesty Invitational on Sept. 19. Sophomore Everett Hackett finished third with a time of 25:10.50. Freshman Daniel Nafziger and senior Sam Horn ranked 15th and 16th, respectively.

Under the Scope: Hackett had a tremendous showing at the Lou Onesty Invitational, finishing in third place. As a result, he was named the Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week in the Colonial Athletic Association. He took 16th place at the CAA Championships with a time of 25:21.00.

Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team won all four matches at the Tiger 4-1 Invitational, which is the best start in school history for a team that has been longing to get past mediocrity. Mason defeated the host Towson Tigers in a tight 3-2 match. Freshman Andrea Londen rallied from a heartbreaking first-set loss to provide Mason with its second singles win.

The doubles team of freshmen Kiersten Pappas and Alison Wingo defeated their opponents (6-2, 6-2). Mason went on to win against the Shepherd Rams, continuing their road to an undefeated season. All of Mason’s six singles and three doubles teams swept the Rams.

Under the Scope: Pappas, a standout tennis player at Loudoun Valley High School, enters the season with high expectations and has already strengthened Mason at the top. Junior Lindsay Gray held the incumbent number one slot for Mason in the past two seasons.

Pappas has been playing at the number one slot in five of the first eight matches and has yet to lose a single match in her early collegiate career. As she provides competition for Gray at the top, Mason increases their chances of playing top-level tennis.

Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis team, which lost Brian Fitzgerald and Dan Schneider to graduation last year, will open the 2009 season with a group of young talent. Sophomore Jorge Osuna had a tremendous freshman year last season and opened the season with a convincing win at the number one slot in singles at the Mason Fall Invitational. He defeated Tommi Nissinen of the James Madison Dukes in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) on the final day. Freshman Kevin McMillen opened his collegiate career with a 3-0 record in Flight Two singles. Mason struggled at the University of Mary Washington Kickoff Classic, picking up only two wins. Osuna struggled in his first match, but answered with a three-set win, wrapping up his performance with a 1-2 showing. After dropping the first set 6-3, Osuna took the second set 6-1 and squeaked past his Mary Washington opponent in a thrilling 10-8 win in the third set.

Under the Scope: McMillen is one of seven newcomers to the men’s tennis team. He won all three singles matches at the Mason Fall Invitational and teamed up with Osuna at the number one slot in doubles to win the two matches that Sunday. He was unable to pick up a win at the Mary Washington Kickoff Classic, but he will still have a lot of opportunities this season.

Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team is stocked with a high-octane offense this season. Most of the production has come from the front line with freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger, redshirt junior midfielder Omolyn Davis and senior forward Kelly Keelan. Mason already surpassed last season’s win total in the first seven games. The team struggled to find a consistent goalkeeper, but Head Coach Diane Drake seems to have found the solution with freshman Katie Frey, who recently won the CAA Rookie of the Week award. Frey has four shutouts to go along with her .824 save percentage.

Under the Scope: Kallenberger has been a viable asset to the team’s early success. She is tied for second in the CAA with seven goals. Although she has not been the only success story coming out of Mason, she has helped bring Mason out of the cellar to the top of the conference. In the first nine games, Kallenberger already scored four game-winning goals.

Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team has been a part of a number of low-scoring affairs in the 2009 season, but the team finally broke open against the Longwood Lancers in a 4-0 rout. After the first 14 games, Mason was 6-6-2 at the time. The team finally received a wake-up call and went on a rampage, winning eight consecutive games, including a 1-0 win in the NCAA Tournament against the Pennsylvania Quakers. Mason, the defending CAA champion, has a brand new defensive core with freshman Ryan Reichmann and redshirt sophomore Eric Zuehsow.

Under the Scope: Zuehsow had his season cut short, but was named to the D.C. College Cup All-Tournament Team last season. Zuehsow scored a game-winning goal against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks two years ago and recently put up two goals last week against the Lancers and the VCU Rams. Mason has given up just four goals in their first seven games. The defensive plays from Zuehsow will be vital for the team to minimize offensive opportunities for their opponents.

Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team, enriched with its history of highs and lows, is once again building up to a bright future. Mason was unable to overcome a couple of streaks last season. Even though Mason recently suffered their first losing streak this season, the team looks to get back on the winning side. The team may be regressing a little bit, but Head Coach Pat Kendrick has been known to turn around the program in the past. In just her second season, Kendrick led Mason from a 14-20 record to 31-12. Just a decade ago, Mason gradually improved from 7-25 to 22-8 in 2002. Mason currently stands at 12-5, which is already an improvement from last season’s 9-18 record.

Under the Scope: Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman is the team’s defensive specialist, leading with 83 blocks, 18 of which are solo blocks. Bohman, the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8, is the conference leader in blocks with 1.32 per set. She recorded a career-high 11 blocks against the Cornell Big Red in the Patriot Invitational earlier in the season. Bohman, who was limited to a reserve role in her rookie season, will be having her hands up, making it tough for Mason’s CAA foes to register kills.

Golf
The golf team opened their fall schedule at the Manor Intercollegiate in Farmville, Va. on Sept. 15. Sophomore Josh Apple led Mason and finished in third place overall, shooting a one-over par 217 in the 54-hole event. Junior Marshall Tinsley shot a 10-over par 226, but dropped from eighth to 17th place on the final day. Casey Thompson, A.J. Singh and senior Andrew Maryan also competed at the Manor Intercollegiate. Mason finished fourth among 13 schools with an overall score of 916.

Under the Scope: Tinsley was one of the team’s top golfers last season as he led the team in the CAA Championship with a 22nd-place finish. The team wrapped up last season at the Cavalier Classic and Tinsley continued to impress with a fourth-place finish, a score of two-under par 70. He opened with a second-place ranking, a five-under par 67 on the first day at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in Sunset Beach, N.C. last week. He finished in fourth place overall with a six-under par 210.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

The George Mason University men’s soccer team came into the game against the Maryland Terrapins with little to prove. Maryland was ranked third in the nation and needed to prove their season after a loss to their rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels.

In the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Mason Patriots lost 2-0 to Maryland. The appearance was the farthest the Patriots went into the postseason since 1996, and the loss snapped an eight-game winning streak. The Terrapins went on to win the national championship by defeating North Carolina.

Mason came out of the gate with their usual high-energy offense and even though the ball possession was fairly even, junior forward Victor Freeman shocked the Terrapins. Freeman charged the goal and, staring down Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Zac MacMath, deposited the ball into the right corner.

“We’ve been playing better lately. I think the second half of Longwood got us off on the right foot. We’d been very lethargic up to that game,” said Head Coach Greg Andrulis of his team’s potent high-energy offense.

Maryland continued their comparatively slow level of play during the first half of the game. However, Mason stayed fierce. As the game went on, sophomore midfielder Ryan Gracia made a play for the ball and found a Maryland player in his way. Never slowing down, Gracia found himself with a red card ejection for his level of play.

“Our guys . . . had to deal with some adversity with the red card the first half,” said Andrulis of Gracia’s play.

As time dwindled in the first half, Maryland gained a sense of urgency as the scoreboard stared them in the face: Mason 1, Maryland 0.

Giving a full-strength approach, Maryland charged the field and came within mere inches of a goal. Senior goalkeeper Sean Kelley’s quick reactions saved a goal in the middle of an onslaught of defenders with 10 seconds left and gave Mason the hope they needed going into the second half.

Going into the game, Maryland had gone 0-1-1 when their opponents scored first, as was the case Tuesday night.

In the second half, the Patriots came in with even higher energy and lit up the field as sophomore forward Draymond Washington received the ball from Freeman and put the second goal of the game in, past a diving MacMath.

“I just go along with [the team], I expect high of myself . . . and try to live up to it,” said Freeman of his high level of play, making goals and assists in his first two games.

The tables were turned at that moment. The score from the playoff game in November was turned to the Patriots favor. The press box began to shake with the excitement of the 2,781 cheering, stomping fans below.

Maryland then began to focus on ball control after they realized the Patriots’ potent offense. At the 31-minute mark, Kelley made an absolutely spectacular play, leaping high into the air to save a sure goal. This proved to be a common concept as the game went on, as Kelley made plays by diving and leaping for the rest of the night, making a save to end the game for the win.

“This is the third time I’ve played them and I’ve always walked away thinking they were better. We like to win at home at all cost, so many things are coming together for us,” said Kelley of the Patriots’ unlikely win.

After the win, the players and coaches did not focus on the win for long, quickly turning their attention to the Saturday game against the William & Mary Tribe.

“It will be tough to get a bid without winning the conference. We need to take care of [the conference games],” said Kelley of the upcoming game.

The Patriots were scheduled to play at the College of William & Mary at 7 p.m. Saturday night.