Men’s, women’s soccer set to open conference play this weekend

Senior defender Draymond Washington has helped the Patriots slow down opposing offenses this season, including the exhibtion game against UVA on August 19 in which they held the Cavaliers to just one goal. The men's team begins conference play this weekend against Old Dominion in Fairfax. (John Powell).

The George Mason men’s soccer team (3-2-2) opens conference play Saturday night at home against a long-time conference foe, No. 11 Old Dominion, which is good news for the Patriots, who have played up to their competition this season.

They took No. 8 UCF to a 1-1 tie on a goal from junior forward Taylor Morgan. Sophomore goalkeeper Sean Cote held the Knights scoreless for the entire second half and extra time to seal the tie. Against a ranked Cal State Fullerton team, Morgan scored on a penalty kick to give the Patriots the win.

The performance earned him the CAA Player of the Week award, the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I men’s soccer Offensive Player of the Week award and a spot on the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week.

For now, everything is going the Patriots’ way as they enter conference play. Senior midfielder Ryan Gracia is shaking off the rust coming off of an injury and freshman forward/midfielder Timmy Mulgrew is putting in the work to find a starting job and is ready to make an impact. In the second overtime period against UCF, Mulgrew nearly sent a header to the back of the net for the win, but it was picked off by an incredible save for the goalkeeper.

Along with Morgan and Mulgrew, freshman midfielder Verneri Valimaa is finding his groove as the glue man of the offense. His accurate passing has given scoring chances to the men up front for the last few seasons.

Saturday night's game against ODU begins at 7 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.

The women Patriots (3-3-2) opened the season hard-pressed to find a win, but junior forward Tiana Kallenberger has ignited the team to three straight victories. She found two goals in the 2-2 tie against Longwood less than two weeks ago en route to a four-goals-in-four-games performance. After the team’s 3-0 week, Kallenberger was one of only seven players named to the Soccer America Team of the Week. It was her second accolade in just a few days, as she was named the CAA’s women’s soccer Player of the Week.

Following the freshman trend from the men’s team, Kallenberger and Head Coach Diane Drake have hailed freshman forward Liz Hodges as having one of the best finishing moves on the team. Her two goals, second most on the team, have come at opportune times during the Patriots a three-game win streak following the Longwood tie.

But, the lady Patriots have a tough road ahead of them in CAA play, starting tonight at Old Dominion, when they take on the Monarchs at 7 p.m. They travel to William & Mary for a 2 p.m. Sunday game and close out the three-game road trip Thursday at 7 p.m. at VCU. The playoff push for the CAA starts this weekend for two teams trying to improve on their 2010 campaigns.