The Patriots face an unhill battle but the addition of a promising recruiting class could give george Mason the edge they need for upward movement
| Coach – Rich Costanzo – 2nd season |
| Conference – Atlantic 10 |
| 2022 Record – 2-11-2. 1-6-2 in conference |
| 2022 National Ranking– Not Ranked |
| Five Year Win Total 2022 – 2 2021 – 2 2020 – 0 2019 – 4 2018 – 9 |
| Key Departures Noah Raphael – Forward – Played in 14 games with three starts in 2022. Scored two goals in 2022. Ariel Aguas – Midfielder – Played in and started 12 games in 2022. Had one goal and one assist in 2022. Balint Kocso – Forward – Transferred to James Madison. Played in 25 games with 20 starts over two seasons. Scored three goals in 2021 and one goal in 2022. Louis Lehr – Midfielder – Transferred to Fordham. Played in 28 games with 24 starts over two seasons. Scored four goals in 2021 and one goal in 2022. Jonathan Fawole – Defender – Played in 33 games with 32 starts over three seasons. Kent Harrison – Forward – Played in 36 games with 26 starts over three seasons. Had two career goals. |
| 2023 Outlook Rich Costanzo begins his second season as the head coach at George Mason in 2023 with the addition of a very promising recruiting class that has the potential to jump start a program for which wins have recently been few and far between. Last year the Patriots scored a total of 11 goals while allowing 33. Significant improvement is needed in that ratio in order for George Mason to begin to turn things around. Rebuilding rarely occurs overnight and requires patience but the transfer portal era allows for quicker rebuilds than in the past. Conventional wisdom understandably leads to low expectations for a program that has a total of four wins over the past three seasons. A sense that progress is being made is in the air at George Mason but a level of uncertainty will remain until there is a tangible upward trend in the number of wins. That said, there is reason for cautious optimism and a level of brewing confidence at George Mason heading into the 2023 season. The Patriots may not have what it takes to contend for the Atlantic 10 title in 2023. However, the level of talent now on board has the potential to increase the number of wins and generate upward movement out of the basement of the Atlantic 10. Sophomore midfielder Nico Prioli (0g, 1a), senior midfielder Henry Wachsman (1g, 0a, and sophomore defender Will Carson are among a solid contingent of returning players who should figure prominently in the level of success the Patriots have in 2023. Forwards senior Ishmail Kamara (1g, 1a) and sophomore Zach Eichelberger (1g, 1a), junior midfielder Zachary Golden (1g, 1a), junior backs junior Ahmed Mohamed (1g, 1a) and Joshua Morrobel (0g, 1a), and graduate student goalkeeper Jake Langley who was the starter between the pipes last year are among other returning players who will no doubt be in the mix. Junior Gabriel Silveira who transfers in from Monroe College, junior Souley Diof who is a transfer from Otero College, and junior Sam McCann who transfers in from Quinnipiac are among the newcomers with the ability to add much needed punch to the attack in the final third. Juniors Erick Kilosho and Asparuh Slavov who transfer in from the University of Virginia and freshman James Eliuda out of the DME Prep Academy are among the newcomers who should strengthen the midfield. Kilosho is a box-to-box midfielder, Slavov is an experienced playmaker, and Eliuda should add a physical presence in the center of the park. Rebuilds usually begin on the defensive side of the ball. Junior center back Javier Sanchez and graduate student left back Luis Maestre, transfers from the University of Charleston (West Virginia), outside back Levi Stephens, a sophomore transfer from Akron, and goalkeeper Jaume Salvado, a transfer from NAIA Indiana Tech, are among several members of the recruiting class with the potential to immediately help tighten up the defense. The bottom line is that Patriots will enter the 2023 season with a stronger roster on both sides of the ball due in large part to the addition of a lot of new experienced faces via the transfer portal. They should be more competitive but how that translates in terms of wins and losses remains to be seen. George Mason looks to be heading in the right direction in year two under Rich Costanzo but this is a program whose identify is still evolving. Much will hinge on the combined ability of the returning players and the newcomers to do a better job of maintaining possession and their ability to create and finish goal scoring opportunities at a much higher rate than they did in 2022. |
| Newcomers Gabriel Silveira – Forward – Concordia, Brazil – Pedro Maciel High School – A junior transfer from Monroe College. Played for Manhattan Soccer Club in USL 2. Souley Diof – Forward – Senegal – A junior transfer from Otero College Sam McCann – Forward – Stamford, Connecticut – Academy of Information Technology and Engineering – A sophomore transfer from Quinnipiac. Named to All-MAAC Rookie Team. Played for New York Soccer Club and NYCFC. Team Captain. Davis Crittenden – Forward – Newport News, Virginia – Indian River High School – A freshman who played for SYC MLS Next. Erick Kilosho – Midfielder – Roanoke, Virginia – Patrick Henry High School – A junior transfer from the University of Virginia. Played in 16 games with 9 starts in 2021. Played in two games in 2020. Asparuh Slavov – Midfielder – Alpharetta, Georgia – Denmark High School – A junior transfer from the University of Virginia where he appeared in 16 games with two starts in 2022. Named to the All-Freshman Team in 2021 with 17 appearances and 17 starts. Had one assist in 2022. Had a goal and one assist in 2021. Anton Siren – Midfielder – Berlin, Germany – Friedensburg Oberschule – Played for German U17 Bundesliga youth champions. James Eliuda – Midfielder – South Soudan – A freshman who played for DME Academy. Brent Fields – Midfielder – Alexandria, Virginia – Played club for SYC MLS Next. Javier Sanchez – Defender – Elche, Spain – Salesianos San Jose Artesano – A junior transfer from the University of Charleston. A 2022 All-Mountain East Second Team selection who played in 18 games with 18 starts in 2022 with 2 goals. Luis Maestre – Defender – Elche, Alicante – A graduate student transfer from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) where he played in 17 games with 16 starts in 2022 and started 22 games in 2021. Had two goals and four assists in 2021 and two goals and three assists in 2022. Two-time Mountain East All-Conference selection. Levi Stephens – Defender – Akron, Ohio – Firestone High School – A sophomore transfer from Akron University where he appeared in five games last year and had three assists. Played for the Columbus Crew Academy and the Philadelphia Union Internationals Academy. Kelly Janssen – Defender – Hudson, Ohio – A freshman who played for Western Reserve Academy. David Garcia – Defender – Woodbridge, Virginia – A freshman who played for FC Cincinnati Academy in MLS Next Pro. Jaume Salvado – Goalkeeper – Barcelona, Spain – A junior transfer from Indiana Tech. |
