Semi-local Away Games

For those of you who are fans of more than just George Mason's basketball team, here are the away games that are within a less-than-three-hour drive of Fairfax. Mason Sports Bog assumes no liability for the condition of some of these campuses. Especially at night.

8/14 – Women’s Soccer @ UVA
8/19 – Men’s Soccer @ UVA
8/27 – DC Volleyball Challenge (at George Washington)

9/23 – Women’s Soccer @ ODU
9/25 – Women’s Soccer @ William & Mary
9/29 – Women’s Soccer @ VCU
9/30 – Women’s Soccer @ JMU

10/1 – Men’s Soccer @ VCU
10/7 – Women’s Volleyball @ Towson
10/8 – Men’s Soccer @ William & Mary
10/9 – Women’s Volleyball @ Delaware
10/15 – Men’s Soccer @ JMU
10/19 – Men’s Soccer @ Delaware

11/10-12 – Men’s Soccer @ CAA Championship
11/19 – Men’s Soccer @ NCAA tournament

Live-Blogging from the Kenner League

5:00 - Now I'm heading home to work on the story for Connect2Mason. Look for it tonight. 

4:00 - The 4-Patriot team took the loss to the Georgetown rookie squad. After talking to Eric, Vaughn and Corey, I'm starting  to see just how they will fit in with the current roster. Also, Mike Morrison had a 5-foul game by my count.

2:44 - 65 seconds into the game and we see Mike Morrison's first foul.

1:48 - Good to see Whack getting quality minutes. Vertrail Laughs is supposed to be here, but he hasn't suited up. Paris tells me he's okay.

1:15 - Sherrod's team takes a double-digit loss in their game. If traffic getting to DC was better, I would have seen more than Sherrod's scoreless 60 seconds.

Fan Friday

This week's Fan Friday is a video to give a fans a little different perspective on Ryan Pearson. The Post did a great job with the story, I just never saw this video interview. Ryan really puts it all on the line. He's a hoss.



Also, I'll be at the Keener League getting a look at some guys. Expect live blogging, hopefully...

Before he even coaches...

If you were looking for positive comments about the last few days, you've come to the wrong place. 


The U.S. U19 team took a close 78-77 win over Australia on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was for fifth place in the tournament where the Americans were expected to take gold. Jump to this link to see the USA Basketball recap of the game. 


And all in the last 12 hours, the Georgia Tech campus, where Hewitt last coached, has been buzzing (pardon the pun) with the news that not only will the football team vacate their 2009 ACC trophy, but that the basketball team will be hit for recruiting violations. 


The NCAA alleges that an academic advisor and a grad assistant were at an AAU event on campus and that gave them a recruiting edge. Four of the high schoolers with the Atlanta Celtics program eventually played for Tech. None of the players from the 2009 or 2010 incidents played for the university though.


Sucks for them due to the restrictions they have now.


Here's where it gets interesting for Mason fans (scroll down to 3:56 p.m.). It could give Georgia Tech the right to stop paying Hewitt the rest of his salary, but probably won't. The link has the specific terms of the contract and SB Nation Atlanta does not think that anything will come out of this, financially speaking. 


That's good news for you. Georgia Tech will keep paying Hewitt to coach at Mason. 


According to CBSSports.com, Hewitt said, "My staff and I have always had a record of compliance with the rules. And we’re proud of that record.”


Too bad that record is now tarnished. 


In the spirit of the video the GMU Sports Information Directors made last winter, here's one that encapsulates the ire of GTech fans:



I really do hope he can turn everything around.

A look at the 2011 men's soccer schedule

I told you all this wasn't just about basketball.


Last year was disappointing to say the least. After a fairly successful 2009 season, the 2010 year never really materialized. The Patriots finished with a 4-5-2 mark in the CAA, good for seventh place. Six teams make the playoffs. The team just could not find any way to beat teams higher than themselves in the standings. 


From covering the team myself, which I hope to do a lot more of this year, Victor Freeman's absence during the 5-game winless streak basically killed the season. Even though there was a statistical chance that they could make the postseason, a double-overtime loss killed those chances. So hopefully, they are out for blood this year.


Head Coach Greg Andrulis is excited: 

"The 2011 schedule is extremely exciting on many levels," said Mason head coach Greg Andrulis. "First we maintain our philosophy of challenging ourselves with the best possible non-conference schedule that features Top 20 teams with NCAA tournament experience. Second, we are able to provide our team and fans with quality home games against nationally-recognized opponents. And third, we have a schedule that will help prepare the team for a very strong conference schedule. On paper the 2011 schedule appears to be one of the most exciting and challenging schedules for Mason soccer in recent history."

The first big thing for the Patriots is the D.C. College Cup, hosted in Fairfax, with American, GW and Howard all participating. The Patriots took both games last year with a 3-1 winner over GW and a 1-0 win over American. Hopefully this can get the season off on the right foot again.


Only one of the five conference losses can be avenged in Fairfax. And that's Drexel. Sorry fans. You might have to take a little trip to see the other good games. 


With all three goalkeepers on the team taking turns in the box due to injury and performance, maybe we can get a little bit of clarity this year on who is the clear starter. Dustin Butcher and his shaved head tallied two shutouts in the offseason with the Premier Developmental League.


Speaking of the PDL, Ryan Gracia was named to the league's Team of the Week in late May. Good to know that he doesn't lose any of his motivation going to see the Washington Wizards play like crap during  the winter.


Also, there's an ESPN All-American and a WVU transfer on the team this year. And don't forget that Andrulis was a pro coach. Big things are coming.


Finally, I'm getting sick of tying with ODU every freaking year...

Timeout

If you are wondering why there are no posts this week, it is because I have been in the Outer Banks wasting the summer away.

See you in a few days!