Men's Soccer Continues Tough Schedule on the Road at No. 22 George Mason

Bucknell (2-0-1) at #22 George Mason (1-1)
When: Tuesday, Sep. 2, 7:15 p.m.
Where: George Mason Stadium, Fairfax, Va.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoMason.com

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell looks to stay unbeaten in the early going of the season as the Bison take on another tough non-conference opponent in No. 22 George Mason. Both the Bison and Patriots have had an exciting start to the season, each picking up a ranked win in the first couple matches. Bucknell took down No. 23 Hofstra in the season opener, and George Mason knocked off No. 11 Virginia on Thursday night.
Bucknell received nine votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches rankings released on Tuesday, September 2. Bucknell is also ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region Poll. George Mason enters the rankings this week as the No. 22 ranked team in the country. The Patriots came in on the Southeast Regional poll at No. 4.
The Bison are most recently coming off of a 2-2 draw with Maryland, where the Bison erased a two-goal deficit that included an 86th minute equalizer from senior center back Ben Sheffield.
This is the second consecutive year that the Bison have had a 2-0 start. Before last season, the Bison had not started a season 2-0 since 2002.
Bucknell has scored in the final 16 minutes in each of its first three matches and scored a goal in the final five minutes in each of its last two matches. The Bison have trailed in all three matches to start the season, coming from behind in each one to stay unbeaten.
In the season opener against No. 23 Hofstra, junior wing back Jack Lucas put the Bison in front 2-1 with a stunning goal from outside the box in the 75th minute.
In the home opener against St. Bonaventure, junior forward Jakub Samelko scored his first career goal in the 88th minute to complete a second half comeback and win the match 3-2.
Bucknell went down 2-0 just 30 minutes into the match at Maryland before senior center back Jackson Sullivan netted his first career goal from the penalty spot to halve the deficit to 2-1. The defense remained steady as the Bison patiently waited for an opportunity to equalize. The Bison earned a corner and Lucas found Sheffield for the equalizer on the set piece.
Senior goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth was a key factor in the match with seven saves. The 2024 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year made four saves inside the first 18 minutes of the second half, including a penalty save and a big stop on a breakaway to keep the Bison within a goal. Lapworth saved the penalty just three minutes into the half as Maryland came out firing.
Lucas has been on the score sheet in each of Bucknell's first three matches, including the match winner in the season opener. Against St. Bonaventure, Lucas equalized the match 2-2 with a beautiful free kick from 25 yards out.
Lucas leads the Bison with five points through the first three games. His two big goals for the Bison earned the wing-backer the Patriot League (PL) Offensive Player of the Week award last week; his second PL weekly award after earning a Midfielder of the Week honor last season. Lucas was Bucknell's top point-scorer and goal-scorer in 2024, tallying three goals and four assists in the campaign. This season, Lucas has six shots, including four shots on target through the first three matches.
Bucknell has seven goals thus far from six different goal-scorers. Senior Forward Zane Domsohn netted a goal against St. Bonaventure just 30 seconds into the match. Freshman center back Jacob Thomas scored his first career goal against Hofstra, equalizing the match 1-1 with a goal from 25 yards out.
Lucas, junior center back Kiko Hidalgo and freshman wing back Nate Coughlin have all tallied an assist. Coughlin provided the assist on a beautiful cross on Samelko's winning goal against St. Bonaventure.
Lapworth is the Preseason Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year after being named the 2024 PL Goalkeeper of the Year. Lapworth is primed for another big year after keeping eight clean sheets last season. Lapworth was a First Team All-PL and a First Team All-Region honoree in 2024. Lapworth was named one of nine goalkeepers to the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers to Watch List and one of 29 players named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
Senior midfielder Jimmy Pombor was named to the Preseason All-PL squad. Pombor, a holding midfielder, had an excellent debut season in Orange and Blue after transferring from Lock Haven. Pombor has started every match since his arrival and was a First Team All-PL selection in 2024.
Bucknell has 23 returning players on the 2025 squad, including 17 upperclassmen. Bucknell's freshman class includes center backs Jacob Thomas and Gavin Newcombe, wing back Nate Coughlin, holding midfielder Zain Elder and goalkeeper Thomas Yerbury.
Dave Brandt is Bucknell's 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt, who is now in his fourth season at Bucknell, brought with him a remarkable career record of 354-86-40 in stints at Messiah, Navy, and Hope. Brandt won six Division III national championships at Messiah and led Navy to the 2013 Patriot League title and an NCAA Tournament first-round win.

Bucknell in 2024

Bucknell completed an incredible turnaround in 2024, winning its first Patriot League Championship since 2014. The Bison went from last place with a 2-10-1 (1-6-1 PL) record in 2023 to a 7-7-6 (4-1-4 PL) record in 2024 with a PL regular-season co-championship with Boston University. Bucknell defeated American in penalties in the semifinal match before a 3-0 rout of Colgate in the championship match. The only other team to make a last-to-first finish in their conference last season was North Florida Atlantic Sun Conference.
Bucknell was one of the top defensive sides in the PL last season, allowing just five goals in nine league matches. The Bison only allowed multiple goals in five of its matches on the season, including a 2-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Providence.
The Bison allowed 21 goals in 20 games, allowing 1.038 goals per game that ranked 39th in the nation. Bucknell's eight clean sheets ranked ninth in nation and the Bison ranked 36th with a .400 shutout percentage. Freddie Lapworth led the PL with a .774 save percentage that also ranked 29th in the nation.
On the attack, Bucknell's .950 goals per game average ranked last in the Patriot League despite ranking first in the Patriot League with 210 shots and ranking third with 82 shots on goal. Bucknell had 12 different goal scorers and 13 different players with an assist.
Sophomore Drew Roskos had a great debut season for the Bison, netting three goals with three assists to rank second on the team with nine points. Juniors Cade Whitmire and David Krumov each had a team-high four assists.

George Mason at a Glance

George Mason is coming off of a big 4-1 win over No. 11 Virginia. It marks the Patriots' highest-ranked win since 2011 and its second-highest ranked win in school history.
The Patriots quickly took a 2-0 advantage inside 25 minutes with goals from Martim Sereno and James Eliuda. Virginia scored early in the second half, but Sereno answered just three minutes later with his second goal to make it 3-1. Jacob Sanfeliu then scored to make it 4-1 as the Patriots cruised to its first win of the season.
George Mason is 1-1 after falling in its season opener to the national runner-up, No. 2 Marshall. Marshall took a 2-0 first half lead, and the Patriots early goal in the second half was all they could manage as Marshall held on to win 2-1.
George Mason posted a 13-4-1 overall record last season, including a 6-1-1 record in conference play to secure a regular-season Atlantic 10 championship. The Patriots took down La Salle 2-0 in a quarterfinal before falling to St. Louis 2-1 in the semifinal.
Sereno leads the Patriots with four points on two goals. Sereno had 10 points last season on two goals and six assists. James Eliuda has three points with a goal and an assist. Eliuda had nine points in 2024, scoring two goals with five assists.
Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez has two assists so far, providing two helpers in the Patriots' 4-1 win over Virginia.
Goalkeeper Juame Salvado has made 10 saves through the first two matches. Salvado played in 17 matches last season, allowing just 17 goals and making 36 saves.
Javi Sanchez was one of George Mason's top point-scorers last season with 10 points. Sanchez tallied two goals and an assist last year.

History/Facts

This will be the third meeting between the two sides, and both teams have picked up a win and a loss in the matchup.
The most recent matchup took place last season, where the Patriots defeated the Bison 1-0 on a goal from Eliuda. Sereno picked up an assist on the goal.
Bucknell won the first ever matchup between the sides in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament, where the Bison won 1-0 on Mark Schmiegel's goal to advance to the second round. The win marked Bucknell's second tournament win in team history and its first tournament win since 1974.

Men's Soccer Continues Tough Schedule on the Road at No. 22 George Mason

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Coughlin

Zane Domsohn

Zain Elder

Kiko Hidalgo

David Krumov

Freddie Lapworth

Jack Lucas

Gavin Newcombe

Jimmy Pombor

Drew Roskos

Jakub Samelko

Ben Sheffield

Jackson Sullivan

Jacob Thomas

Cade Whitmire

Thomas Yerbury

Men's Soccer Continues Tough Schedule on the Road at No. 22 George Mason

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Coughlin

Zane Domsohn

Zain Elder

Kiko Hidalgo

David Krumov

Freddie Lapworth

Jack Lucas

Gavin Newcombe

Jimmy Pombor

Drew Roskos

Jakub Samelko

Ben Sheffield

Jackson Sullivan

Jacob Thomas

Cade Whitmire

Thomas Yerbury

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