About
Men’s soccer was one of the first varsity sports to be offered when the then George Mason College began its athletic program in the late 1960s. Since then, it has become one of the most successful programs among the 22 NCAA Division I sports currently offered.
In the 39-year history of George Mason soccer, the program has a record of 377-264-76 for a winning percentage of .579. The Patriots have posted at least 10 victories in 23 of those seasons, including 14 in a row from 1980-93, and they have finished a season nationally ranked nine times (1981, ‘82, ‘84, ‘85, ‘87, ‘88, ‘90, ’92 and ‘96) in the last 24 years.
At George Mason Stadium, the team’s 5,000-seat home field which opened for the 1982 season, the Patriots have a sparkling record of 140-61-26 (.674 winning percentage).The program’s most successful period began in 1979, its first at the NCAA Division I level. Coach Richard Broad led the Patriots to a 9-9 mark that season and improved to the tune of a 10-4-3 record and a berth in the ECAC-South championship game in 1980.
After another impressive record of 12-2-4 in 1981, a season in which Mason was nationally ranked for the first time, the program kicked into high gear in 1982. The Patriots won their first 18 games and were ranked as high as sixth in the nation (the program’s highest national ranking ever) before losing to Virginia, 3-2, before4,500 fans at the new stadium. Mason came back to avenge that loss in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game with a 1-0 victory over the Cavaliers at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville before falling to eventual national runner-up Duke in the quarterfinals, 2-0. Mason’s final record of 19-2 set a school record for victories in a season. Broad, who finished his nine-year tenure with an overall mark of 88-53-17, saw the Patriots post a 15-4-3 record in his final season of 1984. Mason made its second appearance inthe NCAA Tournament that year, the first of six postseason appearances by the Patriots in a span of seven years.
Gordon Bradley joined the program as head coach in 1985. He immediately led the Patriots to a record of 18-4 and a NCAA first-round victory over Virginia, 1-0, before falling to eventual national runner-up American in the second round. Mason set a school record with 80 goals that season. In 1986, the Patriots again won a NCAA first-round game with a 2-1 victory over Maryland in overtime, but lost to Loyola in the second round. Bradley, who retired after the 2000 season with a 16-year mark of 183-113-35, guided the Patriots to other NCAA appearances in 1987, ’88 and ’90. A six-year drought ended in 1996 with Mason defeating Virginia, 1-0, in the first round before falling to eventual national champion St. John’s.
Mason’s most recent NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2006, a 1-0 loss to Bucknell in the first round. The Patriots have an all-time record of 4-9 in nine NCAA Tournament appearances.Since the inception of the Colonial Athletic Association in 1984 (it was known as the ECACSouth for the 1983 and ‘84 seasons only), Mason has been one of the most dominant programs in the conference with a league record of 104-57-23 (.628 winning percentage) and four shared or outright titles in 23 years. The Patriots also have tied for the regular season crown twice and advanced to the CAA Tournament finals four times.
