Friday, Friday, Friday. The most popular sport in the world. The biggest worldwide stage in women’s sports. Two Patriots in the middle of it all.

That’s right, we’ve got two of our own taking center stage worldwide this weekend. We also have a new face making big waves for the Red, White and Blue, and much more!

What all is stirring in today’s Brew? You don’t want to miss!

⚽️ The Grandest Stage
🏐 Earning His Stripes
🌠 Patriot Countdown
​⭐ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 The Grandest Stage. Two of our own will have an experience of a lifetime when they take the field for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Senior Milan Pierre-Jerome and assistant coach Alyssa Whitehead will be representing Haiti and Jamaica, respectively.

This will be the first time George Mason will have both a player and a coach participating in a World Cup. It will also be the second time a Patriot soccer player will be playing in FIFA's largest stage. The first player to do so was Kim Maslin-Kammerdeiner in 1991, who was the reserve goalkeeper for the U. S. Women's National Team at the first FIFA Women's World Cup, which was held in China.

Milan Pierre-Jerome and Haiti will play England (Sat., July 22nd at 5:30 a.m.), China (Fri., July 28th at 7 a.m.) and Denmark (Tues., Aug. 1st at 7 a.m.).

Whitehead and Jamaica open up play against France (Sun., July 23rd at 6 a.m.), and then take on Panama (Sat., July 29th at 8:30 a.m.) and Brazil (Wed., Aug. 2nd at 6 a.m.).

Games can be viewed on Fox Sports or Telemundo.

🔼 Earning His Stripes. While he hasn’t put on the Green and Gold yet, he’s already made plans to wear the Red, White and Blue.

Incoming men's volleyball freshman Jackson Herbert was named to the U19 Beach National Team Roster, announced by USA Volleyball recently.
 
Herbert, a Virginia native, will join athletes from the U19, U21 and U23 rosters at the National Team Development Program (NTDP) summer training block from July 23 to Aug. 2 at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in California.

The Briar Woods High School graduate will join Hawaii men's volleyball signee Kai Rodriguez and represent the United States at the First Caribbean Beach Volleyball Invitational Tournament on Aug. 4-6, 2023.

🔼 Let’s Link Up. Wanna catch the Green and Gold on the links this year? We’ve got you covered as Coach Pieczynski announced the full 2023-24 slate this week. 

"We want to play an elite tournament schedule that allows our team to compete against the best teams in the country on the most challenging championship venues," said Pieczynski. "We want to compete on all types of great courses in all areas of the country because it will not only improve us as golfers, but it will also create more memorable life experiences for our team. This year's schedule once again meets to that high standard."

The Patriots will participate in 10 regular season tournaments, five of which are slated for the fall season and five for the spring season, plus the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship.

🔼 Maple Syrup For Everyone! Our friends from up north are even friendlier with us Patriots now after the latest addition to Mason’s men’s basketball program.

A 6-foot-3-inch guard from Brampton, Ontario, Baraka Okojie reclassified to the Class of 2023 and will join the Patriots as a true freshman in 2023-24. 

A First Team SIAA All-State selection in 2023, Okojie impressed for Daytona Beach DME Academy this past season where he lead his team to the top seed in the Florida state tournament and a top-10 ranking on MaxPreps. He served as team captain while averaging 14 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Okojie has represented his home country on the biggest stages as a member of the Canadian U-16 and U-17 National Teams. He is an alternate for the U-19 team. 

🔼 “Everything I could have hoped for.” No matter how many advertisements or great commercials we may see, we all know that recommendations from friends or others are the best way to peak our interest.

Grace Furlong was a two-year standout for the women’s track & field squad, earning silver medal status at the A10 Indoor and Outdoor Championship meets this past year. Her silver medal in the triple jump was a part of Mason’s 2023 Women’s Track & Field Atlantic 10 Championship victory.

This past week, Furlong reflected back to her journey to the US from Ireland and what it’s been like.

‘Every aspect of life in the US has been beyond anything I could have hoped for’

🌠 THE LEWIS ERA

The Dawn Of A New Era. July 1st officially started a new era of George Mason Athletics.

That was the day that Marvin Lewis, a former star collegiate student-athlete himself, officially took over the reins as the Athletic Director.

Energy, excitement and hard work are just some of what Marvin brings to the table. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store!

⭐️ PATRIOT COUNTDOWN: 27 DAYS

We are counting down the days to start of the 2023-2024 athletic calendar with some of the best moments, stars, and much more from Mason history.

A Bit Far From Home. When someone thinks about Alaska, they think about igloos, salmon, ice and cold. Soccer probably isn’t at the top of anyone’s list.

Except for rising sophomore Keegynn Applegate of Mason’s women’s soccer team.

Applegate came to Fairfax after a standout high school career in Anchorage, where she earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors after helping Dimond High School to a 15-0-1 mark and a Division I State Championship in her senior season.

Last year, in her first season at Mason, she played in six games for the Patriots, making her collegiate debut against national power, UVA, on August 18th.

🤔 PATRIOT TRIVIA

Breaking Records… This past spring, Mason and the EagleBank Arena was a part of a record breaking event.

What record event broke attendance records this spring in Fairfax?

Hint: Our guy Jackson Herbert was probably in there.

Think you got it?

Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Patriot Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: The 2023 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.

Mason established record-setting attendance numbers at this year's NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship at EagleBank Arena, which included a total attendance of 14,773 over six matches across four days of competition.
 
The mark set the NCAA Championship expanded field era record. The total attendance broke the previous record of 14,211, established by Long Beach State in 2019.

George Mason last hosted the NCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship in 1990, which had a final match attendance of 5,511.

Have a great weekend Patriots!1