Good Morning Mason Nation. For most of us, Labor Day weekend was full of getting in a last beach trip of the season, preparing for the grind of the school year and maybe enjoying the pool and BBQ with friends.

Not for our Patriots who grinded out the first wins of the season, battled long-time rivals and one of our own got the call up to represent his home country once again.

We’ve got all the details and much more in today’s Brew.

You don’t want to miss!

🇵🇷 Getting The Call
⛳️ Business Trip
⚽️ Electric Factory
​⭐ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Getting The Call. As most of us were wrapping up a long weekend, rising senior Omar Hoyos was packing his bags.

Hoyos, a two-time All-Conference honoree for Mason’s men’s volleyball squad, got the call up to the Puerto Rican National Team in the NORCECA tournament being played this week in Charleston, WV.

This is not Hoyos’ first time with the squad as he was an important piece to the team, helping them qualify for the U23 Pan American Games that were held in Colombia and also in the 2022 FIVB World Championships.

Now in 2023, he is back in action with Puerto Rico for the NORCECA Tournament that began yesterday and runs through September 10^th .

Puerto Rico are in Group B with USA, Cuba, and Suriname.

🔼 Electric Factory. That’s the only way we can describe the atmosphere from Monday night’s men’s soccer showdown against long-time rival, Old Dominion.

The Patriots continued to show the fight they’ve shown all season so far, getting a second-half goal to earn a 2-2 draw with the Monarchs.

Junior forward Souley Diouf scored his first goal as a Patriot and tallied an assist to lead the offensive attack, while classmate Jaume Salvado made seven saves, including four in the second half to help the Green and Gold earn a hard-fought point.

🔼 Shipping Up To Boston. Golf courses were filled over Labor Day weekend, but in Boston, Mason’s men’s golf team hit the course on a mission.

Sophomore sensation Aryan Vuradi paced the squad, finishing ninth overall to lead three Patriots finishing in the top-15. Vuradi finished with five birdies on the weekend, while freshman JJ Powell earned a 13th-place finish in his first collegiate start.

📝 ICYMI

🔼 Turning Two. The veteran duo of Nani Spaar and Grace Halley provided a huge spark to lead the Mason volleyball team to a 2-1 record at this past weekend’s Seton Hall Classic, 3-1 over NJIT on Friday and 3-0 over Saint Peter’s on Saturday.

Spaar averaged over four kills per set and double-digit kills in all three matches, while Halley five digs per set as both grad students earned All-Tournament honors.

🔼 Off and Running. Facing a loaded field of 14 teams, including several regional powerhouses, the Mason cross country squads kicked off their 2023 seasons with sixth place finishes at the Spider Open, outside of Richmond.

For the men’s team, junior Mason Love and senior Wesley Bond both finished in the top-10 at the meet. Graduate student Kate O’Neil paced the women’s side, earning a top-15 finish as 16 teams raced in the women’s field. 

🏀 DUNKS OR DUNKS?

As the temperatures are rising, Coach Skinn got his opportunity to take a dip courtesy of some of his players.

Some of the guys may have enjoyed this a little too much.

⚾️ SEE YOU TONIGHT!

STILL TIME TO JOIN US TONIGHT!

Come out and show your Patriot pride as the Nationals host George Mason University Day at the ballpark!

Join Mason alumni, students, parents, faculty and fans as the Patriots take over the ballpark for a day.

Mason Athletics' Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis will be throwing out the game's first pitch!

🤔 PATRIOT TRIVIA

Net Finder. Senior Henry Wachsman is making the most of his final go-round with the Patriots.

The veteran midfielder has scored in two of the first three games of the season for the Green & Gold. He entered this year with just one goal in his career and he’s already surpassed that total.

Who was the last Patriot to score in two of the first three games of a season?

Think you got it?

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

📅 WHAT’S ON TAP?

Wednesday, September 6
⚾️ Mason Night at Nats Park I Tickets

Thursday, September 7
⚽ Women’s Soccer at Maryland @ 7 pm

Friday, September 8
🎾 Women’s Tennis at Moore Invitational (Navy)
🏐 Volleyball vs. Brown @ 12 pm
⚽ Men’s Soccer at Bucknell @ 7 pm
🏐 Volleyball vs. Robert Morris @ 7 pm

📬 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: Henning Dirks in 2017.

That’s right, for the second time in the past few weeks, Dirks is a trivia answer for y’all. Back in 2017, Dirks scored in the opener and the third game of the season for Mason.

Dirks scored in the opening win over Coastal Carolina and two games later, he found the back of the net against Albany as the Patriots got off to a 2-1 start in 2017.

⭐️ Let’s have a great day Patriots!