GoMason Blog presents the Mason Playoff Picture

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the fall sports seasons are slowly coming to a close and that means it’s time to take a look at the postseason picture for all of Mason’s teams.

Let’s start by taking a look at the women’s soccer team. This Friday at 2 p.m., the Patriots will play at Towson and Mason is in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Currently tied for third, a win or a tie will put Mason into the four-team tournament. Mason (10-7-1, 6-4-0) will look for its seventh-straight win over Towson (6-10-3, 2-7-1), a team that has not beaten Mason since Diane Drake took over as head coach prior to the 2004 season. GoMason.com will have a live blog of all the action from Towson on Friday.

Next up are the cross country teams. The CAA Championships will be contested on Saturday at Wilmington, N.C. Last year the men’s team finished second paced by Everett Hackett, who was second, Sam Horn, who was tenth, and Scott Tekesky, who was 12^th. Both Hackett and Tekesky return this season. Last year, the women were third, with Rochelle Sceats finishing fifth and Laura Sinclair finishing tenth. Both are back and running well, especially Sinclair who has twice been named CAA Runner of the Week.

The men’s soccer team has three matches remaining and they currently sit in a three-way tie for fifth, just two points behind three teams tied for second. Mason’s remaining matches come against Hofstra, also tied for fifth, and Georgia State and UNC Wilmington, both tied for second. It would be an understatement to say that the remaining matches are meaningful. The good news is, the Patriots control their own ability to get to the postseason. Three wins and they will, at worst, finish third. There are plenty of other combinations as well that will get them into the CAA Tournament, which they last won in 2008. Hofstra and VCU (which is also in second place) still have to play first-place William & Mary as does UNCW which finishes with three straight road matches. The Patriots have never needed fan support more than they do in their two remaining home games – Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. The Patriots are currently second in the conference in average home attendance.

Finally, there’s the DEFENDING CAA CHAMPION WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM. The Patriots, who are the DEFENDING CAA CHAMPIONS are tied for third with James Madison, with which they split their two matches this year. The Patriots, who are the DEFENDING CAA CHAMPIONS, trail second-place VCU by a half game but Mason lost its only meeting this year with the Rams. The DEFENDING CAA CHAMPION Patriots have matches remaining with first-place Delaware, which they will only face once this year, fifth-place Northeastern and Georgia State, and Hofstra, Towson and UNCW, three teams that are a combined 4-22 in conference play.

GoMason.com and the GoMason Blog will keep you up to date on the postseason picture for all of Mason’s sports.