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          Mitchell Richtmyre/Fourth Estate

The Patriots have won three straight and sit atop the A-10 standings

BY GABRIEL KING, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mason men’s soccer earned a national ranking for the first time since September 2014, the United Soccer Coaches announced Tuesday. The Patriots rose to 20th in this week’s United Soccer Coaches poll after receiving votes in last week’s poll.

The Patriots are 8-1-0 to start the season, their best start since 1985. Mason is 2-0 in Atlantic 10 play, with wins over Massachusetts and rival George Washington to begin their conference slate. VCU joined Mason as the only A-10 teams in the poll, sliding in at 23rd. The Patriots will travel to Richmond to face the Rams in the season finale on Nov. 2 in a game that will have national and conference ramifications.

Sophomore midfielder Quentin Clain has guided the Patriots to their historic start with his team-leading five goals and 12 points this season. Clain ranks fourth in A-10 in both categories of goals and points and Mason leads the conference with 68 points as a team. In Saturday’s win over George Washington, Clain and graduate student forward Marek Gonda scored two goals each to help the Patriots pull away from the Revolutionaries. 

As a team, the Patriots are averaging 2.2 goals per game, which ranks third in the A-10. In both of its conference wins, Mason struck multiple second-half goals to secure the victories.

Along with their explosive offense, the Patriots’ stellar goalkeeping has led them to their national ranking. Graduate student goalkeeper Jaume Salvado has played every minute this season, allowing one goal per game in nine starts. Mason is third in the A-10 in goals allowed per game and Salvado has held opponents to less than three goals in eight of his nine starts.

Mason will play as a nationally-ranked team for the first time in a decade on Saturday in Philadelphia against La Salle. The Explores are 3-4-3 and 1-0-1 in conference play. The Patriots return to George Mason Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 9 against Loyola Chicago, 

Nawaal Nackerdien/ Fourth Estate

BY SAM DOUGLAS, STAFF WRITER

The Eaterie is Mason’s latest food hub, becoming the second newest food option to open on campus this fall semester. Located next to Chick-Fil-A on the ground floor of the SUB 1 building, the new dining option takes over a vacancy left by the Rathskeller in 2019. 

Tentatively scheduled to open in October, there will be seven differently themed stations with a variety of foods for students to try. The Eaterie plans to have certain items that are free once a day for specific meal plans. After the dining option opens, students can order ahead in the Starship app. Starship’s robot delivery service will not be available as soon as The Eaterie opens, but is planned to be available in the future. 

For students looking for traditional meals such as pizza and sandwiches, they can visit the “Doughlicious” and “Subs & Such” stations. The station “Without Boundations” spotlights food from around the globe. “Dress it Up” and “Sips” are the salad bar and drink stations, respectively.  Even “Grab N Go” will move to become a permanent station in the Eaterie. Additionally, vegetarian options can be found at each station. 

Also featured as one of the seven stations is “The Mason Mensch,” the first kosher-certified kitchen in Northern Virginia, according to Mason Dining Marketing Director Sofya Vetrova. Originating from a small kosher cart in the Southside dining hall last year, The Mason Mensch has a sealed off kitchen to ensure no cross-contamination and will be supervised by a mashgiach to ensure the food follows the rules of orthodox Jewish cleanliness.

When deciding the dining options on campus, students heavily influence Mason Dining through conducted surveys. The most common feedback Mason Dining receives is requests for more plant-based options on campus. This led to the opening of a completely vegetarian dining hall, The Spot, as well as two vegan restaurants, NuVegan and Sweet Vegan.

The Eaterie takes pride in its environmental sustainability. The dining option will utilize Reuse Pass and partner with the company Topanga to become the first food spot on campus to offer reusable containers.

“It really comes from the student voice,” Vetrova said. “They are the ones who are telling us what is trending… then we investigate and see if there is a right spot for it.”