The George Mason women's soccer team will play 20 matches this upcoming season with the George Mason Tournament highlighting the schedule in 2009. The Patriots will play host to 11 teams including three first-time opponents and a pair of teams Mason has not faced in more than a decade.

The season will begin on August 21, the earliest start ever to a women's soccer season as Mason travels to play at VMI for the first-ever meeting between the teams. The following Friday, Mason will open its home schedule with a match against Mount St. Mary's as the Patriots and Mount face on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. Mason will then host Howard two days later at 1 p.m. After playing two of their first three at home, the Patriots will play three straight on the road, beginning with September 4 at Penn and September 11 and 13 in a tournament at William & Mary. The Patriots will meet Coastal Carolina to open the tournament and then face-off against UC-Santa Barbara on Sunday in the first-ever meeting between the schools.

The Patriots will return home for the Mason Tournament on September 18. The Patriots won the tournament in 2008. William & Mary and Cornell will play at 5 p.m. with the Patriots taking on Long Island for the first time at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, September 20, William & Mary will take on Long Island at Noon and then the Patriots will face Cornell at 2:30 p.m. The Big Red are coached by former Mason assistant coach Danielle LaRoche and it will be the first meeting between teams since 1998.

The Patriots will continue their home stand on Tuesday, September 22 with a home game against UMBC, the first time the teams have faced since 1993. Two days later, Mason will open up Colonial Athletic Association play when they face James Madison at 7 p.m. Mason's first CAA road game will come on September 27 at VCU.

The rest of Mason's home schedule includes home dates in October against Hofstra, Northeastern, Drexel, Delaware and Towson and road games at Georgia State, UNC Wilmington, William & Mary and Old Dominion. The CAA women's soccer tournament will be played November 6 and 8 at the regular-season champion with just four teams qualifying, down from six in recent seasons.

"Our 2009 schedule is more regionally based than past years due to the economy," said Mason head coach Diane Drake, entering her sixth season with the Patriots. "It will be very exciting to face some new competition. VMI, Santa Barbara, Coastal Carolina, Long Island Cornell and UMBC are all teams we haven't faced in many years if ever. So the unknown is exciting and will be a challenge for the ladies. A challenge we are very much looking forward to."