Coming into the game, Northeastern held sixth place in the CAA standings, meaning a win was critical to get the team closer to the CAA playoffs. "That was a must-win game for us," said Assistant Coach James Greenslit. "Anytime you can get a win in conference you take it, but we still need to win one more, and hopefully we can get that in against Towson Sunday."

After a scoreless first half that saw only a few shots by each team, the Huskies came out firing in the second half, creating multiple opportunities. "They are a big physical defense," Greenslit said. "But we really opened it up in the second have and creates some good opportunities."

Northeastern finally got on the board in the 81st minute when Greg Kilkenny launched the ball from Northeastern's side of the field, dropping it in front of a streaking Talaat who put several moves on a patriot defender and knocked it in off the left post.

Kilkenny's assist was his eighth of the season and puts him in a tie for the CAA lead. Talaat is now third in the CAA in goals scored with eight.

George Mason put on the pressure in the last 10 minutes, but Mahmoud Talaat made several saves to protect the lead and earn his fourth shut out of the season. "He came up big for us," said Greenslit. "He kept his cool and communicated really well." The sophomore finished with eight saves on the day.

Northeastern improves to 7-8-1 (5-3-1 CAA) while George Mason falls to 5-9-2 (2-6-1 CAA). Northeastern is now 5-1-1 in its last seven games and is 6-1 when playing at Parsons.

The Huskies take on Towson at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the last home game of the year. Seniors Greg Kilkenny, Ahmed Talaat and Padraig Tangney will be honored before the game.

       Soccer Box Score (Final)
                         2007 Northeastern Men's Soccer
          George Mason vs Northeastern (Oct 31, 2007 at Brookline, MA)



George Mason (5-9-2) vs.                                    Goals by period       1  2  Tot
Northeastern (7-8-1)                                        -------------------------------
Date: Oct 31, 2007  Attendance: 239                         George Mason........  0  0 -  0
Weather:                                                    Northeastern........  0  1 -  1

George Mason                                            Northeastern
Pos # Player                Sh SOG  G  A               Pos # Player                Sh SOG  G  A
------------------------------------------              ------------------------------------------
    1  Kelley, Sean........   -   -  -  -                   1  Talaat, Mahmoud.....   -   -  -  -
    3  Chaves, Chris.......   2   2  -  -                   4  Batista, Jonathan...   1   -  -  -
    6  Borrajo, Jonathan...   -   -  -  -                   6  Sanford, Matt.......   -   -  -  -
    7  Adu, Fro............   -   -  -  -                   7  Okland, Lars........   1   -  -  -
    10 Martinez, Irvin.....   -   -  -  -                   8  Lueders, Nick.......   4   1  -  -
    11 Vallie, Michael.....   -   -  -  -                   9  Talaat, Ahmed.......   3   1  1  -
    12 Fike, Hugh..........   2   1  -  -                   10 Tangney, Padraig....   1   -  -  -
    13 Edgar, Richard......   2   1  -  -                   11 Kilkenny, Greg......   4   2  -  1
    15 Arrington, Matt.....   -   -  -  -                   14 Ennis, Brendan......   -   -  -  -
    21 Walton, Parker......   2   2  -  -                   16 Bedoya, Santiago....   1   -  -  -
    26 Marquez, Ernesto....   3   1  -  -                   20 Volk, Alexander.....   1   -  -  -
     ---------- Substitutes ----------                       ---------- Substitutes ----------
    4  Lobene, Adam........   1   1  -  -                   15 Ehrlich, Lewis......   -   -  -  -
    28 Adjeman-Pamboe,Kwame   -   -  -  -                   22 Laning, Matthew.....   -   -  -  -
       Totals..............  12   8  0  0                      Totals..............  16   4  1  1

George Mason                                            Northeastern
# Player                 MIN  GA Saves                 # Player                 MIN  GA Saves
---------------------------------------                 ---------------------------------------
1  Kelley, Sean........  90:00  1     3                 1  Talaat, Mahmoud.....  90:00  0     8

Shots by period       1  2  Tot                         Saves by period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------                         -------------------------------
George Mason........  4  8 - 12                         George Mason........  1  2 -  3
Northeastern........  7  9 - 16                         Northeastern........  2  6 -  8

Corner kicks          1  2  Tot                         Fouls                 1  2  Tot
-------------------------------                         -------------------------------
George Mason........  0  0 -  0                         George Mason........  6 12 - 18
Northeastern........  1  5 -  6                         Northeastern........  4  9 - 13


SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL   Time Team     Goal Scorer              Assists                                  Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   81:49 NU       Talaat, Ahmed (8)        Kilkenny, Greg                           beat defender in box


CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:

Officials: Referee: Salmon Bahij; Asst. Referee: Joe Carrerro; Ed Martins;
Scorer: Guy Schoonmaker;
Offsides: George Mason 0, Northeastern 0.