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Tomorrow, Real Maryland travels to George Mason for their second of six preseason matches.

Following a 1-1 tie with George Washington University three weeks ago, the team has been hard at work on the training ground and Real Maryland coach Silvino Gonzalo is happy with the teams progress, “everything is going well,” the coach said after Thursday night’s practice “It’s very difficult to put together a new team to play at this level, but we’re coming along. The players are working hard and we are beginning to form a club”.

One of the main concerns for any team during their preseason is building fitness levels, but Gonzalo says his players were well prepared coming into the camp. “Right now fitness is one of our best assets.”

For Gonzalo and his staff, the objective of tomorrow match is simple. “We want to continue to work on playing as a unit,” the former Washington diplomats coach said. The goal is for the players to continue to gel together and get used to one another on the field.

2 Real Maryland Players to Watch:

In an inter-squad practice match last night, Muner Hassen looked sharp on the wing, taking his man on and serving balls into the box. The Mercer college product was also effective cutting the ball inside, opening lanes in the middle of the pitch and space for an overlapping run on the flank.

Devlin Barnes also looked menacing when coming forward from his deep lying midfield position to provide an extra option in the attack.

George Mason is an NCAA Division I college soccer team. Right now they are in their spring season, a period when college teams are allowed to conduct official practices and play exhibition matches against pro teams and other schools.

The patriots finished 11th in the Colonial Athletic Association last season with a 5-11-2 overall record. Despite a frustrating year, the Patriots are expected to be a much stronger outfit next season with the additions of Axel Levry and Ryan Gracia. Both are former members of the US U-17 Residency Program. Levry is already enrolled at the university and will be available for the scrimmage, but Gracia will not join the team until August of 2008.

2 George Mason Players to Watch

Sophmore Richard Edgar started 17 games in the fall, notching a goal and an assist from his midfield position. The Mechanicsville, Maryland native was a Third Team All CAA selection this season and a member of the 2006 All CAA rookie team in his freshmen campaign.