TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In its annual list of the Top-40 Recruiting Classes in the nation, College Soccer News ranked George Mason's 2008 class of 11 student-athletes No. 33. The Patriots' 2008 recruiting class features three players with U.S. Soccer Under-17 National Team experience.

Members of this year's recruiting class include Pete Bulat (F/MF, Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township), Dustin Butcher (GK, Stephens City, Va./Sherando), Ryan Gracia (MF, Rockville, Md./Thomas Wootton), Rob Haddick (MF, Centerville, Ohio/Dayton Christian), Anthony Han (MF, Yorktown, Va./Tabb/St. John's), Sean Healy (D, Richmond, Va./Douglas S. Freeman), Axel Levry (F/MF, Ft. Washington, Md./Oxon Hill), Eber Martinez (MF, Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field), Alex Morgans (GK, Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), Alex Stom (D, Reston, Va./South Lakes) and Draymond Washington (F, Gaithersburg, Md./Colonel Zadok Magruder). Highlighting the class are Gracia, Levry and Martinez, who all have experience playing for the U.S. Soccer U-17 National Team.

The criteria College Soccer News uses to rank the classes applies a lot of weight to the extent to which a recruiting class fills the perceived gaps a team needs to fill and the overall potential of the recruits to increase the competitiveness of the team. Individual players were evaluated based on a combination of their high school, club, ODP, and regional and national team experience. Playing experience against top level competition was a key factor. Transfers were also taken into consideration in rating classes. The rankings factored in extra credit to a recruiting class if the class signaled a step upward for the program.

The 2008 recruiting class received further recognition from College Soccer News when Gracia and Levry were named to the publication's list of "100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On" in 2008. A two-time NSCAA/adidas Boys' Youth All-America selection, Gracia was named the All-Met Player of the Year by The Washington Post in 2007. Levry is a two-time NSCAA/adidas Boys' Youth All-America Team selection, making the team in 2006 and 2007. Levry also earned PARADE All-America honors in 2007 as one of the top players in the nation.

George Mason begins its 2008 preseason schedule tonight with a match against Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. at the Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. Fans can follow the action live at the following link, http://www.hokiesports.com/msoccer/live/.