OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (August 26, 2009) - Senior midfielder Richard Edgar was named a candidate today for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS award for men's soccer. Edgar is one of 30 candidates in the nation for the award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

Edgar, an NSCAA/adidas College Scholar All-East Region Team member in 2008, won the Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Award for men's soccer this past season. Edgar is a Dean's List student and a George Mason Scholar-Athlete Award winner. He is also a three-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award.

On the field, Edgar was selected to the All-CAA second team last season after contributing two goals and an assist for a Patriots' squad that captured their first CAA championship since 1989 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Maryland. Edgar was also a Third-Team All-CAA pick in 2007 and made the league's All-Rookie team in 2006. A team captain since his sophomore season, he has been a starter in every match during his career at Mason.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2009 NCAA Men's College Cup championship in early December. The candidate class of 30 will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate that best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.

This marks the third year for the men's and women's soccer division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, and more than 175 student-athletes were nominated this year. Wake Forest University midfielder Sam Cronin received the men's award for the 2008 season, while Kerri Hanks from the University of Notre Dame won the women's award. In 2007, United States Naval Academy goalkeeper Evan Barnes took home the inaugural men's soccer award and Stephanie Lopez from the University of Portland received the women's award.

2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Men's Soccer Candidates
Name 			Position 	School
Francisco Aristeguieta 	Midfielder 	University of South Florida
Mark Blades 		Defender 	Northwestern University
Zak Boggs 		Forward 	University of South Florida
Ronnie Bouemboue 	Forward 	North Carolina State University
Nick Cukar 		Midfielder 	San Jose State University
Malcolm DeBaun 		Defender 	Loyola University (Illinois)
Richard Edgar 	        Midfielder 	George Mason University
Joel Gustafsson 	Defender 	St. John's University
Rylan Hawkins 		Goalkeeper 	University of Washington
Craig Henderson 	Midfielder 	Dartmouth College
Steven Kinney 		Defender 	Elon University
Kyle Knotek 		Defender 	Northern Illinois University
Andrew Kydes 		Midfielder 	United States Military Academy
Tennant McVea 		Defender 	Loyola College (Maryland)
Devin Muntz 		Midfielder 	Princeton University
Benjamin Murray 	Midfielder 	University of Dayton
J.T. Noone 		Midfielder 	Temple University
Patrick Sampson 	Goalkeeper 	Loyola Marymount University
Ofori Sarkodie 		Defender 	Indiana University
Zack Schilawski 	Forward 	Wake Forest University
Chris Schuler 		Defender 	Creighton University
Assaf Sheleg 		Defender 	Saint Peter's College
Austin Skakle 		Defender 	Campbell University
Dean Sorrell 		Defender 	UAB
Toni Stahl 		Midfielder 	University of Connecticut
Michael Thomas 		Midfielder 	University of Notre Dame
Alexander Torda 	Forward 	University of Dayton
Eric Weigman 		Forward 	IUPUI
Jason Yeisley 		Forward 	Pennsylvania State University
Ben Zemanski 		Midfielder 	University of Akron