Sept. 1, 2009

FAIRFAX, Va. - After advancing to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship in two of the past three seasons and capturing its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship since 1989 last season, there is a buzz surrounding the George Mason men's soccer team as it enters the 2009 campaign. The Patriots enter the season ranked 19th in the nation in the Soccer America Men's Preseason Top-25 Poll and were picked to finish first in the CAA in a preseason poll of the conference's head coaches.

"We need to back up 2008 with a very strong 2009. We've had some success as a program but now we're shooting for excellence and there's a distinct difference," said George Mason head coach Greg Andrulis. "Winning a conference championship means that we had a successful season. To maintain a level of excellence and be a perennial top-20 team; a team that regularly competes for the conference championship; that regularly has a great academic record; that continues to raise the standard of the program on and off the field; those are the goals that we're shooting for."

The losses of key contributors from last year's CAA Championship squad like Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, a second round pick of the Colorado Rapids in the MLS SuperDraft; Jonathan Borrajo, a member of the USL's Real Maryland FC; Hugh Fike; Tyler Orzak; Lucas Pardew and Michael Vallie will be softened by the recruits that Andrulis and his staff brought in during the offseason. Mason's 2009 recruiting class was ranked 15th in the nation by College Soccer News.

The newcomers include defender/midfielder Cooper Barham (Odessa, Texas/Permian); forward/midfielder Benny Barshai (Bangkok, Thailand/Pendleton School); midfielder Brent Brockman (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York/Saint Francis); midfielder Lorenzo D'Agostino (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI); goalkeeper Michael D'Arrigo (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foot Hills); forward Victor Freeman (Bowie, Md./Bowie/Louisburg College); midfielder Derek Markheim (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park); defender Chase Miller (Duncannon, Pa./Pendleton School); defender Laurent Newsome (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield Secondary); defender Ryan Reichmann (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville); midfielder A.J. Sheta (Centreville, Va./Westfield) and forward Alhagi Toure (The Gambia, Africa/Wheeler). Five of the recruits - Barham, D'Arrigo, Markheim, Miller and Reichmann - all have U.S. National Team experience.

"The quality of the players in this recruiting class is phenomenal; a variety of guys with Youth National Team experience and international experience," Andrulis said. "From top-to-bottom, there is no question, on paper this is the highest quality group that we have brought in during my time at Mason. It's an eye-opening group; time will tell what they can actually accomplish. My assistant, Nick Carlin-Voigt, did an outstanding job attracting a really phenomenal recruiting class and we expect big things out of these guys."

While the team is young with a total of 12 newcomers, 17 members of last year's team return for the 2009 campaign. Leadership will be provided by the veteran presence of senior co-captains Richard Edgar and Sean Kelley. Both Edgar and Kelley were named to the 2009 Preseason All-CAA Men's Soccer Team.

"The two seniors that we have are phenomenal people," Andrulis said. "They've been through incredible highs with the program and they've helped us get to two NCAA Tournaments and two conference finals. They know what it takes to win and they know what it takes to be leaders. With such a young group around them, their leadership is going to be very important, especially early in the season as we get the lineup and the team sorted out."

Edgar, a Second-Team All-CAA pick last season at midfield, was named one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. He has not missed a single match during the previous three years at Mason and brings tremendous leadership skills to the table, having served as team captain since his sophomore year.

"If you could bottle up a player that you could say is perfect, it would be Richard Edgar; he'd fit right in that mold," Andrulis said. "There aren't too many guys like him; a class individual both on and off the field. He's just a dream of a person to work with, and get to know, and coach."

Kelley was a Third-Team All-CAA selection last season at goalkeeper. In 21 starts in goal during the 2008 season, the Lexington, Ky. native recorded a goals against average of 0.93 with 78 saves. Kelley tied for first in the conference last season in shutouts with 10.

"Sean is a very talented individual," Andrulis said. "He's improved tremendously since he's been here. Since we're so young in the back with a lot of new players, he's going to have to be more active and prepare to be called upon more than in the past couple of years when he had a more experienced defense in front of him. If the preseason is any indication, and coming off the year he had last year, we expect huge things from him."

Junior Irvin Martinez also returns to the lineup and will provide an offensive spark at forward. Irvin Martinez scored three goals and added six assists last season. Parker Walton, who saw action in 20 matches last year and scored four goals, will provide depth at the position, as will Draymond Washington, a speedy sophomore who finished with two goals and three assists in 23 matches as a freshman. Junior Ernesto Marquez also returns. After making 14 starts in 2007, Marquez played in only five matches last season due to injury.

Eber Martinez, Irvin's brother, returns for his sophomore season at the midfield position. After battling an injury at the start of last season, Eber Martinez came on strong at the end of the year, making 10 starts and earning CAA All-Tournament honors before netting the game-winning goal in the Patriots' opening-round NCAA Tournament win over Penn on Nov. 21. The win was Mason's first in the NCAA Tournament since 1996. Eber Martinez will be joined in the midfield by CAA All-Rookie Team selection Ryan Gracia, who was second on the team in goals scored last year as a freshman with five. Anthony Han, who saw time in all 23 matches last year with two goals and three assists, returns for his junior season.

Mason's defensive unit will be bolstered by the return of Fro Adu and Eric Zuehsow. After scoring three goals as a freshman in 2007, Adu appeared in 19 matches with nine starts last season as a sophomore. Zuehsow started the first three matches of the year before going down with an injury in the Patriots' near-upset of the University of Virginia and sitting out the rest of the season. Seasoned veterans Mike Foss, Alex Procter and Steven Wagoner also return to the team.

To capture its second consecutive conference championship and sixth in the history of the program, Mason will have to navigate a schedule that includes 18 regular season matches, including seven nonconference opponents. Included in the nonconference schedule is a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament Second Round Match against the defending national champion Maryland Terrapins on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at George Mason Stadium.

The Patriots open the 2009 season on Wednesday, Sept. 2 when they host the D.C. College Cup at George Mason Stadium. In addition to Mason, the tournament will include local schools American University, George Washington University and Howard University. The Patriots will play Howard on the opening day of the tournament and will close the tournament with a match against American on Sept. 5.

After hosting the D.C. College Cup, Mason will travel to Columbia, S.C. to take part in the adidas Gamecock Classic Tournament the following weekend. The Patriots will play Presbyterian College (Sept. 11) for the first time in school history, before taking on the University of South Carolina (Sept. 13).

Aside from the two tournaments, additional nonconference matchups include the University of Richmond (Sept. 19), Longwood (Sept. 23) and the rematch with Maryland (Sept. 29). Mason will play Longwood and Maryland at home, and Richmond on the road.

Mason opens its conference schedule with a match at VCU in Richmond, Va. on Sept. 26. The entire month of October is devoted to nine matches against conference opponents, with Towson (Oct. 7), Delaware (Oct. 14), Northeastern (Oct. 17) and Georgia State (Oct. 24) all making the trip to Fairfax. The Patriots conclude the 2009 regular season schedule with a match against Old Dominion on Saturday, Nov. 7 at George Mason Stadium.

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams in the CAA standings will advance to the CAA Men's Soccer Championship, held at the home of the top seed from Nov. 13-15. The first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship is slated for Nov. 20-21.