George Mason men's soccer head coach Greg Andrulis has announced the
addition of three student-athletes to the 2011 squad as one former U-17
national team player and two college All-Americans have transferred to Mason.
Julio Aronja, a midfielder who competed this past year as a
freshman at West Virginia, Paul Andrews, a defender who competed for two
seasons at Division II Northern Kentucky, and Sean O'Reilly, a
midfielder/defender with one year of eligibility remaining after three seasons
at Saint Francis, will bolster a squad that has already brought in two strong
recruits, freshmen Timmy Mulgrew and Verneri Valimaa.
"Adding these three veterans to our squad is a positive step
for us," Andrulis said. "The vast experience at the highest levels that these
young men bring to the program is invaluable."
Aronjo played 17 games last season for West Virginia,
scoring one goal. A 2009 NSCAA/adidas Boys' Youth All-American, Aronjo lived in
residency for three semesters with the national team and trained with DC United
First team. He has accumulated 10 caps with the U-17 National Team and played
in 42 matches. He is the fifth player from the U-17 Residency Program to join
the George Mason program, following in the footsteps of former Patriots Richard
Edgar and Axel Levry and current Patriots Ryan Gracia and Chase Miller. A
native of Germantown, Md. and a graduate of Clarksburg High, he was one of 12
players named to the ESPN Rise fall Boys All-America first team.
Andrews is a native of Skerries, Ireland and graduated from
Skerries Community College. He was named second-team All-American by Daktronics
last year as he helped NKU to a 20-2-3 record and an NCAA Division II national
championship. A starter on the back line in all 25 matches, he scored three
goals and had 10 assists from the back line. Andrews is a dynamic defender who
excels on set pieces and had an assist on NKU's first goal in its NCAA
Championship win over Rollins.
O'Reilly was a First-Team Division I Academic All-American
at Saint Francis. Last season, as a redshirt junior, he scored five goals and
had one assist. He graduated with a degree in Management Information System
after compiling a 3.98 grade-point average and he is enrolled in graduate
school at Mason pursuing a degree in Sports Management. A native of Front
Royal, Va., O'Reilly worked his way up from team manager as a true freshman, to
appearing in all 19 matches with 16 starts as a redshirt junior.