FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's soccer program and Head Coach Greg Andrulis recently announced the addition of 13 players to its roster for the upcoming 2012 season.

Joining the Patriots this year are freshman Michael Butts, Brice Colcombe, David Ellis, Ryan Harmouche, Ahmed Ismail, Peter Lam, Brandon Parr, John Pouliot, Kevin Roberts, Julius Rosa-Distefano, Aaron Safadi, Edgar Zepeda and sophomore transfer Matt Fraedrich.

"The 2012 recruiting class is an incredible blend of outstanding young men,” said Andrulis. “The extensive work put in by our assistant coaches has provided our program with players who can contribute right away and for many years to come.

“This group is not only outstanding on the field of play with many honors and personal recognition, but in the class room as well. Six of these fine young men were accepted into our Honors College. We are excited to get to work with these fine young men.”

Coming to Mason from Osbourn Park High School, Butts earned four varsity letters in soccer serving as the team goalkeeper. As a junior he earned first team all-district and second team all-region honors, then went on to collect first team all-district, all-region, all-area and all-metro honors during his senior campaign. He also played club soccer with the PWSI Courage 94 which captured the 2011 Virginia U17 State Cup Championship.

A native of Dumfries and a graduate of Forest Park High School, Colcombe was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain for the Bruins. During his high school career, he was a three-time first team all-district honoree, in addition to collecting first team all-region and all-state, district player of the year and first team all-met accolades during his senior campaign. Colcombe is spending the summer competing with the FASA Hotspurs Super 20's and PDL teams. In addition to his high school experience, Colcombe brings six years of club experience after playing with PWSI 93, where he also served as a team captain.

A four-year letterwinner at Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Ellis joins the Patriots after a strong senior campaign for the Falcons where he earned first team All-Beach District, All-Eastern Region and All-Tidewater honors in addition to second team all-state accolades. He was also selected to the VHSL All-Star Game as a senior. From 2009-12, Ellis played for VA Rush U18 Youth Soccer Academy, a member of the US Soccer Development Academy, where he served as a team captain.

Fraedrich arrives at Mason after playing his first year of collegiate soccer at Northern Illinois University, where he appeared in six games. Hailing from Burke, he graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary where he was a four-year letterwinner. Serving as team captain during his senior season, Fraedrich helped his team earn a regional title and advance to the state semifinals as a senior. For his accomplishments, he earned honorable mention all-district and all-met honors. During high school, Fraedrich also played six years of club soccer with the Annandale Soccer Club.

The 2012 All-Met Player of the Year, Harmouche earned three letters while playing at Robinson. With 11 goals and six assists during his senior campaign, Harmouche was also tabbed as the Concorde District Player of the Year and collected first team all-region honors. Outside of high school, Harmouche was a member of the D.C. United U18 Youth Soccer Academy.

A four-year letterwinner at Oakton High School, Ismail had an outstanding senior campaign that saw his team set a school record with 11 wins in a season in addition to winning a Concorde District Championship for the first time in a decade. Serving as a team captain during his final season at Oakton, he led the team with five goals en route to collecting first team all-district, all-region, all-met and district MVP runner-up honors in addition to being named honorable mention all-state. Additionally, Ismail played for the D.C. United U18 Youth Soccer Academy for three seasons.

A hometown player, Lam recently graduated from Fairfax High School where he was a three-year letterwinner for the Rebels. Ranked 84^th by College Soccer News and 47^th by ESPN Rise, he earned First Team All-Liberty District honors as a senior. Additionally, he participated in the U17 National Team Camp in 2009. Lam was a member of the McLean Soccer Academy U18, where he served as team captain and helped the squad qualify for the 2012 Academy Playoffs.

Hailing from Rockville, Parr was a three-year letterwinner at Thomas S Wootton High School. Named a team MVP in 2011, he also collected second team all-county honors. He was the only player on the team to start all 14 games, recording two goals and two assists. Parr was a member of the Pachuca Dragons Soccer Club for seven seasons, serving as the team captain as the team won the State Cup. He was also a part of the two-time Disney Showcase and CASL Showcase champion teams.

Pouliot comes to Mason from North Mecklenburg High in Charlotte, N.C., where he was a four-year letterwinner for the Vikings. Pouliot also earned all-conference honors in 2009 and 2010, all-west region in 2010 and was a preseason all-state honoree in 2011 before suffering an injury. Outside of high school, Pouliot played club soccer for the North Meck U18 Youth Soccer Academy.

Playing four years at Colonial Forge in the midfield, Roberts earned a letter each season and was named the team MVP as a senior. Over his four seasons, Roberts collected several honors, including Commonwealth District Player of the Year, FreeLance Star All-Area Player of the Year, Northwest Region Player of the Year and Virginia State AAA Player of the Year. Additionally, he was a four-time First Team All-Commonwealth District, two-time First Team All-Area and first team Northwest Region, All-Met and All-State honoree. Roberts played club soccer for the Richmond Strikers Youth Soccer Academy, where he served as a team captain.

Rosa-Distefano, a two-year letterwinner  and team captain at Westfield High School, is coming off a season where his team captured a Northern Region Championship. He was named to the Concorde District All-Tournament team in 2012, and took home First Team All-Concorde District defensive honors in 2011. Rosa-Distefano also played club soccer over five years for the SYA Soccer Club.

Safadi comes to Mason from Arvada, Colorado, where he was a four-year letterwinner at Ralston Valley High School. A two-year captain and team MVP, he earned all-conference honors all four seasons, including first team accolades as a junior and senior. Safadi played club soccer for several teams over the years, most recently competing with the Real Colorado Academy from 2010-12.

A native of Woodbridge, Zepeda played at Freedom High School where he was a two-time letterwinner. He was recognized as the team MVP during the 2010 and 2012 season in addition to collecting First Team All-Cardinal District and all-area honors both of those seasons. As a senior, he was named to the all-region squad and also earned honorable mention all-met honors. Zepeda also competed with the D.C. United Youth Soccer Academy.

The Patriots kick off the regular season on August 26 at home against Long Island. Gametime is slated for 7:00 pm.