George Mason -  Four Star Class Ranking - The Patriots have once again fared well on the recruiting trail.  George Mason has added a very talented five member class with an impressive record of competitive play at the club, high school, regional, and national levels.  The class includes four freshmen who have U.S. Youth National Team experience and junior college transfer Victor Freeman who netted forty-two goals during a two-year tour of duty at Louisburg College.  Greg Andrulis, who will enter his fifth season as the head coach at George Mason in 2009, credited assistant coach Nick Carlin-Voigt for playing a key role in helping to bring the 2009 recruits to George Mason.  The Patriots were perhaps the biggest surprise in the CAA last year finishing the season in a flurry by winning eight out of their last nine contests.   The Green and Gold concluded regular season play with a 6-4-1 mark in the CAA which was good for a third place finish after being picked to finish eighth in the conference in the 2008 CAA preseason coaches poll.  They then ran the table in CAA Tourney play defeating Hofstra, William and Mary, and Northeastern to secure their first CAA Tourney Championship since the conference adopted a tournament format back in 1990.  George Mason then advanced past Penn in NCAA Tourney action before closing out their season with a second round loss to the Maryland Terrapins.   The Patriots will enter the 2009 campaign facing the difficult task of replacing five experienced senior starters from the 2008 squad that was 14-7-2 overall.  Graduating seniors include forwards Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (9g, 7a) and Lucas Pardew (4g, 4a) and defenders Jonathan Borrajo (0g,2a), Hugh Fike (0g,5a) and Michael Vallie.  Pamboe, who was a 2008 NSCAA First-Team All-South Atlantic Region selection, played a major role in bringing to life a George Mason attack that had been noticeably unproductive in 2007 when the team netted a total of only fifteen goals.  The graduation of Borrajo, Vallie, and Fike means that the Patirots will be without a ton of experience on the defensive side of the ball.  On the positive side of the ledger, the Patriots return sophomore Axel Levry (3g, 2a), RS junior Irvin Martinez (3g, 6a), sophomore Draymond Washington (2g, 3a) and junior Parker Walton (4g, 1a) up-top.  They all are capable finishers but it remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to plug the vacuum in the offense that exists due to the departure of Adjeman-Pamboe.  Senior Richard Edgar returns to anchor the midfield.  Edgar is the team quarterback and is the player who will likely set the pace for the entire squad in 2009.  Sophomores Ryan Garcia (5g, 1a) and Eber Martinez (2g, 3a) and juniors Fro Adu and Anthony Han (2g, 3a) also return to give Andrulis a solid core of returning linkmen.  Look for the George Mason midfield to be deep and a team strength in 2009.  The backline requires major rebuilding and is the biggest question mark facing the Patriots heading into the 2009 campaign.  Senior Sean Kelley from Lexington, Kentucky, who has been the starter in goal for the past three seasons, returns to give the Patriots an experienced and very capable presence between the pipes.  Kelley’s play will be a critical success factor for the Patriots particularly in the early going.  George Mason may be hard pressed to duplicate the success they enjoyed last year due to the rebuilding required but then again they should gain a lot from their new recruits.  If the newcomers are able to contribute and the Patriots are able to gel as a team they may rise to the top of the CAA once again.  George Mason has gained a lot of momentum with two NCAA Tourney berths in the past three years.  However, as they likely learned in 2007 when the Patriots were a disappointing 5-11-2 overall, success in one season does not necessarily carry over to the next as each year stands on its own.  The fact that the program has become much deeper as a result of several years of solid and balanced recruiting classes is a plus in terms of having the talent on board to be able to play through the ups and downs and win on a consistent basis.   

 

Alex Herrera - Arlington, Virginia - Midfielder - Yorktown High School - Participated in U.S. U-18 National Team Camp in 2009 - Played with U-17 National Team - Played club with DC United.

 

Michael D’Arrigo - Tucson, Arizona - Goalkeeper - Catalina Foot Hills High School - Participated in U.S. U-18 National Team Camp - Played club for Real Salt Lake - All-State selection.

 

Ryan Reichmann - Hicksville, New York - Defender -  Hicksville High School - Participated in U.S. U-18 National Team Camp in 2009 - Played club for Albertson Academy - New York ODP team.

 

Cooper Barham - Odessa, Texas - Defender/Midfielder - Permian High School - U-17 National Team Experience - Region III ODP team member - Played club with the Dallas Texans.

 

Victor Freeman - Bowie, Maryland - Forward - Louisburg College - Bowie High School - Scored 42 career goals and contributed twenty-six career assists at Louisburg - First Team All-Region.