George Washington University

Aug. 31, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - The Colonials begin their defense of the Atlantic 10 title with two matches in the DC College Cup, which will be held at North Kehoe Field on the campus of Georgetown University this weekend. GW will open its season Friday, Sept. 2 with a 12:00 p.m. match against American. The Colonials will also meet Howard at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4 in their final game of the tournament.

The DC College Cup features the four Division I soccer program's in the District. Each team will play two matches with the champion to be determined by a point system for wins and draws. In the event of tie, the champion will be crowned using a tie-breaking formula that includes head-to-head meetings as well as goal differential. In addition to the GW/American match on Friday and the GW/Howard contest on Sunday, Georgetown will meet Howard at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday and host American at approximately 2:30 pm on Sunday to round out the tournament slate.

GW returns 10 starters from its 2004 NCAA Tournament squad, including last year's leading scorer Frank Ambrosio. Ambrosio led the Colonials in points (18) and goals (7) and was named to this year's Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team. Midfielder Steve Brown and goalkeeper Derek Biss also return for their final campaigns in buff and blue. Brown enters 2005 tied for ninth on GW's career assists list with 16 helpers, and Biss ranks fifth in career saves since 1978 with 207. The other returning starters from last year are senior captains Matt Miller, Ben Mortimer, Trevor Martin, as well seniors Andre Chapman, Jon Allen, sophomore Matt Davis, and junior Jeremiah Burke.

Last season, the Colonials overcame a 1-8-3 start to win the A-10 championship and scored a victory in the first round of the Men's College Cup over North Carolina. GW finished with a 10-9-4 overall record, including a 9-1-1 mark in its last 11 matches. The Colonials averaged 1.46 goals per game last year and out-shot their opponents, 310-252.

American University posted a 15-6-1 record last year, won the Patriot League title and advanced to the Men's College Cup. The Eagles lost in the first round of the event to No. 4 Virginia, 2-1. Junior Sal Caccavale (17 points) is the Eagles' top returning scorer. AU also brings back junior Garth Juckem, who tallied five goals and four assists in 2004 for a total of 14 points.

The Eagles allowed less than a goal per game last season (0.8) and posted 11 shutouts. Keeper Chris Sedlak, who notched two of those shutouts and played almost 388 minutes in net, returns in 2005 for his sophomore season.

Howard, a member of the Atlantic Soccer Conference, finished 4-9-3 last year and posted a 2-3-0 conference record. Senior goalkeeper Jason Williams is back for the Bison. He ranked fourth in the league in save percentage (.726) and fifth in goals-against average (1.88).

GW and American began their series in 1965 and the Eagles hold a 25-9-1 advantage in 35 total meetings, including a 3-1 defeat of the Colonials in 2004. GW and Howard have met 32 times since 1965 with the Bison owning an 18-10-4 record in the series. The Colonials shut out Howard, 5-0, in last year's DC College Cup for their first win of the season.