George Washington University

Sept. 2, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - The Colonials' men's soccer team kicks off its 2004 campaign with two matches this weekend at the DC College Cup, hosted by American University. The event features the four Division I men's soccer programs located in the District. George Washington will play Georgetown on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 12:00 p.m. and take on Howard on Monday, Sept. 6 at 12:00 p.m. The GW/Georgetown contest is first match on Saturday with American and Howard slated to square off at 2:30 p.m. The Colonials will also Sunday's action, versus Howard, with the American/Georgetown encounter to follow. The Colonials return 11 letterwinners from last year's team that went 7-11-2. Junior Frank Ambrosio is the squad's top returning scorer (12 points). He and classmate Steve Brown were the only two Colonials to start all 20 games last season. Brown contributed four assists in 2003. Sophomore Joseph Siegel also returns. Siegel made a major impact as a freshman tallying eight points, including the game-winning goal in GW's, 1-0, victory at Rhode Island. On defense, junior Derek Biss will be the team's likely starter in goal. Biss started 16 games in 2003 and recorded three shutouts, while making 84 saves. Senior co-captain Trent Wilee will anchor GW's defensive unit, which returns juniors Andre Chapman, Ben Mortimer, Trevor Martin and sophomore Jeremiah Burke, who earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors in last season. Georgetown is 1-0 on the young season, having posted a, 2-1, triumph against Delaware on Sept. 1. The victory marked the 200th career win for Hoyas' mentor Keith Tabatznik. Georgetown got second-half goals from Danny McNally and Dan Gargon to overcome a 1-0 deficit. Gargon, a senior, is one of the Hoyas top offensive weapons, having tallied 16 points in 2003. Howard finished with an overall record of 3-9-2 last season, and was held to just 13 goals on the campaign. Sophomores Jason Gross and Zachary Francis paced the squad with six points each. This weekend's matches will be the first for the Bison in 2004. The Colonials were defeated in both of their matches at the DC College Cup last season, losing to American, 3-0, and Howard, 2-1. George Washington did not face Georgetown in 2003, but beat the Hoyas, 3-1, to open the 2002 campaign.