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George Mason University's men's soccer team welcomed a new head coach, Greg Andrulis, in 2005, and the new era continues in Mason men's soccer with Andrulis at the helm. After a 10-year absence from the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, the Patriots have qualified for the national tournament in two of the past three seasons under the guidance of Andrulis. Last season, Andrulis led Mason to the fifth Colonial Athletic Association title in the history of the program and the first since the conference adopted the tournament format beginning with the 1990 season. After earning the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the Patriots earned the program's first win in the tournament since the 1996 season with a 1-0 victory over Penn in the opening round at George Mason Stadium before falling to eventual national champion Maryland in the second round in College Park, Md. Mason won 14 matches for the first time since 1996 and won eight straight before the second round match at Maryland to finish the season ranked in the top-25 in the nation in the final College Soccer News poll. Following the season, standout forward Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, a First-Team All-CAA and NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region selection, was selected in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids. The 2006 squad showcased Andrulis' first recruiting class, which included four athletes with national team playing experience, as well as two individuals who were named to the `Top 100 Freshman to Keep an Eye on in 2006'. The newcomers lived up to those high expectations, helping the Patriots improve to 12-6-3 in Andrulis' second year with the program, including a 7-3-1 mark in the CAA. The team was nationally ranked during the season and won nine consecutive matches. Mason reached the finals of the CAA Championships, falling to Hofstra in a penalty kick shootout, before moving onto the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection, the first time the Patriots reached the tournament in 10 years. A number of Patriots received individual accolades for their performance during the 2006 campaign. Goalkeeper Sean Kelley was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and was a Second-Team All-CAA selection, as well as a member of the CAA All-Rookie Team and All-Tournament Team. College Soccer News named the first-year performer to its All-Freshman First Team and Kelley was also named Third Team All-South Atlantic Region. Senior defender Fabien Lewis joined Kelley on the All-South Atlantic Region Third Team and was also named Second Team All-CAA, while Edgar was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. In his first year with the Patriots, the team garnered a 7-7-4 overall record, which included a 3-4-4 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. Mason garnered five shutouts on the year, including a 1-0 overtime victory against Penn State at Mason Stadium on Sept. 24. Andrulis coached Anthony Noreiga in his final year with the Patriots. Noreiga ended up being named the 2005 CAA Defender of the Year and also earned All-CAA First Team honors. In addition, seniors Teba McKnight and Karim Manneh were named to the all-conference second team. Andrulis came to Mason with a combined 24 years of collegiate and professional coaching experience. In 2004, Andrulis was named Major League Soccer Coach of the Year and the team was 49-43-32 in his four plus seasons with the Crew. In addition, the Crew had a 2-4-3 mark in the playoffs. Andrulis joined the Crew in MLS's inuagural season, 1996, as an assistant to Tom Fitzgerald and was named interim coach midway though the 2001 season, after Fitzgerald was fired. He was given the job full-time following that season after guiding the Crew to a 12-4-4 record in the remaining games in 2001. Andrulis earned his first-ever MLS Coach of the Year award in 2004. He guided the Crew to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and garnered the Crew their first ever Supporters Shield in 2004, which is awarded annually to the team with the most points in either conference. The Crew's 49 points is also the highest regular season point total in team history. The team started the year poorly, but Andrulis took the Crew on a league-record 18-game unbeaten streak, and a 12-win season against only five losses. The loss total was the lowest number in the league and team history and the 12 wins also marked the second highest total in the MLS that year behind Kansas City's 14. In 2003, the Crew advanced to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and was the talk of MLS in bolting to a 3-0-1 start in league play. But with key injuries to four of the teams' top performers, the team missed the playoffs for just the second time in club history, finishing with a 10-12-8 record. The Crew went 7-4-5 with those key starters, but was 3-8-3 with players sidelined. In 2002, Andrulis led the club to its first title, the US Open Cup on Oct. 24. The Crew defeated the newly crowned MLS Cup-champion L.A. Galaxy, 1-0, in the U.S. Open Cup final at Crew Stadium, to claim the prestigious piece of hardware. The U.S. Open Cup is the oldest soccer tournament in America. Prior to joining Columbus, he was the head coach of Wright State University from 1985 to 1996. He posted a 12-year record of 134-72-28. His best season came in 1988 when he led the Raiders to a 16-4-2 mark. Starting Mid-Continent league play in 1991, he went 24-18-5 against conference foes. During his tenure, he coached two All-Americans, 21 All-Mideast selections, 28 All-Ohio players and two recipients of the Carl Dale Memorial Award given to the top Ohio players at their positions. All-Americans Hylton Dayes and Rob Campbell have both been inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame; Dayes in 1991 and Campbell in 1999. Andrulis was inducted into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame on May 28, 2002, becoming the Hall's 37th member. Recently, Andrulis was inducted into the Litchfield High School Hall of Fame and the Eastern Connecticut Hall of Fame. The Litchfield, Conn., native earned his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1980 from Eastern Connecticut State University. After spending a year as an assistant coach at his alma mater, he moved to Springfield College in Massachusetts where he coached the junior varsity and freshman teams while earning a master's degree in counseling. He then spent three years as an assistant coach at Clemson University where he helped the Tigers win the NCAA Championship in 1985. Andrulis Year-by-Year Coaching Records Collegiate Year (School) Record Pct. 1985 (WSU) 11-6-1 .639 1986 (WSU) 9-5-5 .605 1987 (WSU) 12-6-2 .650 1988 (WSU) 16-4-2 .773 1989 (WSU) 10-9-3 .523 1990 (WSU) 12-6-2 .650 1991 (WSU) 10-9-1 .525 1992 (WSU) 13-3-2 .778 1993 (WSU) 8-7-4 .526 1994 (WSU) 10-7-0 .588 1995 (WSU) 12-4-3 .711 1996 (WSU) 11-6-3 .625 2005 (Mason) 7-7-4 .500 2006 (Mason) 12-6-3 .643 2007 (Mason) 5-11-2 .333 2008 (Mason) 14-7-2 .652 Career Total 172-103-39 .610 |
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