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Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 12:58 p.m.

Men’s soccer team drops two weekend road contests

by Elizabeth Traynor
Zach Abaie, men's soccer

Then- junior Zach Abaie dribbles the ball down the field during a home game against Bryant last season. Hatchet File Photo

Correction appended

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Mary Ellen McIntire.

As the end of their season creeps closer, the Colonials suffered two tough losses on the road over the weekend, dropping twice to league foes.

GW opened weekend play Friday against Atlantic 10 newcomer, Butler, falling 4-0 to the Bulldogs.

Butler outshot the Colonials 20-9 on the game, with GW managing just three shots on goal throughout play. Junior co-captain Tyler Ranalli had a team-high two shots for the Colonials. Redshirt freshman goalie Jean-Pierre van der Merwe had four saves.

The team then travelled to Saint Louis to face the No. 20 Saint Louis Billikens Sunday, but was, once again, unable to score, and fell 5-0 to the Billikens.

GW let up an early goal in the 10th minute of play. Ranalli took the Colonials’ first shot in the 16th minute, but the ball went high, and within a minute the Billikens scored again, taking a 2-0 lead. GW had another chance in the 20th minute, when freshman Philip McQuitty took a header-shot that was saved by the St. Louis goalkeeper.

The Colonials found themselves unable to hold the Billikens for the rest of the half, however, as they scored again, ending the first half in a 3-0 lead.

As the second half began, the Colonials held St. Louis at their 3-0 lead. Ranalli took three shots, but was unable to put GW on the scoreboard. Van der Merwe, who had only one save in the first half, had two more in the second.

The Billikens, however, found the back of the net twice more before the end of the half, in the 81st and 88th minutes of play, ending the game with a 5-0 win against the Colonials.

The Colonials travel to Charlotte, N.C. Saturday for their final game of the 2012 season.

Editor’s note: Due to the interruption in the team’s travel plans caused by Hurricane Sandy, The Hatchet was unable to conduct a previously scheduled interview with head coach Craig Jones.

This post was updated Nov. 1, 2012 to reflect the following:

The Hatchet incorrectly spelled Philip McQuitty’s name. The correct spelling is now reflected. We regret this error.

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Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012 10:01 p.m.

Men’s soccer team splits A-10 opening weekend

by Elizabeth Traynor

Senior goalkeeper Alejandro Almodovar reaches for the ball during a past home game against NJIT. Hatchet File Photo.

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Brennan Murray.

Often this season, GW’s strong points in one game have been their weak points in the next, a lack of consistency that’s reflected in its .500 record.

After losing four straight games to close non-conference play, the Colonials (4-7-0) headed to took to the road this weekend to open up conference play against Richmond and regionally ranked A-10 newcomer VCU. Though a combination of stellar defensive play and offensive aggression paved the way for a 2-1 Colonial victory Friday, a relapse into former offensive struggles predestined GW’s 3-0 loss against the Rams Sunday.

“We got off to a great start which is obviously what we wanted to do and then [Sunday] we took a step backwards, if you will,” head coach Craig Jones said. “Overall, after two games on the road, to pick up a win is great. Now we come back to Mount Vernon so we’re looking forward to that little home stretch we have.”

The Colonials kicked off their bout against Richmond in an uncharacteristic way, taking three of the game’s first four shots and setting a quick offensive tempo. Though a brief blip in GW’s defense landed the Spiders with a penalty kick and score in the 13th minute, a strong overall response from the Colonials became the story of the game from there on out.

GW’s senior goalkeeper Alejandro Almodovar did his part to lock things down in front of the net, tallying a career-high nine saves, including a tough stop off a free kick with just three seconds to play in the match. On the attack, the Colonials won two hard-earned goals via two crosses and headers in the box. Freshman Ross Higgins converted the first score – also the first of his career – in the 22nd minute. Junior Bailey Hinners knocked in the winner in the 68th, marking the second time this season that his goal has been the difference maker.

Though GW was outshot 20-11 overall on the day, the Colonials one-upped Richmond 7-6 in the first 45 minutes, making it the first time GW had outshot an opponent in the first half in the their last seven games.

“We started the game very, very well and kept possession. It was very encouraging knowing it’s something we haven’t done in other games but it’s something that we’ve been working hard on,” Jones said. “Good things happen when you shoot.”

As the Colonials opened against VCU on Sunday though, it became clear early on that they didn’t possess the same aggressive style that helped them to victory on Friday. The Rams dominated the stat sheet, most notably in the time of possession and shots taken categories. VCU shot 12 times in the opening period while GW only did twice. And while the Rams found four corner kicks, the Colonials failed to find one until the closing minutes of the game.

GW’s inability to handle first touches well and control possession at midfield gave VCU the chance to develop runs consistently throughout the match. Rams goals in the 27th, 37th, and 70th minutes represented the Colonials’ inefficiency to clamp it down on the defensive end as well, as GW defenders allowed three open shots to sail pass Almodovar without much contest.

The Colonials’ failure to reproduce the balanced effort they put forth against Richmond is something Jones attributes to multiple missed opportunities and misplays.

“Every time we looked like we were getting any kind of momentum, we gave a goal away, which set us back,” Jones said. “We got ourselves into good spots but we just weren’t able to do what we did on Friday.”

Though conference play is still young, Jones said his team needs to find consistency in order to start playing at the next level.

Citing the incongruity of the Colonials playing style over this weekend, Jones said GW must seek out a rhythm they can reproduce half after half, game after game.

“We had a great performance on Friday night. Then we had a poor first half today and a good second half. We need to produce performances that are 90- minute performances and not just 45 or 60 minutes,” Jones said. “We need to be more consistent for the whole game.”

GW will have a chance to improve their conference record when they play A-10 rival La Salle at home Friday.

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Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 5:24 p.m.

Men’s soccer senior nets two preseason honors

by Elizabeth Traynor

Senior Seth Rudolph can boast of honors from two soccer websites this week.

Rudolph was named the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference First Team by College Sports Madness and identified as the No. 4 Player to Watch in the Atlantic 10 by Top Drawer Soccer.

Rudolph was named to the A-10 first team prior to the 2011 season. He ranked fifth in the conference with eight goals, adding three assists for 19 points on the season. Rudolph’s scored 22 career goals as a Colonial, meaning he needs only five goals and eight points to join GW’s all-time top-10 list in both categories.

Rudolph and the Colonials start the 2012 season tomorrow, when they host LIU Brooklyn at 4 p.m.

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Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 6:29 p.m.

Colonial round-up

by Elizabeth Traynor
jamie armstrong volleyball

Then- sophomore Jamie Armstrong, right, sets up for a spike during the D.C. Challenge in fall 2011. Hatchet File Photo

As the school year approaches, the University’s sports programs continue to move toward their upcoming seasons. Here’s a glimpse at some of the Colonial headlines from this week:

  • The volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the league by a poll of A-10 head coaches, the program’s highest ranking since the 2010 preseason. The Colonials finished fourth of 10 in the conference last season under then-first year head coach Amanda Ault.
  • The men’s soccer team announced its captains for the upcoming season Wednesday, tabbing seniors Alejandro Almodovar and Seth Rudolph and junior Tyler Ranalli for the leadership positions. Almodovar recorded three shutouts in goal for GW last season, and ranked second in the Atlantic 10 with 0.43 shutouts per game played. Rudolph is the returning leading scorer for the Colonials, tallying eight goals and 19 points in 2011 en route to first-team honors. Ranalli saw his playing time double last year, making the first six starts of his career and adding his first career goal and assist as a Colonial.
  • Senior Omar Sobhy is currently the top-ranked player in the U.S. Squash Adult M 5.0 Division, the governing agency of competitive squash announced this week. Sobhy, who was a member of the Colonials that won the Summers Cup (C-Division) Championship last season, is also the only GW player to ever capture an individual national title.
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Thursday, July 12, 2012 4:22 p.m.

University sees 89 student-athletes named to A-10 honor roll

by Elizabeth Traynor
women's crew, rowing

Twenty members of the woman's rowing team made the A-10 commissioner's honor role this spring. Students had to earn a 3.5 GPA in the spring 2012 semester. File Photo

The Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the spring 2012 semester contains 89 GW student-athletes, the league announced today.

Every University program sponsored by the A-10 is represented on the list. To be eligible for the honor roll, a student-athlete must compete in a conference-sponsored sport and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the semester.

“In what was a banner year in terms of championships for GW Aahletics, we’re equally as proud that all of our 16 A-10 programs and 89 student-athletes were recognized on the commissioner’s honor holl,” Associate Athletic Director for Educational Support Services Karen Ercole said in a statement. “These 89 student-athletes proved to be extremely committed both in competition and in the classroom, characteristics that are paramount to the success of GW athletics and the George Washington University.”

The women’s rowing team, which earned a berth in the A-10 championship last season, led all University programs with 20 members named to the honor roll. The women’s soccer team was next, with 10, followed by the men’s soccer team, with seven. The women’s basketball team saw four players named to the honor roll, the men’s basketball team had two.

A combined 1,369 student-athletes were named to the list, the most during current A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade’s tenure. GW was one of seven member institutions to have all of its league-sponsored programs represented on the honor roll.

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Friday, June 15, 2012 6:17 p.m.

President Knapp made chair of A-10 council of presidents

by Elizabeth Traynor
President Steven Knapp, men's basketball, locker room, pep

President Knapp speaks to the men's basketball team before a home game. Hatchet File Photo

University President Steven Knapp is the chair of the Atlantic 10 Conference Council of Presidents for the 2012-13 season, chosen at the group’s annual spring meetings this week.

Knapp will replace outgoing chair Xavier President Rev. Michael Graham, and was selected by the group, comprised of the leaders of each university represented in the A-10. Knapp is responsible for the oversight of the council’s business meetings next year.

The council also completed various tasks in its spring meeting, chief among them beginning procedures to officially bring Butler and VCU into the conference July 1. The league’s 2012-13 operating budget was approved, and the council also established a conference-wide men’s basketball sportsmanship pre-game protocol.

The council also made changes to league schedules and championship formats. The championship field in men’s and women’s soccer was expanded to eight teams each and the field for the baseball championship to a seven-team tournament. Echoing the change made to the men’s basketball schedules, the council also announced that the conference schedule for women’s basketball will increase from 14 to 16 games beginning with the 2013-14 season.

Lastly, the council adopted a policy that would make a program ineligible for Atlantic 10 championships if that school was ineligible for NCAA Championship participation due to Academic Progress Rate penalties.

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Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 4:41 p.m.

Ohio State standout joins men’s soccer team coaching roster

by Elizabeth Traynor
Soccer coach Danny Irizarry

Former All-Big Ten Conference performer Danny Irizarry helped guide the Georgia Southern University Eagles to a No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament last year. Photo courtesy of GW Athletics Communications.

Men’s soccer head coach Craig Jones continued to round out his staff with the hire of former All-Big Ten Conference performer Danny Irizarry.

Irizarry most recently worked as a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Southern University in 2011, where he helped guide the Eagles to a No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament. He also volunteered as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Ohio State University, aiding the Buckeyes to the 2009 Big Ten Championship.

“As a young, innovative coach, Danny will be bringing some exciting new ideas to the program,” Jones said. “You want a role model for your players and he knows what it takes to be successful at the next level having played in a national championship game and internationally in World Cup qualifiers.”

Prior to coaching, Irizarry was a standout midfielder at Ohio State, earning Big Ten and National All-Freshman Team honors in 2005. A two-time All-Big Ten selection in 2007 and 2008, Irizarry helped the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship and an appearance in the NCAA College Cup final as a junior. As a senior, Irizarry captained and led OSU in scoring with six goals and 13 points as a senior and was rated the third-best collegiate midfielder in the country by College Soccer News.

“I am thrilled and very eager to join such a prestigious school as George Washington and to join a program that has achieved great success,” Irizarry said.

The addition follows the Feb. 8 hire of 20-year coaching veteran Jim Felix.

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Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 1:41 p.m.

Twenty-year coaching veteran named men’s soccer assistant coach

by Elizabeth Traynor
Jim Felix, men's soccer

Photo courtesy of GW Athletics Communications.

Jim Felix, a 20-year coaching veteran, will take to the field with the Colonials next season as an assistant coach for the men’s soccer team.

Felix will join first-year head coach Craig Jones’ staff, who was promoted to head coach following former head coach George Lidster’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Felix holds a Premier License from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and spent the last five years as the assistant coach of U.S. Youth Soccer’s Region I Boys’ U-15 Olympic Development Program Team.

“I look forward to working with coach Jones in bringing GW to the next level in NCAA soccer. It is truly a privilege to be involved with such a prestigious institution with great student-athletes,” Felix said.

Felix previous served as an assistant at six Division I programs: Cornell from 1986 to 1987, Harvard from 1991 to 1994, Boston University in 1994, South Florida from 2000 to 2003, Georgetown from 2004 to 2906, and Columbia from 2006 to 2007, and was the head coach at Stony Brook from 1987 to 1991.

Felix also holds the National and Advanced National Diplomas from the NSCAA, and ‘A’ and ‘B’ Licenses from the United States Soccer Federation.

“I’m extremely happy to be adding Jim to the coaching staff,” Jones said. “His vast experience and knowledge of the game will have an immediate impact on the program as we move forward and build on our recent successes.”

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Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 2:45 p.m.

Yoni Berhanu among D.C. United trialists

by Daniel Wright
Yoni Berhanu, men's soccer, A10

Senior Yoni Berhanu battles two Duquesne opponents last season. | Hatchet File Photo

After a standout career with the Colonials, senior Yoni Berhanu’s soccer playing days aren’t over quite yet.

The midfielder, who was the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year this past season, is one of 14 trialists who will be training with the Major League Soccer club D.C. United in hopes of earning a spot on their preseason training roster.

Berhanu sat atop the conference with 11 goals and 26 points last season and was an instrumental part of the Colonials’ regular season A-10 co-championship. Berhanu’s 72nd minute free kick that slipped past the Duquesne goal keeper Nov. 6 was one of the defining moments of his career, propelling GW to its first regular season title since the 1992 season. Berhanu and the Colonials made it to the A-10 tournament championship game, before falling in a penalty-kick shootout to Xavier.

After earning a No. 13 preseason ranking, GW earned just two victories with conference play gearing up. But while the Colonials struggled to score early in the season, Berhanu and junior Seth Rudolph combined to overhaul GW’s offensive attack, to become one of the top-scoring duos in the A-10. The streaking Colonials finished conference play with a 7-2 record and won their last six games before falling to Xavier.

Berhanu wrapped his playing career with 55 points and 15 assists, just shy of 10th-best in both slots on the GW all-time records. If he is selected to United’s roster, Berhanu will join the team at training camp in Florida, scheduled to start  Monday.

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Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 12:31 p.m.

Assistant promoted to men’s soccer head coach

by Elizabeth Traynor
George Lidster, Craig Jones, men's soccer, A10

Craig Jones embraces former men's soccer head coach George Lidster, left, after the Colonials' victory against Duquesne Nov. 6, securing the title of A10 co-champions. File photo

Craig Jones will take helm of the men’s soccer program next year, moving from an assistant to a head coach position following the retirement of George Lidster.

Jones has been involved with the Colonials since his days as an undergraduate at the University. He started his career as a four-year letterwinner on GW’s squad from 1995-1998, and returned as a volunteer assistant coach in 2002. He held that position through the 2008 season, and was promoted to the team’s top assistant slot in June 2009. In that capacity, he worked with Lidster on training, game management, recruiting, scheduling and goalkeeper workouts.

“Through this season’s impressive turnaround and our comprehensive national search, Craig emerged from a very strong pool of candidates as the right person to lead our men’s soccer program into the future,” Director of Athletics Patrick Nero said. “He was instrumental to our team’s improvement this year and our run to the Atlantic 10 regular season co-championship and into the A-10 Conference Championship game. Craig’s mentorship abilities and his vision for the program have our student-athletes poised to continue this season’s successes next season and beyond.”

Jones is also involved with the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, and in 2008 was named the Virginia Youth Soccer Association Boys Competitive Coach of the Year after leading his Virginia 1992 team to the title game the ODP National Championship. He works as Boys Development Academy Director for the DC Stoddert Soccer Club, and holds a USSF ‘A’ Coaching License. Jones is a Virginia State Education Instructor, teaching courses for local soccer coaches, and founded the DC Soccer School, which offers soccer services to youth players.

“As an alum and member of George’s coaching staff for many years, this truly is a dream job for me,” Jones said. “I am extremely appreciative of the opportunity GW is giving me to continue and grow the momentum that our group gained as this season progressed. Our vision for the men’s soccer program is to build a team culture that leads to success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.”

Prior to competing for the Colonials, Jones was the captain of the Wales National Youth Team. During his four seasons at GW, he started all but one of his 63 matches, totaling 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. Jones graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 1999, and competed semi-professionally in England and Wales before returning stateside to pursue his coaching licenses.  Jones lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife Liz and daughter Cerys.

Jones helped Lidster coach the Colonials from a preseason No. 13 ranking to the A-10 championship game, before GW dropped a tight match to Xavier in the last round of the tournament. The season saw the Colonials earn a share of their first regular season championship since 1992, and Lidster retires as the reigning 2011 A-10 Coach of the Year and with 201 career wins, making him the program’s head coach with the most all-time wins.

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